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Income Taxes
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
Loss before provision for income taxes was generated from the following sources (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Domestic$(24,364)$(29,539)
Foreign126 486 
Total loss before provision for income taxes$(24,238)$(29,053)
A summary of the income tax expense is as follows (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Current:
Federal$— $— 
State14 8 
Foreign154 157 
Total current168 165 
Deferred:
Federal9 24 
State(19)37 
Foreign— — 
Total deferred(10)61 
Total income tax expense$158 $226 
A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying the federal statutory rate to the loss before income taxes is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Federal statutory rate21.0 %21.0 %
State tax, net of federal benefit2.0 4.1 
Equity compensation(2.3)(1.5)
International tax items(1.6)(3.9)
Foreign taxes(0.6)(0.5)
Debt extinguishment loss
(3.5)— 
State Net Operating Loss true-up
(2.9)(1.2)
Miscellaneous(1.2)1.8 
Effect of change in rate(2.6)0.7 
Change in valuation allowance(9.1)(21.1)
(0.7)%(0.8)%
The major components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Deferred income tax assets
Net operating loss carry forwards$41,561 $48,317 
Research and development expenses6,953 5,100 
Intangibles4,643 4,907 
Credit carry forwards2,479 3,028 
Nondeductible accruals405 453 
163j limitation
87 333 
Fixed assets346 289 
Equity-based compensation404 188 
Deferred rent12 15 
State taxes
1,515 3 
Total deferred income tax assets - net
58,405 62,633 
Deferred income tax liabilities
Prepaid expenses(82)(92)
Unrealized translation gain/loss(6)(21)
Total deferred income tax liabilities - net
(88)(113)
Valuation allowance(58,485)(62,698)
Net deferred income tax liabilities$(168)$(178)
The Company has federal and state net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of approximately $189.5 million and $136.2 million, respectively, at December 31, 2023 and 2022, to reduce future cash payments for income taxes. The federal NOL carryforwards generated prior to 2018 will expire from 2031 through 2037 and state NOL carryforwards will expire 2023 through 2041. Federal NOL carryforwards generated in 2018 and thereafter have no expiration date.
The Company has federal and state tax credit carryforwards of approximately $2.5 million and $0.7 million, respectively, at December 31, 2023 and 2022. These tax credits will begin to expire in 2028.
To the extent that an ownership change has occurred under Internal Revenue Code Sections 382 and 383, the Company’s use of its loss carryforwards and credit carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be limited.
At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, of approximately $0.4 million.
The Company’s gross unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 and the changes in those balances are as follows (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20232022
Beginning balance$412 $412 
Other— — 
Gross unrecognized tax benefits, ending balance$412 $412 
The Company recognizes interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense, however during 2023 and 2022, the Company did not recognize any interest or penalties. There were no  cumulative interest and penalties at December 31, 2023 and 2022. The Company does not anticipate any material changes to unrecognized tax benefits within the next twelve months that will affect the effective tax rate.
In assessing whether a valuation allowance is required, significant weight is given to evidence that can be objectively verified. Realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income. As required by ASC 740, Smith Micro has evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon its ability to realize the deferred tax assets and determined that it was more likely than not that the Company would not realize the deferred tax assets due to the Company's cumulative losses and uncertain near-term market and economic conditions, which reduce the Company’s ability to rely on projections of future taxable income in assessing the realizability of its deferred tax assets.
After a review of the four sources of taxable income as of December 31, 2023 (as described in Note 1), and after consideration of the Company’s continuing cumulative loss position as of December 31, 2023, the Company recorded a valuation allowance related to its U.S.-based deferred tax assets of $58.5 million at December 31, 2023. The valuation allowance on deferred tax assets decreased by $4.2 million and increased by $5.4 million in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The Company is subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as to income tax of multiple state jurisdictions. Currently there are no audits in process or pending from Federal or state tax authorities. The Company is no longer subject to examination for U.S. federal income tax returns for years before December 31, 2019 and for state income tax returns, the Company is no longer subject to examination for years before December 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had no outstanding tax audits. The outcome of tax audits cannot be predicted with certainty. If any issues addressed in the Company’s tax audits are resolved in a manner not consistent with management’s expectations, the Company could be required to adjust its provision for income tax in the period such resolution occurs. As of December 31, 2023, a current estimate of the range of changes that may occur within the next twelve months cannot be made due to the uncertainty regarding the timing of these events.
For financial reporting purposes, income before provision for income taxes for the Company’s foreign subsidiaries was $0.1 million and $0.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Smith Micro does not provide for U.S. taxes on its unremitted earnings of foreign subsidiaries that have not been previously taxed since the Company intends to invest such undistributed earnings indefinitely outside of the U.S.
The 2017 US Tax Cuts and Jobs Act subjects a U.S. shareholder to current tax on global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) earned by certain foreign subsidiaries. The Company's accounting policy is to recognize the tax on GILTI as a period expense in the period the tax is incurred. The current income related to the GILTI inclusion in 2023 is $2.0 million.