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Income Taxes
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes Income Taxes
The Company’s income (loss) from operations before income tax expense by jurisdiction for the years ended December 31 are as follows (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
202120202019
Domestic$(1,633,016)$(455,253)$(124,189)
Foreign(81,520)36,994 (8,505)
Loss before income tax expense$(1,714,536)$(418,259)$(132,694)
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recognized $29.2 million of income tax expense related to foreign withholding tax on royalties. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized no income tax expense.
A reconciliation of the provision for income tax to the amount computed by applying the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
202120202019
Statutory federal tax rate(21)%(21)%(21)%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit(6)%(3)%(2)%
Research and development and other tax credits(1)%— %(3)%
Non-deductible expenses
2 %4 %— %
Non-cash stock-based compensation(4)%(7)%— %
Foreign tax expense1 %— %— %
Other1 %1 %1 %
Change in tax rate— %(5)%3 %
Change in valuation allowance30 %31 %22 %
Income tax provision2 %— %— %

As of December 31, 2021, the Company has available federal, state, and foreign net operating losses of $3.2 billion, $2.8 billion, and $127.6 million, respectively, that may be applied against future taxable income. Federal net operating losses of $0.9 billion will expire in the years 2022 to 2037. The remaining $2.3 billion of federal net operating losses can be carried forward indefinitely. A portion of the foreign net operating losses will begin to expire in 2023. The Company also has research tax credits of $44.6 million that continue to expire in 2022. Utilization of the net operating loss carryforwards and credits may be subject to an annual limitation due to ownership changes of the Company. As of December 31, 2021, the Company does not expect such limitation, if any, to impact the use of the net operating losses and business tax credits.
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and in various states, as well as in Sweden and the Czech Republic. The Company has U.S. tax net operating losses and credit carryforwards that are subject to examination from 2002 through 2021. The returns in Sweden are subject to examination from 2015 through 2021 and the returns for the Czech Republic are subject to examination from 2018 through 2021.
The significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31 were as follows (in thousands):
December 31,
20212020
Deferred tax assets:
Federal and state net operating loss carryforward$845,731 $325,655 
Foreign net operating loss carryforward25,625 8,620 
Research tax credits44,618 35,065 
Lease liability 52,852 39,548 
Deferred revenue20,262 60,657 
Non-cash stock-based compensation24,698 22,577 
Original discount interest1,729 3,177 
Other11,801 12,019 
Total deferred tax assets1,027,316 507,318 
Valuation allowance(1,015,333)(504,788)
Net deferred tax assets$11,983 $2,530 
Deferred tax liabilities:
ROU assets(10,071)(1,253)
Intangibles(1,034)(1,198)
Other(878)(79)
Total deferred tax liabilities$(11,983)$(2,530)
Net deferred tax assets$— $— 
The Company has evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon the realization of its deferred tax assets, including its history of significant losses in every year since inception and, in accordance with U.S GAAP, has fully reserved the net deferred tax asset. The Company concluded that realization of its net deferred tax assets is not more-likely-than-not to be realized as of December 31, 2021. The valuation allowance increased by $510.5 million and $139.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, primarily due to the increase in net operating loss carry-forwards and research and development tax credits.
On a periodic basis, the Company reassesses the valuation allowance on its deferred income tax assets, weighing positive and negative evidence to assess the recoverability of the deferred tax assets. In 2021, the Company reassessed the valuation allowance and considered negative evidence, including its cumulative losses over the three years ended December 31, 2021, and positive evidence, including its recent regulatory authorizations for NVX-CoV2373. After assessing both the negative and positive evidence, the Company concluded that it should maintain the valuation allowance on its net operating losses and its other deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2021. The release of the valuation allowance, as well as the exact timing and the amount of such release, continue to be subject to, among other things, the Company's level of profitability, revenue growth, clinical program progression, and expectations regarding future profitability. The Company's total deferred tax asset balance subject to the valuation allowance was $1.0 billion at December 31, 2021.
The Company recognizes the effect of a tax position when it is more likely than not, based on the technical merits, that the tax position will be sustained upon examination. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of unrecognized tax benefits in the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 is as follows (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
202120202019
Unrecognized tax benefits balance at January 1,$8,766 $— $— 
Additions for tax positions of current year4,158 1,413 — 
Additions for tax positions of prior years— 7,353 — 
Reductions for tax positions of prior year(1,770)— — 
Settlements of tax positions of prior years— — — 
Unrecognized tax benefits balance at December 31,$11,154 $8,766 $— 
The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had no accruals for interest or penalties related to income tax matters. The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits that, if recognized, would affect the effective tax rate is $11.2 million.