Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Income Taxes

NOTE 11 – Income Taxes

The Company and its subsidiary are subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes. Income tax expense is the total of the current year income tax due or refundable and the change in deferred tax assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. In assessing the realization of deferred tax assets, management evaluated both positive and negative evidence, including any cumulative losses in the current year and the prior two years, the amount of taxes paid in available carry-back years, the forecasts of future income and tax planning strategies.

At September 30, 2024, the Company maintained a $449 thousand valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets because the number of shares sold in the private placements completed on April 6, 2021 triggered limitations on the use of certain tax attributes under the Section 382 of the federal tax code. The ability to use net operating losses (“NOLs”) to offset future taxable income will be restricted and these NOLs could expire or otherwise be unavailable. In general, under Section 382 of the Code and corresponding provisions of state law, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change NOLs to offset future taxable income. For these purposes, an ownership change generally occurs where the aggregate stock ownership of one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who owns at least 5% of a corporation’s stock increases its ownership by more than 50 percentage points over its lowest ownership percentage within a specified testing period.

The Company recorded an income tax expense of $209 thousand for the third quarter of 2024, compared to $39 thousand for the third quarter of 2023.  The increase in income tax expense reflected an increase of $628 thousand in pre-tax income between the two periods. The effective tax rate was 27.76% for the third quarter of 2024, compared to 31.20% for the third quarter of 2023.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, income tax expense was $298 thousand, compared to $806 thousand for the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The decrease in income tax expense reflected a decrease in pretax earnings of $1.8 million between the two periods. The effective tax rate was 32.04% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to 29.49% for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.