The accompanying financial statements are reported on a fiscal year, however, the Company and its corporate subsidiaries file Federal and State income tax returns on a calendar year.

The current and deferred income tax expense (benefit) for the three months ended December 31, 2019, and 2018 are as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	December 31,
(in thousands)	2019		2018
Income before income taxes	$	39,537	$	3,288
Current income tax expense		10,446		1,589
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)		1,336		(616	)
Total income tax expense	$	11,782	$	973

Our continuing practice is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense. We file U.S. Federal income tax returns and various state and local returns. A number of years may elapse before an uncertain tax position is audited and finally resolved. For our Federal income tax returns we have four tax years subject to examination. In our major state tax jurisdictions of New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, we have four years that are subject to examination. In the state tax jurisdiction of New Jersey we have five tax years that are subject to examination. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome or the timing of resolution of any particular uncertain tax position, based on our assessment of many factors, including past experience and interpretation of tax law, we believe that our provision for income taxes reflect the most probable outcome. This assessment relies on estimates and assumptions and may involve a series of complex judgments about future events.