INCOME TAXES

The federal and state income tax benefit (expense) from continuing operations consisted of the following (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
Current
Federal	$	—		$	925		$	—
State	(502		)	(174		)	30
Total current	(502		)	751			30
Deferred
Federal	—			1,951			(1,744		)
State	(66		)	1,428			(301		)
Total deferred	(66		)	3,379			(2,045		)
Total tax benefit (expense)	$	(568	)	$	4,130		$	(2,015	)

The effect of temporary differences that give rise to a significant portion of deferred taxes is as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2018			2017
Deferred tax assets:
Reserves not currently deductible	$	6,634		$	10,707
Net operating loss carryforwards	128,819			110,773
Goodwill and intangibles (tax deductible)	7,853			12,757
Accrued expenses	641			95
Property basis differences	3,679			2,813
Stock based compensation	2,180			2,371
Total deferred tax assets	149,806			139,516
Deferred tax liabilities:
Other	(309		)	(180		)
Less: valuation allowance	(148,465		)	(138,238		)
Net deferred tax asset	$	1,032		$	1,098

The Company continually assesses the necessity of a valuation allowance. Based on this assessment, the Company concluded that a valuation allowance, in the amount of $148.5 million and $138.2 million, was required as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. If the Company determines in a future period that it is more likely than not that part or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized, the Company will reverse part or all of the valuation allowance.

At December 31, 2018, the Company had federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $429.8 million, of which $11.9 million is subject to an annual limitation, which will begin expiring in 2026 and later. The Company also has a carryforward of approximately $49.2 million related to the interest expense limitation, which is not subject to an expiration period. The Company has post-apportioned state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $479.7 million, the majority of which will begin expiring in 2019 and later.

A reconciliation of the federal statutory rate to the effective income tax rate from continuing operations is as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
Tax benefit at statutory rate	$	10,715		$	23,654		$	11,907
State tax benefit, net of federal taxes	1,510			4,587			1,398
Change in valuation allowance	(10,227		)	41,550			(14,725		)
Change in tax contingencies	—			10			66
Alternative minimum tax receivable	—			925			—
Corporate tax rate changes	—			(67,707		)	—
Other	(2,566		)	1,111			(661		)
Tax benefit (expense)	$	(568	)	$	4,130		$	(2,015	)

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had $1.0 million of gross unrecognized tax benefits. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (in thousands):



	Year Ended December 31,
	2018		2017			2016
Unrecognized tax benefits balance at January 1,	$	1,014	$	1,021		$	1,067
Lapse of statute of limitations	—		(7		)	(46		)
Unrecognized tax benefits balance at December 31,	$	1,014	$	1,014		$	1,021

The Company’s policy for recording interest and penalties associated with uncertain tax positions is to record such items as a component of income tax expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had a nominal amount of accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions.

The Company files income tax returns, including returns for its subsidiaries, with federal, state and local jurisdictions. The Company’s uncertain tax positions are related to tax years that remain subject to examination. As of December 31, 2018, U.S. tax returns for the years 2015 through 2018 remain subject to examination by federal tax authorities. Tax returns for the years 2014 through 2018 remain subject to examination by state and local tax authorities for a majority of the Company's state and local filings.

On December 22, 2017, the President of the United States signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”). The enactment included broad tax changes that are applicable to BioScrip, Inc. Most notably, the TCJA has established the U.S. corporate tax rate decrease from a high of 35% to a flat 21% income tax rate effective January 1, 2018.

These changes require BioScrip, Inc. to re-measure deferred tax assets and liabilities. The Company uses the asset and liability approach for accounting for income taxes. Under that method, assets and liabilities are recorded for future tax consequences attributable to the difference between financial statement balances of assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the enacted tax rates at which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. As a result of the decreased U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, the Company has revalued its ending net deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2017. Due to the full valuation allowance against substantially all net deferred tax assets, the change in deferred tax rate to 21% does not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements.