INCOME TAXES

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. 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 losses and tax credit carry-forwards. Under this method, 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 (loss) in the period that includes the enactment date.

The income tax provision (benefit) for the year ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 consists of the following:



	2016			2015			2014
Current	$	(1,402,179	)	$	(73,649	)	$	3,259,445
Deferred
Federal	(99,298,900		)	(398,002,555		)	87,625,430
State	(9,707,000		)	(36,608,000		)	8,482,125
Valuation Allowance	109,005,900			232,260,000			—
Total Expense (Benefit)	$	(1,402,179	)	$	(202,424,204	)	$	99,367,000

The following is a reconciliation of the reported amount of income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 to the amount of income tax expenses that would result from applying the statutory rate to pretax income.



	2016			2015			2014
Income (Loss) Before Taxes and NOL	$	(294,895,887	)	$	(1,177,778,745	)	$	263,112,945
Federal Statutory Rate	35.00		%	35.00		%	35.00		%
Taxes Computed at Federal Statutory Rates	(103,214,000		)	(412,223,000		)	92,090,000
State Taxes, Net of Federal Taxes	(6,306,000		)	(23,825,000		)	5,404,300
Non-Deductible Compensation	82,000			470,000			456,000
Share Based Compensation Tax Deficiency	(834,900		)	307,000			1,472,000
Other	(135,179		)	586,796			(55,300		)
Valuation Allowance	109,005,900			232,260,000			—
Reported Provision (Benefit)	$	(1,402,179	)	$	(202,424,204	)	$	99,367,000

A valuation allowance is established to reduce deferred tax assets if it is determined that it is more likely than not that the related tax benefit will not be realized. On a quarterly basis, management evaluates the need for and adequacy of valuation allowances based on the expected realizability of the deferred tax assets and adjusts the amount of such allowances, if necessary. During 2016, in evaluating whether it was more likely than not that the Company’s net deferred tax assets were realized through future net income, management considered all available positive and negative evidence, including (i) its earnings history, (ii) its ability to recover net operating loss carry-forwards, (iii) the existence of significant proved oil and natural gas reserves, (iv) its ability to use tax planning strategies, (v) its current price protection utilizing oil hedges, (vi) its future revenue and operating cost projections and (vii) the current market prices for oil and natural gas. Based on all the evidence available, management determined it was more likely than not that the net deferred tax assets were not realizable, therefore a valuation allowance of $341.3 million was recorded at December 31, 2016.

At December 31, 2016, the Company had a net operating loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $605.4 million. If unutilized, the federal net operating losses will expire from 2027 to 2036. At December 31, 2016, the Company had an alternative minimum tax credit for federal income tax purpose of $1.7 million. This credit carryforward does not expire.

The significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets (liabilities) were as follows:



	Years Ended December 31,
	2016			2015
Net Operating Loss (NOLs) and Tax Credit Carryforwards	$	224,679,900		$	195,207,000
Share Based Compensation	1,032,000			1,762,000
Accrued Interest	1,727,000			1,723,000
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts	1,795,000			1,662,000
Crude Oil and Natural Gas Properties and Other Properties	107,642,000			55,939,000
Derivative Instruments	4,341,000			(23,855,000		)
Other	49,000			(178,000		)
Total Net Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities) Before Valuation Allowance	341,265,900			232,260,000

Valuation Allowance	(341,265,900		)	(232,260,000		)

Total Net Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities)	$	—		$	—

Tax benefits are recognized only for tax positions that are more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by tax authorities. The amount recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. Unrecognized tax benefits are tax benefits claimed in the Company’s tax returns that do not meet these recognition and measurement standards. The Company has no liabilities for unrecognized tax benefits.

The Company’s policy is to recognize potential interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits within income tax expense. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company did not recognize any interest or penalties in its statements of operations, nor did it have any interest or penalties accrued in its balance sheet at December 31, 2016 and 2015 relating to unrecognized benefits.

The tax years 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010 remain open to examination for federal income tax purposes and by the other major taxing jurisdictions to which the Company is subject.

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH) was enacted on December 18, 2015. PATH retroactively extended various temporary individual and business tax incentives for 2015 and in some instances extended certain incentives through 2019. Bonus tax depreciation, a favorable tax incentive for the Company, was extended from 2015 through 2019. In 2016, the Company utilized $1.4 million of its alternative minimum tax credit as a result of favorable tax incentives within PATH.

The Company early-adopted a new accounting standard that simplified the accounting for stock-based compensation. As a result, the Company recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of January 1, 2016 for all windfall tax benefits that were not previously recognized because the related tax deduction had not reduced current taxes payable. The resulting deferred tax asset was assessed for realizability in accordance with GAAP. Due to the Company’s valuation allowance position, a cumulative-effect adjustment was recorded to retained earnings as of January 1, 2016, and therefore, the net effect of the early-adoption of this new accounting standard was zero. See Note 2 for additional discussion of the early-adoption of this new accounting standard.