INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]

Net Provision For Income Tax

The Company’s provision for income taxes charged during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2017, 2016, and 2015 are as follows:

	2017			2016			2015
Federal
Current	$	0.1		$	0.1		$	(3.3	)
Deferred	67.7			62.0			58.8
Investment tax credits	(0.2		)	(0.2		)	(0.2		)
State and local
Current	0.5			0.6			—
Deferred	9.5			7.0			6.9
Total income tax expense	$	77.6		$	69.5		$	62.2

Effective income tax rate variation from stated tax rate

The Company’s effective income tax rate varied from the federal statutory income tax rate for each year due to the following:

	2017		2016		2015
Federal income tax statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefits	2.8		2.8		3.0
Certain expenses capitalized on books and deducted on tax return	(2.3	)	(3.4	)	(3.7	)
Taxes related to prior years	(0.9	)	(0.2	)	(0.6	)
Other items – net *	(2.2	)	(1.7	)	(2.5	)
Effective income tax rate	32.4	%	32.5	%	31.2	%

* Other consists primarily of property adjustments.

Significant Items in Net Deferred Tax Liability

The Company’s significant items comprising the net deferred tax liability recorded in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30 are as follows:

	2017		2016
Deferred tax assets:
Reserves not currently deductible	$	31.5	$	21.3
Pension and other postretirement benefits	58.6		68.3
Operating losses	169.6		102.3
Other	26.0		—
Deferred tax assets	285.7		191.9
Less: valuation allowance	0.5		0.9
Total deferred tax assets	285.2		191.0
Deferred tax liabilities:
Relating to property	728.3		623.1
Regulatory pension and other postretirement benefits	108.0		106.8
Deferred gas costs	30.6		20.0
Other**	125.8		48.4
Total deferred tax liabilities	992.7		798.3
Net deferred tax liability	$	707.5	$	607.3

Unrecognized Tax Benefit Reconciliation

The following table presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits:

	2017			2016			2015
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of year	$	10.0		$	7.1		$	4.6
Increases related to tax positions taken in current year	2.4			3.4			2.9
Reductions due to lapse of applicable statute of limitations	(1.4		)	(0.5		)	(0.4		)
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of year	$	11.0		$	10.0		$	7.1

Spire Missouri

Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]

Net Provision For Income Tax

’s provision for income taxes charged during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2017, 2016, and 2015 are as follows:

	2017			2016			2015
Federal
Current	$	—		$	—		$	(2.1	)
Deferred	42.0			37.5			40.9
Investment tax credits	(0.2		)	(0.2		)	(0.2		)
State and local
Current	—			0.1			(0.1		)
Deferred	5.7			8.0			4.7
Total income tax expense	$	47.5		$	45.4		$	43.2

Effective income tax rate variation from stated tax rate

’s effective income tax rate varied from the federal statutory income tax rate for each year due to the following:

	2017		2016		2015
Federal income tax statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefits	2.8		2.8		2.8
Certain expenses capitalized on books and deducted on tax return	(3.5	)	(4.8	)	(4.9	)
Taxes related to prior years	(1.4	)	(0.2	)	(0.8	)
Other items – net *	(3.3	)	(2.8	)	(3.0	)
Effective income tax rate	29.6	%	30.0	%	29.1	%

* Other consists primarily of property adjustments.

Significant Items in Net Deferred Tax Liability

’s significant items comprising the net deferred tax liability reported in the Balance Sheets as of September 30 are as follows:

	2017		2016
Deferred tax assets:
Reserves not currently deductible	$	25.3	$	14.9
Pension and other postretirement benefits	52.7		56.9
Operating losses	52.0		29.9
Deferred tax assets	130.0		101.7
Less: valuation allowance	0.5		0.9
Total deferred tax assets	129.5		100.8
Deferred tax liabilities:
Relating to utility property	563.2		497.0
Regulatory pension and other postretirement benefits	108.0		106.8
Deferred gas costs	25.0		20.0
Other	57.1		33.9
Total deferred tax liabilities	753.3		657.7
Net deferred tax liability	$	623.8	$	556.9

Unrecognized Tax Benefit Reconciliation

The following table presents a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of Spire Missouri unrecognized tax benefits:

	2017			2016			2015
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of year	$	9.7		$	6.9		$	4.2
Increases related to tax positions taken in current year	2.4			3.3			2.9
Reductions due to lapse of applicable statute of limitations	(1.4		)	(0.5		)	(0.2		)
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of year	$	10.7		$	9.7		$	6.9

Spire Alabama

Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]

Net Provision For Income Tax

’s provision for income taxes charged during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2017, 2016, and 2015, are as follows:

	2017		2016			2015
Federal
Current	$	—	$	(0.8	)	$	—
Deferred	31.6		29.4			25.9
State and local
Current	—		—			0.1
Deferred	4.2		3.8			3.3
Total income tax expense	$	35.8	$	32.4		$	29.3

Effective income tax rate variation from stated tax rate

’s effective income tax rate varied from the federal statutory income tax rate for each year due to the following:

	2017		2016		2015
Federal income tax statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefits	2.8		2.8		2.8
Other items – net	0.3		0.1		0.1
Effective income tax rate	38.1	%	37.9	%	37.9	%

Significant Items in Net Deferred Tax Liability

’s significant items comprising the net deferred tax asset reported in the Balance Sheets as of September 30 are as follows:

	2017		2016
Deferred tax assets:
Reserves not currently deductible	$	6.0	$	6.3
Pension and other postretirement benefits	4.4		11.4
Goodwill	214.4		233.4
Operating losses	88.3		60.2
Total deferred tax assets	313.1		311.3
Deferred tax liabilities:
Relating to utility property	119.3		87.6
Other	8.2		2.3
Total deferred tax liabilities	127.5		89.9
Net deferred tax asset	$	185.6	$	221.4