Note 9 - Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Notes to Financial Statements

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 9. Income Taxes

For the three and nine months ended June 30, 2021, the Company recorded income tax expense of $1,725,000 and $3,344,000, reflecting an effective tax rate of 22.1% and 20.6%, respectively. The differences between the effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2021 were primarily related to excess tax benefits from non-qualified stock options exercised during the period, research and development credits, and foreign derived intangibles income deduction (FDII). For the three and nine months ended June 30, 2020, the Company recorded income tax expense of $763,000 and $1,076,000 reflecting an effective tax rate of 20.3% and 20.2%, respectively. The differences between the effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate were related to nondeductible meals and entertainment, nondeductible stock compensation, FDII, and research and development credits.

Deferred taxes recognize the impact of temporary differences between the amounts of the assets and liabilities recorded for financial statement purposes and these amounts measured in accordance with tax laws.  The Company’s realization of deferred tax temporary differences is contingent upon future taxable earnings.  The Company reviewed its deferred tax asset for expected utilization using a “more likely than not” criteria by assessing the available positive and negative factors surrounding its recoverability and determined that as of June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020 a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets is not required. The Company will continue to assess the need for a valuation allowance based on changes in assumptions of estimated future income and other factors in future periods. 

As of June 30, 2021, the Company does not have any unrecognized tax benefits. It is the Company’s practice to recognize interest and penalties accrued on any unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense. The Company does not expect any material changes in its unrecognized tax positions over the next 12 months.