Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Our provision for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Current:
State and local	$	(284)	$	(3,156)	$	(500)

Deferred:
State and local	(1,000)		—		—

Income tax expense	$	(1,284)	$	(3,156)	$	(500)

The tax expense recorded in the current period is primarily the result of the taxable gains from sales of properties during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded $1.6 million related to uncertain tax positions, as part of our income tax provision.

A reconciliation of our effective tax rate and the U.S. Federal statutory income tax rate is as follows:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Taxes at statutory U.S. federal income tax rate	21.00	%	21.00	%	35.00	%
Dividends paid deduction and net operating loss utilization	(21.00)	%	(21.00)	%	(35.00)	%
Federal taxes on built-in gain	—	%	—	%	—	%
State and local income taxes	0.26	%	1.14	%	1.66	%
Effective tax rate	0.26	%	1.14	%	1.66	%

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had federal net operating loss, or NOL, carryforwards of approximately $25 million and $90 million, respectively. These amounts can be used to offset future taxable income, if any. The REIT will be entitled to utilize NOL carryforwards only to the extent that REIT taxable income exceeds our deduction for dividends paid. NOLs arising in taxable years ending before January 1, 2018 can generally be carried forward 20 years, with no carryforward limitation on NOLs generated after that date. Our NOL carryforwards expire in 2037.