Income Taxes

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

In December 2017, comprehensive changes in United States federal income taxes were enacted through legislation commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). The Tax Act made many significant modifications to the tax laws, including reducing the federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018. The Tax Act also eliminated federal bonus depreciation for utilities, limited interest deductibility for non-utility businesses and limited the deductibility of officer compensation. During 2020, the IRS issued final regulations related to certain officer compensation and, in January 2021, issued final regulations on interest deductibility that provide a 10% “de minimis” exception that allows entities with predominantly regulated activities to fully deduct interest expenses. In addition, in 2020, the IRS finalized regulations interpreting Tax Act amendments to depreciation provisions of the IRC that allowed the Company to claim a bonus depreciation deduction on certain construction projects placed in service subsequent to the third quarter of 2017. See additional discussion of the impacts of the Tax Act in Note 18 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2021 Annual Reports on Form 10-K. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was enacted. Among other things, the CARES Act includes tax provisions that generally loosen restrictions on NOL utilization and business interest deductions, and accelerate refunds of previously generated alternative minimum tax credits. In addition, the CARES Act includes a temporary provision allowing businesses to defer payments to the government for some payroll taxes. In 2020, the Company applied for $5.2 million of accelerated refunds of previously generated alternative minimum tax ("AMT") credits and deferred $7.0 million of payments for certain payroll taxes. The Company received the $5.2 million refund of prior AMT credits in June 2021 and paid $3.5 million of payroll taxes in December 2021. The CARES Act provisions related to NOL utilization and business interest deductions are not applicable for the Company.

Beginning February 2018, PNM’s NM 2016 Rate Case reflects the reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate, including amortization of excess deferred federal and state income taxes. In accordance with the order in that case, PNM is returning the protected portion of excess deferred federal income taxes to customers over the average remaining life of plant in service as of December 31, 2017, and the unprotected portion of excess deferred federal income taxes to customers over a period of approximately twenty-three years. Excess deferred state income taxes were returned to customers over a three-year period, which concluded in the first quarter of 2021. The approved settlement in the TNMP 2018 Rate Case includes a reduction in customer rates to reflect the impacts of the Tax Act beginning on January 1, 2019. PNMR, PNM, and TNMP will amortize federal excess deferred income taxes of $23.6 million, $14.4 million, and $9.2 million in 2022. See additional discussion of PNM’s NM 2016 Rate Case and TNMP’s 2018 Rate Case in Note 17 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2021 Annual Reports on Form 10-K.

The Company makes an estimate of its anticipated effective tax rate for the year as of the end of each quarterly period within its fiscal year. In interim periods, income tax expense is calculated by applying the anticipated annual effective tax rate to year-to-date earnings before income taxes. Certain unusual or infrequently occurring items, including excess tax benefits or tax deficiencies related to stock awards and taxes on Merger-related costs are excluded from the estimated annual effective tax rate calculation. At March 31, 2022, PNMR, PNM, and TNMP estimated their effective income tax rates for the year ended December 31, 2022 would be 13.12%, 14.50%, and 12.37%. The primary difference between the statutory income tax rates and the effective tax rates is the effect of the reduction in income tax expense resulting from the amortization of excess deferred federal income taxes.