Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company’s tax provision for interim periods is determined using an estimated annual effective tax rate, adjusted for discrete items arising in that quarter. In each quarter, the estimated annual effective tax rate is updated and a year to date adjustment is made to the provision. The Company’s quarterly effective tax rate is subject to significant change due to the effect of discrete items arising in a given quarter.

Income tax expense for the quarter and year to date ended September 30, 2019, was $3,025 and $4,208, respectively, for an effective tax rate of 26.9 percent and 14.0 percent, respectively. For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the effective tax rate differed from the 21 percent federal statutory rate on pretax income, primarily due to state income taxes and the discrete tax impact of the legal matters discussed in Note 7, partially offset by state and federal tax credits. For the year to date ended September 30, 2019, the effective tax rate differed from the 21 percent federal statutory rate on pretax income, primarily due to the tax impact of vested share-based awards, the tax impact of state and federal tax credits, partially offset by state income taxes, discrete tax impact of the legal matters discussed in Note 7, and certain compensation being subject to the compensation deduction limitations applicable for public companies.

Income tax expense for the quarter and year to date ended September 30, 2018, was $2,673 and $7,244, respectively, for an effective tax rate of 22.9 percent and 22.1 percent, respectively. For the quarter, the effective tax rate differed from the 21 percent federal statutory rate on pretax income, primarily due to state taxes, including a reduction of state taxes for state income tax credits in Indiana and Kansas. Year to date, the effective tax rate differed from the 21 percent federal statutory rate on pretax income, primarily due to a change in estimate in 2018 related to the income tax impact on the 2017 sale of the Company’s equity method investment and state taxes, partially offset by the impact of income tax benefits related to vested share-based awards and state and federal tax credits.