Income Taxes

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2021

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Our effective income tax rate was 25.6% and 30.6% for the three months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decrease from the second quarter of 2020 was primarily due to the decrease in the current quarter accruals for reserves of unrecognized tax benefits and the pretax mix across jurisdictions with disparate tax rates, partially offset by the second quarter of 2020 beneficial impact of changes in valuation allowance related to research and development (R&D) credits. Our effective income tax rate was 25.4% and 26.1% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decrease from the first half of 2020 was primarily due to the decrease in the current quarter accruals of reserves of unrecognized tax benefits and the pretax mix across jurisdictions with disparate tax rates, partially offset by the first half of 2020 beneficial impact of changes in valuation allowance related to R&D credits.

The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits as of June 30, 2021 was $15.5 million, of which $14.9 million would affect our effective tax rate if recognized. Additionally, the balance of unrecognized tax benefits as of June 30, 2021 also included $0.6 million of tax benefits that, if recognized, would result in adjustments to other tax accounts, primarily deferred taxes.

We recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits through income tax expense. As of June 30, 2021, we had $1.5 million accrued for the payment of interest.

We are subject to taxation in the U.S. and various state and foreign jurisdictions. Our tax years from 2016 through 2020 are subject to examination by the tax authorities. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to U.S. federal, state, local and foreign examinations by tax authorities for the years before 2016.