Income Taxes

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

INCOME TAXES

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



	For the Three Months Ended September 30,				For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
U.S. federal statutory income tax rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%	21.0	%
State income taxes	3.3	%	2.5	%	2.9	%	2.5	%
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation plans	—	%	—	%	-1.2	%	—	%
Other	0.2	%	0.4	%	0.2	%	0.3	%
Effective income tax rate	24.5	%	23.9	%	22.9	%	23.8	%

State income taxes

The increases in the effective state income tax rates for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to the same periods in 2018, were primarily due to higher effective income tax rates in certain state tax jurisdictions.

Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation plans

During the first quarter of each year, we receive a tax benefit upon the vesting of restricted stock and the conversion of restricted stock units to common stock based on the fair value of the shares. The amount that this tax benefit exceeds the grant-date fair value that was recognized as stock-based compensation expense is referred to as an excess tax benefit. Excess tax benefits are recognized in provision for income taxes and reduce our effective income tax rate. The increase in excess tax benefits from 2018 to 2019 was primarily the result of an increase in the number of restricted stock units that were converted to common stock due to the timing of long-term stock award grants.