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INCOME TAXES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
Income taxes attributable to continuing operations consist of the following (amounts in millions):
For the Years Ended December 31,
202220212020
Current income tax expense/(benefit):
Federal$12.2 $20.3 $41.6 
State and local7.0 5.2 10.6 
19.2 25.5 52.2 
Deferred income tax expense/(benefit):
Federal20.4 35.9 (22.5)
State and local2.9 8.7 (4.1)
23.3 44.6 (26.6)
Income tax expense$42.5 $70.1 $25.6 

Total income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 was allocated as follows (amounts in millions):
For the Years Ended December 31,
202220212020
Income from continuing operations$42.5 $70.1 $25.6 
Interest expense(0.7)0.1 0.2 
Goodwill(2.7)3.1 — 
Tax expense recorded to additional paid-in-capital1.5 — — 
Total$40.6 $73.3 $25.8 
A reconciliation of significant differences between the reported amount of income tax expense and the expected amount of income tax expense that would result from applying the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% to income before income taxes is as follows:
For the Years Ended December 31,
202220212020
Income tax expense at U.S. federal statutory rate21.0 %21.0 %21.0 %
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit (1)5.6 5.0 2.4 
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation (1)0.3 (2.1)(12.7)
Non-deductible executive compensation0.8 1.2 2.1 
Unrecognized tax benefits (2)(1.7)— — 
Other items, net (3)0.5 (0.1)(0.6)
Income tax expense26.5 %25.0 %12.2 %
(1)On August 10, 2020, Paul B. Kusserow, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Amedisys, exercised 500,000 stock options previously awarded to him under our 2008 Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan. We recognize compensation expense for stock option awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for each separately vesting portion of the award in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation: Stock Compensation; however, the income tax deduction related to stock options is not recognized until the stock option exercise date. As a result, for awards that are expected to result in a tax deduction, a deferred tax asset is created as the entity recognizes compensation expense for U.S. GAAP purposes. If the tax deduction exceeds the cumulative U.S. GAAP compensation expense for the award, the tax benefit associated with any excess deduction is recognized as an income tax benefit in the statement of operations, resulting in a reduction of the effective tax rate. Mr. Kusserow's stock option exercise produced a $92.1 million tax deduction in excess of U.S. GAAP compensation expense, resulting in a $19.4 million federal income tax benefit and a $4.6 million state and local income tax benefit for the year ended December 31, 2020.
(2)For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized $2.7 million of federal uncertain tax positions due to a lapse of the statute of limitations.
(3)Includes various items such as non-deductible expenses, non-taxable income, tax credits, valuation allowance, uncertain tax positions and return-to-accrual adjustments.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company had income taxes receivable of $8.8 million and $8.2 million, respectively, included in other current assets within our consolidated balance sheets.
Deferred tax assets (liabilities) consist of the following components (amounts in millions):
As of December 31,
20222021
Deferred tax assets:
Accrued payroll & employee benefits$14.1 $13.2 
Workers’ compensation10.6 10.5 
Share-based compensation5.7 6.2 
Legal & compliance matters4.7 6.2 
Lease liability27.8 27.3 
Deferred social security taxes (1)— 6.9 
Net operating loss carryforwards11.6 13.6 
Tax credit carryforwards2.9 2.5 
Other assets0.2 0.5 
Gross deferred tax assets77.6 86.9 
Less: valuation allowance(5.2)(3.3)
Net deferred tax assets72.4 83.6 
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property and equipment(6.6)(8.1)
Amortization of intangible assets(48.5)(32.3)
Deferred revenue— (4.5)
Investment in partnerships(10.0)(10.8)
Right-of-use asset(27.0)(26.7)
Other liabilities(0.7)(0.9)
Gross deferred tax liabilities(92.8)(83.3)
Deferred income taxes$(20.4)$0.3 
(1)The CARES Act provided for the deferral of the employer share of social security tax (6.2%), effective for payments due after the enactment date through December 31, 2020. Fifty percent of the deferred payroll taxes were due on December 31, 2021 with the remaining amounts due on December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had a remaining balance of deferred social security taxes of $27 million, reflected within our consolidated balance sheets, which was paid in December 2022. For income tax purposes, the deferred social security taxes are deductible when paid, leaving no remaining deferred tax asset as of December 31, 2022.
As of December 31, 2022, we have U.S. net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of $20.9 million that are available to reduce future taxable income and may be carried forward indefinitely. While the NOL carryforwards are not subject to expiration, the annual NOL amount that is available to offset future taxable income is subject to limitation. The NOL carryforwards were acquired as part of the stock purchase of Contessa on August 1, 2021. Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ("Section 382"), substantial changes in a Company’s ownership may limit the amount of NOL carryforwards that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income. As a result of the ownership change, the Company determined that there is an annual limitation, pursuant to Section 382, on the amount of NOL carryforwards that may be utilized to offset future taxable income.
As of December 31, 2022, we have state NOL carryforwards of $144.7 million that are available to reduce future taxable income and various state tax credits totaling $3.7 million available to reduce future state income taxes. The state NOL and tax credit carryforwards expire at various times.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, which is related to certain state NOLs, was $5.2 million and $3.3 million, respectively. The net change in the total valuation allowance for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was an increase of $1.9 million and an increase of $3.2 million, respectively. The $1.9 million increase in the valuation allowance for the year ended December 31, 2022 is due to Contessa's creation of state NOL carryforwards in jurisdictions that require separate company reporting and where the Company does not expect to have sufficient separate company future taxable income available to offset the state NOL carryforwards.
In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income in those jurisdictions during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities (including the impact of available carryback and carryforward periods), projected future taxable income and tax-planning strategies in making this assessment. In order to fully realize the deferred tax assets, the Company will need to generate future taxable income before the expiration of the carryforwards governed by the tax code. Based on the current level of pre-tax earnings, the Company will generate the minimum amount of future taxable income needed to support the realization of the deferred tax assets. As a result, as of December 31, 2022, management believes that it is more likely than not that we will realize the benefits of these deferred tax assets, net of the existing valuation allowances. The amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable, however, could be reduced in the near term if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward period are reduced.
Uncertain Tax Positions
We account for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the authoritative guidance for uncertain tax positions. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows (amounts in millions):
For the Years Ended December 31,
202220212020
Balance at beginning of period$2.7 $2.7 $2.7 
Additions for tax positions related to current year— — — 
Additions for tax positions related to prior year— — — 
Reductions for tax positions related to prior years— — — 
Lapse of statute of limitations(2.7)— — 
Settlements— — — 
Balance at end of period$— $2.7 $2.7 
As of December 31, 2021, there was $2.7 million of unrecognized tax benefits recorded in other long-term obligations within the consolidated balance sheets. During 2022, the statute of limitations lapsed, ultimately removing the uncertainty surrounding the Company's ability to recognize the tax positions, if challenged under audit. As a result, the Company recognized a $2.7 million income tax benefit and corresponding reduction in our effective tax rate for the period ended December 31, 2022.
We recognized $0.1 million and $0.2 million of interest as components of interest expense in connection with our reserve for uncertain tax positions during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. For the period ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded a $0.7 million benefit as a component of interest expense, as a result of the lapse of the statute of limitations and corresponding release of the reserve for uncertain tax positions. Accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions included in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2021 was $0.7 million. There was no accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions included in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2022.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and in many individual states, with significant operations in Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts and Tennessee. We are open to examination in the U.S. and in various individual states for the tax years ended December 31, 2014 through December 31, 2022. We are also open to examination in various states for the years ended 2007 through 2022 resulting from NOLs generated and available for carryforward from those years.