11. Income Taxes:

A reconciliation of the expected federal income tax expense based on the federal statutory tax rate to the actual income tax expense is provided below:


	Year Ended
	December 28, 2019		December 29, 2018		December 30, 2017
Federal income tax expense at statutory rate (21%, 21%, 35%)	$	8,708,200	$	8,249,400	$	12,758,000
Change in valuation allowance		147,900		(13,800)		7,500
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit		1,310,800		1,334,100		1,057,100
Permanent differences, including stock option expenses		(1,056,800)		(355,500)		(628,400)
Adjustment to uncertain tax positions		(58,500)		4,500		77,800
Rate change		—		—		(1,540,300)
Other, net		266,500		(61,100)		139,300
Actual income tax expense	$	9,318,100	$	9,157,600	$	11,871,000

Components of the provision for income taxes are as follows:


	Year Ended
	December 28, 2019		December 29, 2018		December 30, 2017
Current:
Federal	$	9,076,400	$	6,355,800	$	10,296,100
State		1,693,800		1,551,000		1,688,100
Foreign		363,200		423,000		365,900
Current provision		11,133,400		8,329,800		12,350,100
Deferred:
Federal		(1,834,800)		967,300		(463,800)
State		19,500		(139,500)		(15,300)
Deferred provision		(1,815,300)		827,800		(479,100)
Total provision for income taxes	$	9,318,100	$	9,157,600	$	11,871,000

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to the net deferred income tax assets and liabilities are presented below:


	December 28, 2019		December 29, 2018
Deferred tax assets:
Accounts receivable and lease reserves	$	154,700	$	215,900
Non-qualified stock option expense		1,758,100		2,071,600
Deferred revenue		1,957,500		2,020,100
Trademarks		34,500		39,800
Lease deposits		930,700		1,004,700
Loss from and impairment of equity and note investments		2,595,500		2,620,700
Foreign tax credits		173,100		—
Valuation allowance		(2,768,600)		(2,620,700)
Other		194,400		331,400
Total deferred tax assets		5,029,900		5,683,500
Deferred tax liabilities:
Lease revenue and initial direct costs		(4,207,400)		(6,664,800)
Depreciation and amortization		(155,500)		(167,000)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(4,362,900)		(6,831,800)
Total net deferred tax assets (liabilities)	$	667,000	$	(1,148,300)

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) was signed into law. The Tax Act made changes to the U.S. tax code that affected our income tax rates in 2017, 2018 and 2019, notably the reduction of the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% beginning in 2018. Accounting guidance applicable to income taxes required us to recognize the impact of the change in tax rate on our existing deferred tax assets and liabilities as of the date that the Tax Act was signed into law. We recorded a reduction in our 2017 income tax expense of $1.5 million and a corresponding reduction in our net deferred income tax liabilities as a result of the decrease in the federal income tax rate.

The Company has assessed its taxable earnings history and prospective future taxable income. Based upon this assessment, the Company has determined that it is more likely than not that its deferred tax assets will be realized in future periods and no valuation allowance is necessary, except for the deferred tax assets related to the loss from and impairment of equity and note investments (which are capital losses for tax purposes) and the foreign tax credits. As a result, valuation allowances of $2.8 million and $2.6 million as of December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018, respectively, have been recorded.

The amount of unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, as of December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018, was $532,500 and $589,000, respectively, primarily for potential state taxes.

The Company recognizes interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits and penalties as income tax expense for all periods presented. The Company had accrued approximately $33,500 and $37,700 for the payment of interest and penalties at December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018, respectively.

The following table summarizes the activity related to the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits:


	Total
Balance at December 30, 2017	$	551,100
Increases related to current year tax positions		135,600
Expiration of the statute of limitations for the assessment of taxes		(135,400)
Balance at December 29, 2018		551,300
Increases related to current year tax positions		131,900
Expiration of the statute of limitations for the assessment of taxes		(184,200)
Balance at December 28, 2019	$	499,000

The Company and its subsidiaries file income tax returns in the U.S. federal, numerous state and certain foreign jurisdictions. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2015. We expect various statutes of limitation to expire during the next 12 months. Due to the uncertain response of taxing authorities, a range of outcomes cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.