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Income Taxes
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes

Note 5: Income Taxes

For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, the Company recorded net income of approximately $61.3 million. Due to projected tax losses for the year ending December 31, 2016 and the existence of NOL carry forwards which have a 100% valuation allowance recorded to reduce them to zero, the Company has not recorded an income tax expense or benefit for the three or nine months ended September 30, 2016. The Company recorded no income tax expense or benefit for the year ended December 31, 2015 due to tax losses in that period.

The Company files a consolidated federal income tax return. Pursuant to a tax sharing agreement, WMMRC’s federal income tax liability is calculated on a separate return basis determined by applying 35% to taxable income, in accordance with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) that apply to property and casualty insurance companies. WMIH, as WMMRC’s parent, pays federal income taxes on behalf of WMMRC and settles the federal income tax obligation on a current basis in accordance with the tax sharing agreement. WMMRC made no tax payments to WMIH during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 or the year ended December 31, 2015 associated with the Company’s tax liability from the preceding year.

Deferred federal income taxes arise from temporary differences between the valuation of assets and liabilities as determined for financial reporting purposes and income tax purposes. Temporary differences principally relate to discounting of loss reserves, accruals, NOLs, and unrealized gains and losses on investments. As of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company recorded a valuation allowance equal to 100% of the net deferred federal income tax asset due to uncertainty regarding the Company’s ability to realize these benefits in the future.

On March 19, 2012, WMIH emerged from bankruptcy. Prior to emergence, WMI abandoned the stock of WMB, thereby generating a worthless stock deduction of approximately $8.37 billion which gave rise to a NOL for the year ended December 31, 2012. Under Section 382 of the Code, and based on the Company’s analysis, we believe that the Company experienced an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in our equity ownership over a three-year period) on March 19, 2012, and our ability to use our pre-ownership change NOLs and other pre-change tax attributes against our post-change income was limited. The Section 382 limitation is applied annually so as to limit the use of our pre-change NOLs to an amount that generally equals the value of our stock immediately before the ownership change multiplied by a designated federal long-term tax-exempt rate. Due to applicable limitations under Section 382 and a reduction of tax attributes due to cancellation of indebtedness, a portion of these NOLs were limited and will expire unused. We believe that the total available and utilizable NOL carry forward at December 31, 2015 is approximately $6.0 billion. At September 30, 2016, there was no limitation on the use of these NOLs. These NOLs will begin to expire in 2031. The Company’s ability to utilize the NOLs or realize any benefits related to the NOLs is subject to a number of risks. (see Part I-Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015).

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the income tax accounting guidance. The Company has analyzed filing positions in the federal and state jurisdictions where it is required to file tax returns, as well as the open tax years in these jurisdictions. Tax years 2011 to present are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service. The Company believes that its federal income tax filing positions and deductions will be sustained on audit and does not anticipate any adjustments that will result in a material change to its financial position. Therefore, no reserves for uncertain federal income tax positions have been recorded. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of the provision for federal income taxes. The Company did not incur any federal income tax related interest income, interest expense or penalties for the periods ended September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015.