Note 13. INCOME TAXES

 

For financial reporting purposes, the net pre-tax book loss for the United States and foreign entities, in the aggregate, was:

 

   Year Ended   Year Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
   2025   2024 
         
Federal  $(1,436,000)  $(1,366,000)
Foreign   
-
    
-
 
Total  $(1,436,000)  $(1,366,000)

 

The provision for (benefit from) income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, is set forth below:

 

   Year Ended   Year Ended 
   December 31,   December 31, 
Current  2025   2024 
Federal  $(131,000)  $
      -
 
State   
-
    
-
 
Foreign   
-
    
-
 
Total Provision for Income Taxes  $(131,000)  $
-
 

 

The following is a reconciliation of our effective tax rate on income and the statutory rate for the year ended December 31, 2025:

 

   Year Ended     
   December 31,     
   2025     
         
Current tax at U.S statutory rate  $(301,000)   21.0%
State and local taxes, net of federal taxes (a)   
-
    0.0%
           
Changes in Valuation Allowance   154,000    -10.7%
           
Nondeductible / non taxable items          
Nondeductible/ nontaxable items   31,000    -2.2%
Other Adjustments          
Deferred Adjustment - Asset Write-Down Related to Transferable Credit   115,000    -8.0%
True-up and Other   1,000    -0.1%
Sale of Transferable Credit   (131,000)   9.1%
Income tax expense  $(131,000)   9.1%

 

(a)For the year ended December 31, 2025, state taxes in California and New York made up the majority (greater than 50% of the tax effect).

 

The rate reconciliation above has been adjusted to be presented in compliance with the guidance under ASU No. 2023-09. The Company has adopted this guidance on a prospective basis.

As previously disclosed for the year ended December 31, 2024, prior to the adoption of ASU No. 2023-09, the following is a reconciliation of our income tax rate computed using the federal statutory rate to our actual income tax rate.

 

   Year Ended 
   December 31, 
   2024 
U.S. statutory income tax rate   21.00%
State taxes, net of federal benefit   0.22%
Permanent difference, overaccruals,and non-deductible items   -0.82%
Change in state rate   -7.53%
Deferred tax valuation allowance   -13.77%
True-up and Other   0.90%
Total   0.00%

 

Deferred income taxes reflect the net effects of temporary differences between carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Realization of net deferred tax assets is dependent upon future earnings, if any, the timing and amount of which are uncertain.

 

The components of net deferred tax assets at December 31, are set forth below:

 

   December 31,   December 31, 
   2025   2024 
Deferred tax assets:        
Current:        
Net operation loss  $4,990,000   $4,871,000 
Allowance for doubtful accounts   158,000    140,000 
Inventory - IRC 263A adjustment   356,000    296,000 
Stock based compensation - options and restricted stock   425,000    218,000 
Capitalized engineering costs   75,000    134,000 
Amortization - NTW Transaction   107,000    178,000 
Inventory reserve   470,000    644,000 
Deferred gain on sale of real estate   5,000    14,000 
Accrued Expenses   54,000    113,000 
Disallowed interest   2,480,000    2,269,000 
Operating lease liabilities   153,000    339,000 
Charitable Contributions   2,000    
-
 
Total deferred tax asset before valuation allowance   9,275,000    9,216,000 
Valuation allowance   (8,306,000)   (8,091,000)
Total deferred tax asset after valuation allowance   969,000    1,125,000 
           
Right of Use Asset   (112,000)   (255,000)
Property and equipment   (857,000)   (870,000)
Total deferred tax liabilities   (969,000)   (1,125,000)
           
Net deferred tax asset  $
-
   $
-
 

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill was enacted (“OBBBA”), introducing significant and wide-ranging changes to the U.S. federal tax system. Significant components include restoration of 100% accelerated tax depreciation on qualifying property including expansion to cover qualified production property.   Another major aspect includes the return to immediate expensing of domestic research and experimental expenditures (“R&E”) which in some cases may include retroactive application back to 2021 for businesses with gross receipts of less than $31 million or accelerated tax deductions of R&E that was previously capitalized for larger businesses.  The legislation also reinstates EBITDA-based interest deductions for tax purposes and makes several business tax incentives permanent.  Less favorable business provisions include limitations on tax deductions for charitable contributions. In accordance with ASC 740, the Company recognized the effects of the OBBBA in the period that included the enactment date. The Company continues to evaluate the ongoing effects of the OBBBA, including the interaction of the enacted provisions with its existing tax attributes and elections.

 

During the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recorded a valuation allowance equal to its net deferred tax assets. The Company determined that due to a recent history of net losses, at this time sufficient uncertainty exists regarding the future realization of these deferred tax assets through future taxable income. If, in the future, the Company believes that it is more likely than not that these deferred tax benefits will be realized, the valuation allowances will be reduced or eliminated. With a full valuation allowance, any change in the deferred tax asset or liability is fully offset by a corresponding change in the valuation allowance. At December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company provided a valuation allowance on its net deferred tax assets of $8,306,000 and $8,091,000, respectively. The Company’s valuation allowance increased by $215,000 and $188,000 for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

 

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a Federal net operating loss carry forward of approximately $22,396,000, of which approximately $14,016,000 expires from 2033 through 2037 and $8,380,000 does not expire. In addition, the Company has net operating loss carryforwards from various states of approximately $4,492,000 which expire starting in 2035.

 

The utilization of the Company’s net operating losses may be subject to a U.S. federal limitation due to the “change in ownership provisions” under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code and other similar limitations in various state jurisdictions. Such limitations may result in a reduction of the amount of net operating loss carryforwards in future years and possibly the expiration of certain net operating loss carryforwards before their utilization.

 

During the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company generated Section 48 Energy Property Tax Credits related to qualifying energy property. The Company sold these credits to an unrelated third party. The impact of the sale are reflected in the transferable credit line items outlined in the rate reconciliation above.

 

At December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had no material unrecognized tax benefits and no adjustments to liabilities or operations were required. The Company does not expect that its unrecognized tax benefits will materially increase within the next twelve months. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in interest expense. As of December 31, 2025, and 2024, the Company has not recorded any provisions for accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

 

In certain cases, the Company’s uncertain tax positions are related to tax years that remain subject to examination by the relevant tax authorities. The Company files federal and state income tax returns in jurisdictions with varying statutes of limitations. The 2022 through 2025 tax years generally remain subject to examination by federal and state tax authorities.

 

There were no payments made in relation to income taxes for the year ending December 31, 2025.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Mar 27, 2026Showing above
2024Apr 15, 2025
2023Apr 15, 2024
2022May 16, 2023
2021Mar 25, 2022
2020Mar 29, 2021
2019Mar 27, 2020
2018Apr 1, 2019
2015Apr 4, 2016

About Income Taxes Disclosures

The income tax disclosure reveals how much a company actually pays in taxes versus what the statutory rate would predict. Analysts focus on the effective tax rate (ETR) reconciliation, which breaks down every item driving the gap between the 21% federal rate and the company's reported ETR — including R&D credits, foreign rate differentials, and state taxes. Deferred tax assets (DTAs) and their valuation allowances signal management's confidence in future profitability: a rising allowance suggests the company doubts it can use accumulated tax benefits. Uncertain tax benefit (UTB) reserves quantify exposure to IRS challenges on aggressive positions.

Key signals to watch: sudden ETR drops without clear operational reasons, large increases in valuation allowances, growing UTB balances, and significant unremitted foreign earnings. Post-TCJA, pay attention to GILTI and BEAT provisions that affect multinational tax structures. Compare the cash taxes paid (from the cash flow statement) against the income tax provision to gauge earnings quality.