NOTE 10.           INCOME TAXES

Pretax income shown from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2025 is as follows:

(in thousands)

  ​ ​ ​

2025

Domestic

$

45,935

Total pretax income from continuing operations

$

45,935

The Company did not have any income tax expense (benefit) in foreign jurisdictions for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023.

The following table summarizes the current and deferred components of income tax expense (benefit) for each of the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023:

(in thousands)

  ​ ​ ​

2025

Current Expense:

 

  ​

Federal

$

7,395

State and city

 

1,685

Total current tax expense

 

9,080

Deferred tax (benefit) expense:

Federal

 

(278)

State and city

 

214

Total income tax expense

$

9,016

(in thousands)

  ​ ​ ​

2024

  ​ ​ ​

2023

Current:

 

  ​

 

  ​

Federal tax expense

$

7,688

$

10,704

State tax expense

 

1,748

 

2,247

Total current tax expense

 

9,436

 

12,951

Deferred tax (benefit) expense

 

(366)

 

(686)

Total income tax expense

$

9,070

$

12,265

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09 – Income Taxes (Topic 740) – Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, intended to enhance the transparency of income tax disclosures primarily related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. ASU 2023-09 became effective for the Company on January 1, 2025 for annual reporting periods on a prospective basis.

The following table reconciles the expected federal income tax expense (computed by applying the federal statutory tax rate of 21%) to recorded income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023:

2025

(in thousands, except ratios)

Amount

Rate

U.S. Federal statutory tax rate

  ​ ​ ​

$

9,646

  ​ ​ ​

21.00

%  

State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect (a)

 

1,500

 

3.20

 

Tax credits, net of benefits (b)

 

(263)

 

(0.57)

 

Nontaxable or nondeductible items:

 

 

 

Tax exempt interest Income

 

(1,492)

 

(3.22)

 

Bank owned life insurance income

 

(535)

 

(1.16)

 

Other

 

160

 

0.72

 

Effective tax rate

$

9,016

 

19.64

%  

(a)State taxes in New Hampshire and Massachusetts made up the majority (greater than 50 percent) of the tax effect in this category.
(b)Includes tax expense related to proportional amortization of $1.4 million and tax benefit related to flow-through losses of $175 thousand.

2024

2023

 

(in thousands, except ratios)

Amount

Rate

Amount

Rate

 

Statutory tax rate

  ​ ​ ​

$

11,049

  ​ ​ ​

21.00

%  

$

11,995

  ​ ​ ​

21.00

%  

Increase (decrease) resulting from:

 

  ​

 

 

  ​

 

 

State taxes, net of federal benefit

 

1,287

 

2.45

 

1,539

 

2.69

 

Tax exempt interest

 

(1,405)

 

(2.67)

 

(1,042)

 

(1.82)

 

Federal tax credits

 

(239)

 

(0.45)

 

(471)

 

(0.82)

 

Officers' life insurance

 

(416)

 

(0.79)

 

(578)

 

(1.01)

 

Gain on disposal of low income housing tax credit investments

 

 

 

 

 

Stock-based compensation plans

 

(37)

 

(0.07)

 

17

 

0.03

 

Other

 

(1,169)

(2.22)

 

805

 

1.40

 

Effective tax rate

$

9,070

 

17.25

%  

$

12,265

 

21.47

%  

The Company did not have any income tax expense (benefit) in foreign jurisdictions for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023.

Income taxes paid were as follows:

(in thousands, except ratios)

2025

Federal

  ​ ​ ​

$

5,000

State and local

 

  ​

New Hampshire

 

625

Massachusetts

 

450

Maine

 

320

All other states

 

204

Total

$

6,599

The net deferred tax asset was $29.9 million at December 31, 2025 and $23.3 million at December 31, 2024.

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities at December 31, 2025 and 2024 are summarized below:

(in thousands)

2025

Deferred Tax Assets:

Unrealized gain or loss on securities available for sale

$

10,106

Allowance for credit losses

8,158

Acquired available-for-sale debt securities fair value mark

  ​ ​ ​

4,620

Deferred compensation

 

4,907

Lease liability

 

2,394

Equity compensation

 

1,491

Unrealized gain or loss on derivatives

 

905

Non-accrual interest

 

887

Contract incentives

 

860

Deferred loan origination fees, net

 

543

Acquisition fair value adjustments

 

7,512

Other

Total gross deferred tax assets

42,383

Deferred tax liabilities:

Acquired deposits and core deposit intangible

3,674

Right of use asset

 

2,216

Branch acquisition costs and goodwill

 

2,687

Depreciation

 

1,910

Mortgage servicing rights

 

795

Prepaid pension

738

Prepaid expenses

 

421

Other

 

16

Total deferred tax liabilities

 

12,457

Net deferred tax asset

$

29,926

2024

(in thousands)

Assets

Liabilities

Allowance for credit losses

$

6,872

$

Deferred compensation

 

3,941

 

Unrealized gain or loss on securities available for sale

 

14,557

 

Unrealized gain or loss on derivatives

 

786

 

Depreciation

 

 

1,403

Deferred loan origination fees, net

 

13

 

Non-accrual interest

 

731

 

Branch acquisition costs and goodwill

 

 

2,363

Core deposit intangible

 

 

547

Acquisition fair value adjustments

 

260

 

Prepaid expenses

 

 

287

Mortgage servicing rights

 

 

738

Equity compensation

 

1,269

 

Prepaid pension

 

 

673

Contract incentives

 

391

 

Right of use asset

 

 

2,053

Lease liability

 

2,209

 

Other

 

365

 

Total

$

31,394

$

8,064

The Company has determined that a valuation allowance is not required for its net deferred tax asset since it is more likely than not that this asset is realizable principally through future taxable income and future reversal of existing temporary differences.

GAAP requires the measurement of unrecorded tax benefits related to uncertain tax positions. An unrecorded tax benefit is the difference between the tax benefit of a position taken, or expected to be taken on a tax return and the benefit recorded for accounting purposes. At December 31, 2025 and 2024, we had no unrecorded tax benefits and do not expect our position to significantly change within the next 12 months.

We are subject to income tax in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and also in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and various other states. We are no longer subject to examination by taxing authorities for years before 2022.

In July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law, which included a broad range of tax reform provisions affecting businesses, including extending and modifying certain key provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and expanding certain incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 while accelerating the phase-out of others. The tax provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not have a material impact on our overall tax position.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Mar 13, 2026Showing above
2024Mar 11, 2025
2023Mar 11, 2024
2022Mar 14, 2023
2021Mar 14, 2022
2020Mar 10, 2021
2019Mar 10, 2020
2018Mar 12, 2019
2017Mar 13, 2018
2016Mar 14, 2017
2015Mar 14, 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.