12.  INCOME TAXES

The Company’s US and foreign pre-tax (loss) income is summarized in the table below:

Amounts in thousands

2025

2024

(Loss) income before taxes:

US

$

(55,855)

$

(123,021)

Foreign

4,707

3,136

Total (loss) income before taxes

$

(51,148)

$

(119,885)

The Company’s provision (benefit) for income taxes is summarized as follows:

For the year ended December 31,

Amounts in thousands

2025

2024

Current:

US - Federal

$

77

$

142

US - State

404

191

Foreign

3,028

2,174

Total current

3,509

2,507

Deferred:

US - Federal

708

22,611

US - State

(57)

2,574

Foreign

(1,412)

(1,061)

Total deferred

(761)

24,124

Total:

US - Federal

785

22,753

US - State

347

2,765

Foreign

1,616

1,113

Total provision (benefit) for income taxes

$

2,748

$

26,631

The components of the Company’s income taxes paid, net of refunds, are as follows:

Amounts in thousands

2025

2024

US federal

$

(492)

$

317

US state and local

Missouri

521

175

Foreign

Canada

1,524

16,985

Austria

Poland

60

338

Total taxes paid, net of refunds

$

1,613

$

17,815

The Company’s effective income tax rate differs from the statutory federal income tax rate as follows:

Amounts in thousands

2025

2024

US federal statutory tax rate

$

(10,742)

21.0%

$

(25,175)

21.0%

State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect

Income tax effect (1)

262

(0.5%)

2,723

(2.3%)

Foreign tax effects

Canada

Changes in valuation allowances

1,275

(2.5%)

569

(0.5%)

Other

(166)

0.3%

756

(0.6%)

Austria

Changes in valuation allowances

(750)

1.5%

(1,135)

1.0%

Withholding taxes

708

(1.4%)

701

(0.6%)

Other

(331)

0.6%

435

(0.4%)

Poland

595

(1.2%)

391

(0.3%)

Mauritius

5

0.0%

28

0.0%

Effect of changes in tax laws or rates enacted in the current period

Effect of cross-border tax laws

583

(1.1%)

666

(0.6%)

Tax credits

(233)

0.4%

(365)

0.3%

Changes in valuation allowances

12,751

(24.9%)

48,852

(40.7%)

Nontaxable or nondeductible items

Income taxed to owners of non-controlling interest

(1,513)

3.0%

(1,490)

1.2%

Other

365

(0.7%)

248

(0.2%)

Worldwide changes in prior year unrecognized tax benefits

(61)

0.1%

(573)

0.5%

Effective tax rate

$

2,748

(5.4%)

$

26,631

(22.2%)

(1)In 2024 and 2025, state taxes in Missouri comprised the majority of the state and local income taxes, net of federal effect category.

The Company’s effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2025 was (5.4%). The federal corporate income tax rate in the United States for 2025 was 21%. The Company is also subject to Colorado, Missouri, West Virginia and Maryland state jurisdictions that had corporate tax rates ranging from 4.0% to 8.25% in 2025. The Company’s foreign tax rate differential reflects the fact that the US federal corporate income tax rate differs from statutory rates in Poland, Austria, Mauritius and Canada, which are 19.0%, 23.0%, 17.0% and 23.0%, respectively. Further, the income tax burden on the earnings taxed to the non-controlling interest holders of Smooth Bourbon is not reported by the Company.

The Company continues to maintain valuation allowances on deferred tax assets for CMR, CRM and Century Resorts International, Ltd., as well as deferred tax assets in the US. The Company's valuation allowances increased by $15.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, which materially impacts the Company’s effective tax rate.

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was enacted. The OBBBA extends and makes permanent several key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 previously set to expire at the end of 2025. This new legislation also introduced modifications to international taxation. The OBBBA did not have a material impact on the Company’s 2025 effective tax rate or income taxes paid. Management will continue to analyze and adjust future amounts as administrative guidance, regulations, and potential amendments and interpretations of the OBBBA occur.


The Company’s deferred income taxes at December 31, 2025 and 2024 are summarized as follows:

Amounts in thousands

2025

2024

Deferred tax assets (liabilities) US Federal and state:

Deferred tax assets

Amortization of goodwill for tax

$

22,110

$

23,429

Financing obligation to VICI Properties, Inc. subsidiaries

142,203

141,614

NOL carryforward

6,307

4,344

Leases

1,335

331

Disallowed interest expense

27,980

20,456

Accrued liabilities and other

2,345

1,096

202,280

191,270

Valuation allowance

(70,404)

(55,682)

$

131,876

$

135,588

Deferred tax liabilities

Property and equipment

$

(129,378)

$

(135,522)

Leases

(1,210)

(312)

Prepaid expenses

(1,887)

(411)

Unremitted foreign subsidiary earnings

(3,753)

(3,044)

$

(136,228)

$

(139,289)

Long-term deferred tax (liability) asset

$

(4,352)

$

(3,701)

Deferred tax assets (liabilities) – foreign

Deferred tax assets

Property and equipment

$

618

$

613

Financing obligation to VICI Properties, Inc. subsidiaries

37,729

35,818

NOL carryforward

11,232

9,967

Accrued liabilities and other

668

867

Leases

6,525

5,580

Disallowed interest

632

Subsidiary liquidation

1,549

1,831

Exchange rate gain

291

695

59,244

55,371

Valuation allowance

(11,453)

(11,016)

$

47,791

$

44,355

Deferred tax liabilities

Property and equipment

$

(22,055)

$

(21,765)

Exchange rate loss

(751)

(1)

Intangibles

(1,026)

(980)

Leases

(5,903)

(4,975)

Unremitted foreign subsidiary earnings

(413)

(302)

Others

(374)

(475)

$

(30,522)

$

(28,498)

Long-term deferred tax asset

$

17,269

$

15,857

The Company had income tax net operating loss carryforwards related to its domestic and international operations of approximately $100.5 million as of December 31, 2025. The Company has recorded $17.5 million of deferred tax assets related to the net operating loss carryforwards, excluding the impact of the adjustments of valuation allowances and unrecognized tax benefits. The deferred tax assets expire as follows:

Amounts in thousands

2025 – 2034

$

804

2035 – 2045

8,973

No expiration

7,762

Total deferred tax assets

$

17,539

As of December 31, 2025, the Company has accumulated undistributed earnings generated by its foreign subsidiaries that significantly exceed the approximately $36.7 million of cash and cash equivalents held by its foreign subsidiaries. Because substantially all of these accumulated undistributed earnings have previously been subject to the one-time transition tax on foreign earnings required by the Tax Act or have been subject to tax under the GILTI regime, any additional taxes due with respect to such earnings or the excess of the amount for financial reporting over the tax basis of the Company’s foreign investments would generally be limited to foreign withholding and the tax effect of current gains or losses. Due to management’s anticipation of repatriating certain current earnings from its foreign subsidiaries, the Company has recorded a deferred tax liability of $4.2 million for the foreign withholding tax required on a potential cash dividend to the US related to earnings from the sale and leaseback of the Company’s Canadian properties in 2023, as well as current earnings from foreign subsidiaries. Absent a need for additional funds in the US, management intends to indefinitely reinvest the historical earnings in Canada and other foreign jurisdictions.

The Company has analyzed filing positions in all of the US federal, state and foreign jurisdictions where it is required to file income tax returns, as well as all open tax years in these jurisdictions. The Company has identified its US federal tax return, its state tax returns in Colorado, Missouri, West Virginia and Maryland and its foreign tax returns in Canada and Poland as “major” tax jurisdictions, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.

The Company’s income tax returns for the following periods are currently subject to examination:

Jurisdiction

Periods

US Federal

2022-2024

US State – Colorado

2021-2024

US State – Maryland

2023-2024

US State – Missouri

2022-2024

US State – West Virginia

2022-2024

Canada

2021-2024

Mauritius

2022-2024

Poland

2020-2024

Austria

2020-2024

During 2024, the Company recognized $0.5 million of unrecognized tax benefits due to a lapse of statute of limitations. The Company’s total amount of unrecognized tax benefit and changes to unrecognized tax benefit during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 are summarized in the table below:

Amounts in thousands

2025

2024

Unrecognized tax benefit - January 1

$

$

539

Lapse of statute of limitations

(539)

Unrecognized tax benefit - December 31

$

$

The Company recognizes interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits and penalties as income tax expense. Related to the unrecognized tax benefits above, the Company did not accrue any penalties and interest during 2025 and 2024.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Mar 18, 2026Showing above
2024Mar 13, 2025
2023Mar 14, 2024
2022Mar 10, 2023
2021Mar 8, 2022
2020Mar 12, 2021
2019Mar 13, 2020
2018Mar 11, 2019
2017Mar 9, 2018
2016Mar 10, 2017
2015Mar 11, 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.