HireQuest, Inc. Income Taxes Disclosure

Note 13 – Income Tax

 

The provision for income taxes is comprised of the following:

 

		December 31,				December 31,
(in thousands)			2025				2024
Current taxes
Federal		$	(547	)		$	1,418
State			474				551
Total current taxes			(73	)			1,969
Deferred taxes
Federal			76				(1,479	)
State			97				(269	)
Total deferred taxes			173				(1,748	)
Provision for income taxes		$	100			$	221

 

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of our deferred taxes are as follows:

 

		December 31,				December 31,
(in thousands)		2025				2024
Deferred tax assets
Workers' compensation claims liability			1,234				1,537
Bad debt reserve			88				86
Accrued vacation			74				89
Impairment of notes receivable			299				191
Stock based compensation			157				346
Net operating loss carryforward			-				48
Depreciation and amortization			25				-
Other			34				38
Total deferred tax asset			1,911				2,335
Deferred tax liabilities
Depreciation and amortization			-				(214	)
Deferred gain on installment sale			(43	)			(48	)
Total deferred tax liabilities			(43	)			(262	)
Total deferred taxes, net		$	1,868			$	2,073

 

Management evaluates the realizability of deferred tax assets on a quarterly basis. Based on available evidence, including historical taxable income, projected future taxable income, and the reversal of existing temporary differences, management has concluded that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. Accordingly, no valuation allowance has been recorded as of December 31, 2025 and 2024.

 

At December 31, 2023, the Company has a federal net operating loss carry-forward ("NOL") of approximately $209 thousand that was utilized in 2024. There are no remaining federal NOL's. 

 

Our effective tax rates were approximately 1.5% and 5.3% for 2025 and 2024, respectively. The items accounting for the difference between income taxes computed at the statutory federal income tax rate and the income taxes reported on the statements of income are as follows:

 

(in thousands except percentages)		December 31, 2025								December 31, 2024
Income tax expense based on U.S. statutory rate		$	1,409				21.0	%		$	871				21.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit (1)
Florida			*				*				91				2.2	%
Other states			472				7.0	%			75				1.8	%
Hiring tax credits			(1,883	)			(28.1	)%			(884	)			(21.3	)%
Nontaxable or non-deductible items
Executive compensation			14				0.2	%			50				1.2	%
Stock based compensation			58				0.9	%			11				0.3	%
Other adjustments			30				0.4	%			7				0.2	%
Total taxes on income		$	100				1.5	%		$	221				5.3	%
* Indicates the jurisdiction is immaterial for the period presented.
1 - State and local income taxes in the following states make up the majority (greater than 50%) of the tax expense for the years presented:
2025 - Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, and South Carolina
2024 - Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and New Jersey

 

Income taxes paid, net of refunds received, disaggregated by jurisdiction were as follows:

 

		December 31,				December 31,
(in thousands)		2025				2024
Federal		$	300			$	750
State			495				422
Total taxes paid, net of refunds received			795				1,172

 

Income taxes paid, net of refunds received, exceeded 5% of total income taxes paid, net of refunds received, for the following jurisdictions:

 

		December 31,				December 31,
(in thousands)		2025				2024
Federal		$	300			$	750
AR			76				*
FL			64				64
GA			48				*
TN			71				*
* Indicates the jurisdiction is immaterial for the period presented.

 

On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) (H.R.1) was enacted into law in the United States. The OBBBA includes significant changes to U.S. corporate income tax provisions, with various effective dates. Provisions effective in 2025 include, among others, changes to the capitalization and amortization of domestic research and development expenditures, enhanced depreciation provisions for certain capital investments, and modifications to the limitation on the deductibility of business interest expense. We evaluated the impact of the OBBBA on our financial statements and the adoption of these provisions did not have a material impact on our income tax expense or effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2025. The effects of the legislation have been reflected in our income tax provision for the period.

 

U.S. federal income tax returns after 2022 remain open to examination. Generally, state income tax returns after 2021 remain open to examination. No income tax returns are currently under examination. As of December 31, 2025, and December 31, 2024, we do not have any unrecognized tax benefits, and no amounts were accrued for interest or penalties. We continues to monitor our current and prior tax positions for any changes.