Income Taxes
The income tax information presented reflects the prospective adoption of ASU 2023-07. The adoption affected the disclosure requirement only and did not result in any changes to income tax balances or amounts for periods prior to adoption.
Foreign operations are not material, and therefore our income tax provision consists primarily of U.S. federal and state income taxes.
The provisions for income taxes for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024 were as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2024 |
| (In thousands) | | | | | | |
| Federal — current | | $ | 18,245 | | | $ | 22,944 | | | $ | 21,872 | |
| State — current | | 6,484 | | | 6,633 | | | 5,369 | |
| Total current | | 24,729 | | | 29,577 | | | 27,241 | |
| | | | | | |
| Federal — deferred | | 2,794 | | | 43 | | | (1,146) | |
| State — deferred | | 269 | | | 418 | | | (313) | |
| Total deferred | | 3,063 | | | 461 | | | (1,459) | |
| Total provision | | $ | 27,792 | | | $ | 30,038 | | | $ | 25,782 | |
Reconciliations of the provisions for income taxes to the applicable federal statutory income tax rate for fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024 are listed below:
| | | | | | | | |
| 2026 |
| (In thousands, except percentages) | Amount | Percentage |
| Statutory federal income tax | $ | 22,961 | | 21.0 | % |
| State income taxes, net of federal deduction (1) | 5,140 | | 4.7 | % |
| Nontaxable or nondeductible items | 827 | | 0.8 | % |
| Other — net | (1,136) | | (1.1) | % |
| Total | $ | 27,792 | | 25.4 | % |
| | |
| | |
(1) The states that, in the aggregate, accounted for over 50 percent of the effect of the state and local income taxes shown above were Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2025 | | 2024 |
| Statutory federal income tax | | 21.0 | % | | 21.0 | % |
| State income taxes, net of federal deduction | | 5.0 | % | | 5.4 | % |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| Other — net | | 0.3 | % | | (0.9) | % |
| Total | | 26.3 | % | | 25.5 | % |
Cash paid for income taxes (net of refunds) consisted of the following:
| | | | | | | | |
| (In thousands) | | 2026 |
| Federal | | $ | 16,600 | |
| State | | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| Minnesota | | $ | 1,575 | |
| Other States | | 4,510 | |
| Total | | $22,685 |
The tax effects of items comprising our net deferred tax liability as of March 29, 2026 and March 30, 2025 are as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| (In thousands) | | 2026 | | 2025 |
| Deferred tax assets: | | | | |
| Trade receivables | | $ | 136 | | | $ | 98 | |
| Stock compensation accruals | | 2,986 | | | 2,929 | |
| Pension withdrawal liability | | 815 | | | 955 | |
| Lease liability | | 4,472 | | | 3,731 | |
| Inventories | | 1,069 | | | 870 | |
| Other | | 5,928 | | | 6,388 | |
| Total deferred tax assets | | $ | 15,406 | | | $ | 14,971 | |
| Deferred tax liabilities: | | | | |
| | | | |
| Prepaid expenses | | $ | (1,391) | | | $ | (1,363) | |
| Excess of tax over book depreciation | | (21,370) | | | (18,143) | |
| Intangible assets | | (13,111) | | | (13,549) | |
| ROU asset | | (4,313) | | | (3,631) | |
| Unrealized gain on interest rate swap | | (331) | | | (641) | |
| Total deferred tax liabilities | | $ | (40,516) | | | $ | (37,327) | |
| Net deferred tax liabilities | | $ | (25,110) | | | $ | (22,356) | |
As of March 29, 2026, the Company has determined that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets at March 29, 2026 will be realized either through future taxable income or reversals of taxable temporary differences.
On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “OBBBA”) was enacted into law, introducing significant amendments to U.S. tax legislation with varying effective dates. Key provision that impacts us is the expansion of bonus depreciation. We have incorporated these amendments into our fiscal 2026 tax provision, as applicable, and there was no material impact to our income tax expense or effective tax rate. We continue to evaluate the legislation.
We are subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as income tax of multiple state jurisdictions. The tax years prior to our fiscal year ended April 2, 2023 are closed to examination by the Internal Revenue Service, and with few exceptions, state and local income tax jurisdictions.
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.