NextCure, Inc. Income Taxes Disclosure
17. Income Taxes
On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “Act”) was enacted into law. Given the Company’s history of operating losses and full valuation allowances against its deferred tax assets, the Act does not currently have a significant impact on the Company’s financial statements.
The Company is subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes. No federal or state income taxes were paid in the year ended December 31, 2025.
The reconciliation of federal statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2025 is as follows:
December 31, |
| ||||
| Amount | | Percent | ||
Expected income tax benefit at the federal statutory rate | $ | (11,727) | 21.0 | % | |
State taxes, net of federal benefit |
| (3,649) | 6.5 | ||
Research and development credit, net |
| (1,393) | 2.5 | ||
Other |
| 175 | (0.3) | ||
Change in valuation allowance |
| 16,594 | (29.7) | ||
$ | — | — | % | ||
The reconciliation of federal statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2024 is as follows:
December 31, | |||
| 2024 | | |
Expected income tax benefit at the federal statutory rate |
| 21.0 | % |
State taxes, net of federal benefit |
| 6.6 |
|
Research and development credit, net |
| 4.0 |
|
Non-deductible items |
| (0.6) |
|
Other |
| (1.6) |
|
Change in valuation allowance |
| (29.4) |
|
| — | % | |
Deferred income taxes reflect the net effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes.
The principal components of the Company’s deferred tax assets consisted of the following as of December 31, 2025 and 2024:
December 31, | ||||||
(in thousands) | |
| 2025 | |
| 2024 |
Deferred tax assets: |
| |
| | ||
Federal and state net operating loss carryforwards |
| $ | 85,836 |
| $ | 63,647 |
Research and development tax credits | 17,829 | 16,436 | ||||
Capitalized R&D Costs | 18,271 | 25,826 | ||||
Operating lease liabilities | 1,419 | 1,642 | ||||
Share-based compensation | 8,032 | 7,234 | ||||
Accruals and other | 1,415 | 1,587 | ||||
Gross deferred tax assets | 132,802 | 116,372 | ||||
Less: valuation allowance | (131,903) | (115,309) | ||||
Total deferred tax assets |
| $ | 899 |
| $ | 1,063 |
Deferred tax liabilities: | ||||||
Operating lease assets | (899) | (1,063) | ||||
Gross deferred tax liabilities |
| $ | (899) |
| $ | (1,063) |
Net deferred tax assets |
| $ | — |
| $ | — |
Based on the Company’s history of losses, the Company recorded a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2025. The Company increased its valuation allowance by approximately $16.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The Company intends to maintain a valuation allowance until sufficient positive evidence exists to support a reversal of the allowance.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of $310.9 million and $314.0 million, respectively, some of which begin to expire in the year ending December 31, 2036. Approximately $288.2 million of the federal net operating loss carryforwards do not expire. The Company had federal and state research and development tax credit carryforwards of approximately $17.8 million and $0.1 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2025. The federal credits begin to expire in the year ending December 31, 2036, and the state credits begin to expire in the year ending December 31, 2026.
Under the provisions of Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “IRC”), certain substantial changes in the Company’s ownership may have limited, or may limit in the future, the amount of net operating loss and credit carryforwards that can be used to reduce future income taxes if there has been a significant change in ownership of the Company, as defined by the IRC. Future owner or equity shifts could result in limitations on net operating loss and credit carryforwards.
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction as well as in Maryland and Florida. The tax years 2022 to 2024 remain open to examination by the major jurisdictions in which the Company is subject to tax. Fiscal years outside the normal statute of limitation remain open to audit by tax authorities due to tax attributes generated in those early years, which have been carried forward and may be audited in subsequent years when utilized.
The Company evaluates tax positions for recognition using a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, and those tax positions eligible for recognition are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon the effective settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had no unrecognized income tax benefits that would affect the Company’s effective tax rate if recognized.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mar 5, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Mar 6, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Mar 21, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 2, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Mar 3, 2022 | |
| 2020 | Mar 4, 2021 | |
| 2019 | Mar 12, 2020 | |
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.