6. INCOME TAXES

 

Income tax expense (benefit) is comprised of the following (in thousands):

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Federal:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current

 

$2,703

 

 

$2,660

 

Deferred

 

 

728

 

 

 

(1,016 )

Total Federal

 

 

3,431

 

 

 

1,644

 

State:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current

 

 

851

 

 

 

640

 

Deferred

 

 

238

 

 

 

(141 )

Total State

 

 

1,089

 

 

 

499

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense/(benefit)

 

$4,520

 

 

$2,143

 

 

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which updated income tax disclosure requirements related to the income tax rate reconciliation and requires disclosure of income taxes paid by jurisdiction. The Company has applied ASU 2023-09 prospectively beginning in 2025. As such, our effective tax rate reconciliation for 2025 is reflected in a new table following the requirements set forth in ASU 2023-09 (in thousands), while the 2024 effective tax rate reconciliations are presented in the historical format as required by U.S. GAAP (in thousands).

 

 

 

2025

 

Income taxes at U.S. Federal Statutory Tax Rate

 

$3,575

 

 

 

21.0%

Nontaxable or Nondeductible Items

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

27

 

 

 

0.2%

State and Local Income Tax, Net of Federal (National) Income Tax Effect (1)

 

 

893

 

 

 

21.0%

Other Adjustments

 

 

25

 

 

 

0.1%

Effective tax rate

 

$4,520

 

 

 

26.5%

 

 

(1)

State taxes in Virginia and the District of Columbia (DC) made up the majority (greater than 50 percent) of the tax effect in this category.

   

The following table reconciles the U.S. statutory tax rate to our effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2024, prior to the adoption of ASU 2023-09:

 

 

 

December 31, 2024

 

Income taxes at statutory rate

 

$2,074

 

 

 

21.0%

Increase (decrease) in taxes resulting from:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

State income taxes, net of federal benefit

 

 

359

 

 

 

3.6%

Stock compensation

 

 

(175 )

 

 

(1.8 )%

Provision-to-return

 

 

(101 )

 

 

(1.0 )%

Other

 

 

(14 )

 

 

(0.1 )%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax expense

 

$2,143

 

 

 

21.7%

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Deferred tax assets: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net operating loss carryforwards

 

$193

 

 

$224

 

Allowance for credit losses and doubtful accounts

 

 

139

 

 

 

278

 

Accrued vacation

 

 

74

 

 

 

72

 

Deferred revenue 

 

 

3,823

 

 

 

2,588

 

Equity Compensation

 

 

21

 

 

 

6

 

163 (j) interest expense limitation

 

 

 

 

 

16

 

Lease liability

 

 

23

 

 

 

27

 

Other 

 

 

147

 

 

 

209

 

Gross deferred tax assets 

 

 

4,420

 

 

 

3,420

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retainage 

 

 

(325 )

 

 

(389 )

Fixed assets 

 

 

(5,286 )

 

 

(3,371 )

Prepaid expenses

 

 

(230 )

 

 

(112 )

Amortization – intangibles

 

 

(16 )

 

 

(15 )

Right-of-use asset

 

 

(23 )

 

 

(27 )

Gross deferred tax liabilities

 

 

(5,880 )

 

 

(3,914 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net deferred tax liability

 

$(1,460 )

 

$(494 )

  

The details of cash tax payments for the year ended December 31, 2025 (net of refunds) are set forth below (in thousands).

 

Disclosure of Income Taxes Paid

 

Federal

 

$2,693

 

Virginia

 

 

288

 

District of Columbia (DC) 

 

 

206

 

Maryland

 

 

182

 

Other States

 

 

121

 

2025 Total Cash Paid for Income Taxes (Net of Refunds)

 

$3,490

 

 

As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company had approximately $5,038 and $5,490 (in thousands), respectively, of state net operating losses (NOLs) available to offset future state taxable income. The state NOLs begin expiring at various times between 2028 and 2037. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. or state tax examinations for the years prior to 2022. The Company does not have any uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2025, and believes there will be no material changes in unrecognized tax positions over the next twelve months.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Apr 14, 2026Showing above
2024May 27, 2025
2023May 23, 2024
2022Apr 17, 2023
2021Mar 31, 2022
2020Mar 30, 2021
2019Mar 26, 2020
2018Mar 26, 2019
2017Mar 29, 2018
2016Mar 30, 2017
2015Mar 28, 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.