Ulta Beauty, Inc. Income Taxes Disclosure
12. Income taxes
The provision for income taxes consists of the following:
Fiscal Year Ended | |||||||||
January 31, | February 1, | February 3, | |||||||
(In thousands) | | 2026 | | 2025 | | 2024 | |||
Current: |
| |
| |
| | |||
Federal | $ | 299,515 | $ | 348,450 | $ | 308,656 | |||
Foreign | 3,901 | — | — | ||||||
State | 72,089 | 73,826 | 65,415 | ||||||
Total current | 375,505 | 422,276 | 374,071 | ||||||
Deferred: | | | | ||||||
Federal | 2,137 | (31,407) | 27,391 | ||||||
Foreign | 508 | — | — | ||||||
State | (4,281) | (11,921) | 3,184 | ||||||
Total deferred | (1,636) | (43,328) | 30,575 | ||||||
Provision for income taxes | $ | 373,869 | $ | 378,948 | $ | 404,646 | |||
The Company adopted ASU 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, prospectively for periods beginning after December 31, 2024. The following table presents a reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to the effective income tax rate for fiscal 2025 (after adoption of ASU 2023-09):
| Fiscal Year Ended | ||||
January 31, | |||||
(In thousands) | | 2026 | |||
Federal statutory tax rate | $ | 320,743 | 21.0% | ||
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect (a) |
| 50,136 | 3.3% | ||
Foreign tax effects | 2,519 | 0.2% | |||
Effect of cross-border tax laws | — | 0.0% | |||
Tax credits | (8,586) | (0.6%) | |||
Nontaxable or nondeductible items | 5,596 | 0.4% | |||
Changes in unrecognized tax benefits | 3,432 | 0.2% | |||
Other adjustments | 29 | 0.0% | |||
Effective tax rate |
| $ | 373,869 | 24.5% | |
| (a) | State and local income taxes in California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey made up the majority (greater than percent) of the tax effect in this category. |
The following table provides the disclosures required before adopting ASU 2023-09 and reconciles the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to our effective income tax rate:
| Fiscal year ended | |||
February 1, | February 3, | |||
| 2025 | | 2024 | |
Federal statutory rate | 21.0% | 21.0% | ||
State effective rate, net of federal tax benefit |
| 3.1% | 3.2% | |
Executive compensation limitation | 0.3% | 0.3% | ||
Excess deduction of stock compensation | (0.3%) | (0.4%) | ||
Other |
| (0.1%) | (0.2%) | |
Effective tax rate |
| 24.0% | 23.9% | |
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was enacted into law, which, among other things, introduced a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax on book income of certain large corporations and created a 1% excise tax on net share repurchases. The corporate alternative minimum tax was effective beginning in fiscal 2024 and did not have a
material impact on the consolidated financial statements. The excise tax applies to share repurchases made after December 31, 2022.
On July 4, 2025, the U.S. enacted new tax legislation commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ("OBBBA"), which included changes in tax laws that affect recorded deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities as well as the Company's effective tax rate. The Company applied the reinstatement of 100% bonus depreciation provision for assets placed in service after January 19, 2025, and restored the full expensing of qualifying domestic research and development expenditures in the Company’s income tax provision for the period ended January 31, 2026. This did not result in a material impact to the consolidated financial statements or effective tax rate.
Significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:
| January 31, | February 1, | ||||
(In thousands) | | 2026 | | 2025 | ||
Deferred tax assets: |
| |
| | ||
Operating lease liability | $ | 516,617 | $ | 492,729 | ||
Accrued liabilities |
| 62,510 |
| 49,626 | ||
Reserves not currently deductible | 56,296 | 50,362 | ||||
Employee benefits |
| 33,267 |
| 33,111 | ||
Inventory valuation |
| 12,126 |
| 4,168 | ||
Credit carryforwards |
| 648 |
| 390 | ||
NOL carryforwards | 164 | 197 | ||||
Other | 1,800 | — | ||||
Total gross deferred tax assets |
| 683,428 |
| 630,583 | ||
Valuation allowance | (3,005) | — | ||||
Deferred tax assets: | 680,423 | 630,583 | ||||
Deferred tax liabilities: |
| |
| | ||
Operating lease asset | 659,202 | 623,622 | ||||
Intangibles | 50,285 | — | ||||
Property and equipment |
| 26,804 |
| 8,286 | ||
Prepaid expenses |
| 26,537 |
| 22,299 | ||
Receivables not currently includable | 15,878 | 17,895 | ||||
Other |
| 483 |
| 1,074 | ||
Deferred tax liabilities |
| 779,189 |
| 673,176 | ||
Net deferred tax liability | $ | (98,766) | $ | (42,593) | ||
At January 31, 2026, the Company had $820 of credit carryforwards for state income tax purposes that expire between 2026 and 2039. The Company had $41 of state net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards that expire by 2038 and $117 of state NOL carryforwards that do not expire. The Company also had $184 of federal NOL carryforwards that do not expire.
The Company recorded a valuation allowance of $3,005 related to Space NK operations.
The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes in accordance with ASC 740-10. The reserve for uncertain tax positions was $8,983 and $5,220 at January 31, 2026 and February 1, 2025, respectively, which represents the best estimate of the potential liability. A reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows:
| January 31, | February 1, | ||||
(In thousands) | | 2026 | | 2025 | ||
Beginning balance | $ | 5,220 | $ | 4,060 | ||
Increase due to a prior year tax position |
| 4,065 |
| 1,188 | ||
Decrease due to a prior year tax position |
| (302) |
| (28) | ||
Ending balance | $ | 8,983 | $ | 5,220 | ||
Income tax-related interest was $1,113 for fiscal 2025 and insignificant for fiscal 2024.
The Company files tax returns in the U.S. federal and state jurisdictions. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal examinations by the Internal Revenue Service for years before 2022 and is no longer subject to examinations by state authorities before 2021.
The following is a schedule of cash paid for income taxes:
January 31, | |||
(In thousands) | 2026 | ||
Federal | $ | 311,400 | |
State: | |||
California | 20,536 | ||
New Jersey | 9,902 | ||
Other | 35,559 | ||
Foreign | 4,415 | ||
Income taxes paid, net of refunds | $ | 381,812 | |
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mar 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2025 | Mar 27, 2025 | |
| 2024 | Mar 26, 2024 | |
| 2023 | Mar 24, 2023 | |
| 2022 | Mar 25, 2022 | |
| 2021 | Mar 26, 2021 | |
| 2020 | Mar 27, 2020 | |
| 2019 | Apr 2, 2019 | |
| 2018 | Apr 3, 2018 | |
| 2017 | Mar 28, 2017 | |
| 2016 | Mar 30, 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.