9.        Income Taxes

Tax Benefit and Tax Rate Income tax benefit for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 was $5.9 and $21.1 million, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, income tax benefit was $18.8 million and $23.3 million, respectively. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, our effective tax rate differed from the statutory Federal tax rate primarily as a result of adjustments in our valuation allowance on certain deferred tax assets. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, our effective tax rate primarily differed from the statutory Federal tax rate for adjustments recorded related to the enactment of the CARES Act on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act modified certain income tax statutes, including changes related to the business interest expense limitation under Code Section 163(j). Our effective tax rate was 13.5% and 17.3% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively, and not meaningful for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.

Valuation Allowance Deferred tax assets are recorded related to net operating losses and temporary differences between the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities expected to produce tax deductions in future periods. The realization of these assets depends on recognition of sufficient future taxable income in specific tax jurisdictions in which those temporary differences or net operating losses are deductible. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets, we consider whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of them will not be realized.

As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, our valuation allowance was $24.1 million and $22.4 million, respectively, and relates primarily to state net operating losses and the disallowed interest expense limitation carryover.

Income Taxes Receivable, Refunds and Payments As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we did not have any material outstanding current income taxes receivable. During the three months ended September 30, 2021, we did not receive any income tax refunds or make any income tax payments of significance. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020 we received an income tax refund of $1.9 million. The refund related primarily to a net operating loss (“NOL”) carryback claim for 2017 that was carried back to prior years.

The tax years 2018 through 2020 remain open to examination by the tax jurisdictions to which we are subject.

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