The Company is required to file a consolidated U.S. federal income tax return and various state tax returns.

The components of income tax expense (benefit) are as follows:

On December 22, 2017, new legislation was signed into law, informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included, among other things, a provision to reduce the federal corporate income tax rate to 21%. Under ASC 740, Accounting for Income Taxes, the enactment of the Tax Act also requires companies, to recognize the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities and the retroactive effects of changes in tax laws in the period in which the new legislation is enacted. There is no further change to its assertion on maintaining a full valuation allowance against its U.S. deferred tax assets. The Company’s gross deferred tax assets have been revalued from 34% to 21% with a corresponding offset to the valuation allowance and any potential other taxes arising due to the Tax Act will result in reductions to its net operating loss carryforward and valuation allowance. The reduction of the corporate tax rate resulted in a write-down of the gross deferred tax asset of approximately $4,700, and a corresponding write-down of the valuation allowance. Upon completion of our 2017 U.S. income tax return in 2018 the Company may identify additional remeasurement adjustments to our recorded deferred tax liabilities. We will continue to assess our provision for income taxes as future guidance is issued, but do not currently anticipate significant revisions will be necessary. Any such revisions will be treated in accordance with the measurement period guidance outlined in Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118.

The Company recorded a deferred tax liability of $560 as of December 31, 2017 related to the acquisition of Benchmark Builders, Inc. This deferred tax liability was recorded to account for the book vs. tax basis difference related to the goodwill intangible asset, which was recorded in connection with the acquisition. This deferred tax liability was excluded from sources of future taxable income, as the timing of its reversal cannot be predicted due to the indefinite life of the goodwill. As such, this deferred tax liability cannot be used to offset the valuation allowance.

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 Company’s deferred tax assets relate primarily to its net operating loss carryforwards and other balance sheet basis differences. In accordance with ASC 740, “Income Taxes,” the Company recorded a valuation allowance to fully offset the gross deferred tax asset, because it is not more likely than not that the Company will realize future benefits associated with these deferred tax assets at December 31, 2017 and 2016.

At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had net deferred tax assets of $8,600 and $5,300, respectively, against which a valuation allowance of $9,100 and $5,300, respectively, had been recorded. The determination of this valuation allowance did not take into account the Company’s deferred tax liability for goodwill assigned an indefinite life for book purposes, also known as a “naked credit” in the amount of $560 at December 31, 2017. The change in the valuation allowance for the year ended December 31, 2017 was an increase of $3,800. The increase in the valuation allowance for the year ended December 31, 2017 was mainly attributable to increases in net operating losses and accrued liabilities, partially offset by a decrease in the gross deferred tax assets caused by the decrease in the corporate tax rate. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets at December 31, 2017 and 2016 are as follows:

The reconciliation of the expected tax expense (benefit), based on statutory rates, with the actual expense, is as follows:

A reconciliation of the federal statutory tax rate and the effective tax rates for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 is as follows:

The Company had approximately $27,400 and $14,100 of available gross net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards (federal and state) as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, which begin to expire in 2032. However, the Company has not yet filed its tax returns for its fiscal years ended September 30, 2013, September 30, 2014, September 30, 2015, September 30, 2016, December 31, 2016 or December 31, 2017. Therefore, the Company’s NOLs will not be available to offset future taxable income, if any, until the returns are filed.

Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code, and similar state regulations, contain provisions that may limit the NOL carryforwards available to be used to offset income in any given year upon the occurrence of certain events, including changes in the ownership interests of significant stockholders. In the event of a cumulative change in ownership in excess of 50% over a three-year period, the amount of the NOL carryforwards that the Company may utilize in any one year may be limited. Beacon had generated approximately $25 million of NOLs prior to the Beacon Merger, which the Company’s preliminary analysis indicates would be subject to significant limitations pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 382, such that no deferred tax asset has been reflected herein related to the Beacon NOLs.

The Company has not yet assessed whether an ownership change under Section 382 occurred during the year ended December 31, 2017. If an ownership change occurred, there is a potential that a portion of the Company’s NOLs could be limited. However, since there is a full valuation allowance offsetting the deferred tax asset related to the NOL, a limitation should not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements. The Company will continue to monitor its ownership changes for purposes of Section 382.

During the period of September 30, 2014 through December 31, 2017, the Company operated primarily in Florida, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado, Texas, Iowa, Washington, Missouri, Georgia, and New York. If the Company is required to pay income taxes or penalties in the future, penalties will be recorded in general and administrative expenses and interest will be separately stated as interest expense. The Company has not yet filed its tax returns for its fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, September 30, 2013, September 30, 2014, September 30, 2015, September 30, 2016, December 31, 2016 or December 31, 2017, but has engaged an accounting firm to begin to compile the past due returns. The Company’s tax returns for the periods from October 1, 2012 through December 31, 2017 remain subject to examination and may be subject to penalties for late filing.

The Company does not have any uncertain tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits will increase or decrease within 12 months as of December 31, 2017. The unrecognized tax benefits may increase or change during the next year for items that arise in the ordinary course of business.

Income Taxes (Predecessor)

The Predecessor was taxed as a Sub Chapter S-Corporation in 2016 and the period from January 1, 2017 through April 20, 2017 which is a non-taxing entity for Federal income tax purposes. With the exception of the New York State minimum tax, the shareholders of Benchmark include their respective share of the income or loss in their personal income tax returns accordingly. New York City does not acknowledge S-Corp status and assesses taxes at the corporate level. Local income taxes incurred amounted to $1,316 and $240 for the year ended December 31, 2016 and the period from January 1, 2017 through April 20, 2017, respectively.

Benchmark is current with respect to its Federal, State and City income tax filing requirements. Management is not aware of any issues or circumstances that would unfavorably impact its tax status. Management has determined that Benchmark had no uncertain tax positions that would require financial statement recognition. The Company is a non-taxing entity for both Federal and State income tax purposes and its temporary differences between financial statement carrying amount and income tax bases are not material. Therefore, no deferred tax was calculated. The Company’s effective local tax rate was 7.5% and 48.6% for the year ended December 31, 2016 and the period from January 1, 2017 through April 20, 2017, respectively. The effective rate is less than the statutory rate for the year ended December 31, 2016 due to an immaterial under accrual of local taxes and more than the statutory rate for the period from January 1, 2017 through April 20, 2017 due to an immaterial over accrual of local taxes which the effective rate is also impacted due to the short tax period.