12. INCOME TAXES.

The Company recorded a provision (benefit) for income taxes as follows (in thousands):

A reconciliation of the differences between the United States statutory federal income tax rate and the effective tax rate as provided in the consolidated statements of operations is as follows:

Deferred income taxes are provided using the asset and liability method to reflect temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities using presently enacted tax rates and laws. The components of deferred income taxes included in the consolidated balance sheets were as follows (in thousands):

A portion of the Company’s net operating loss carryforwards are subject to provisions of the tax law that limit the use of losses incurred by a corporation prior to the date certain ownership changes occur. These limitations also apply to certain depreciation deductions associated with assets on hand at the time of the ownership change and otherwise allowable during the five-year period following the ownership change. As the five-year limitation period lapsed in 2019, these disallowed deductions are reflected in property and equipment in the schedule above but continue to be subject to the annual limitation that applies to the pre-change net operating losses. Due to the limitation on the use of net operating losses and depreciation deductions, a significant portion of these carryforwards will expire regardless of whether the Company generates future taxable income. After reducing these net operating loss carryforwards for the amount which will expire due to this limitation, the Company had remaining federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $207,102,000 and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $233,170,000 at December 31, 2022. These net operating loss carryforwards expire as follows (in thousands):

Approximately $130,058,000 is available to utilize against federal taxable income for 2023.

To the extent amounts are not utilized in any year, they may be carried forward to the next year until expiration. These amounts may change if there are future additional limitations on their utilization.

Federal capital loss of $100,487,000 may be carried forward for 5 years and will expire in 2025. State capital loss of $95,469,000 may be carried forward for 5 years for most of the states in which the Company files returns and will expire in 2025.

In assessing whether the deferred tax assets are realizable, a more likely than not standard is applied. If it is determined that it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance must be established against the deferred tax assets. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which the associated temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment.

A valuation allowance was established in the amount of $87,949,000 and $75,584,000 as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, based on the Company’s assessment of the future realizability of certain deferred tax assets. The valuation allowance on deferred tax assets is related to future deductible temporary differences and net operating loss carryforwards for which the Company has concluded it is more likely than not that these items will not be realized in the ordinary course of operations.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded an increase in valuation allowance of $12,365,000. This was primarily related to additional net operating losses accumulated for the year. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded a decrease in valuation allowance of $10,104,000. This was primarily related to utilization of net operating losses as the Company generated taxable income for the year. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recorded an increase in valuation allowance of $1,623,000. This was primarily the offsetting impact of an increase in deferred tax assets associated with the capital loss carryforward offset by changes in depreciation and other adjustments associated with property plant and equipment, and mark-to-market adjustments related to derivatives in 2020.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning balance and the ending balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits, before interest and penalties, for the period presented is as follows (in thousands):

The Company recorded unrecognized tax benefits for uncertain tax positions of approximately $739,000 as of December 31, 2022, of which $739,000 would impact the effective tax rate, if recognized.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to income tax matters as a component of interest expense and other income (expense), respectively. As of December 31, 2022, the Company accrued penalties of $74,000 and interest of $23,000 related to uncertain tax positions. The Company does not expect the unrecognized tax benefits to change significantly over the next 12 months.

The Company is subject to income tax in the United States federal jurisdiction and various state jurisdictions and has identified its federal tax return and tax returns in state jurisdictions below as “major” tax filings. These jurisdictions, along with the years still open to audit under the applicable statutes of limitation, are as follows:

However, because the Company had net operating losses and credits carried forward in several of the jurisdictions, including the United States federal and California jurisdictions, certain items attributable to closed tax years are still subject to adjustment by applicable taxing authorities through an adjustment to tax attributes carried forward to open years.