Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Income Taxes (Notes)

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Income Taxes (Notes)
9 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
At the end of each interim period, the Company makes its best estimate of the effective tax rate expected to be applicable for the full fiscal year and uses that rate to provide for income taxes on a current year-to-date basis before discrete items. If a reliable estimate cannot be made, the Company may make a reasonable estimate of the annual effective tax rate, including use of the actual effective rate for the year-to-date. The impact of discrete items is recorded in the quarter in which they occur. The Company utilizes the liability method of accounting for income taxes and deferred taxes, which are determined based on the differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities given the enacted tax laws. The Company evaluates the need for valuation allowances on the net deferred tax assets under the rules of ASC 740, Income Taxes. In assessing the realizability of the Company's deferred tax assets, the Company considers whether it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized through the generation of future taxable income. In making this determination, the Company assessed all of the evidence available at the time, including recent earnings, forecasted income projections and historical performance. The Company determined that the negative evidence outweighed the objectively verifiable positive evidence and previously recorded a full valuation allowance against deferred tax assets. The Company will continue to reassess realizability going forward.
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”). The Act significantly revises the future ongoing U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the U.S. corporate federal income tax rate from 34% to 21% effective January 1, 2018.  As a result, a blended federal rate of 30.75% is required for the current year income tax expense. Further, the Company is required to re-measure, through income tax expense, its deferred tax assets and liabilities using the enacted rate at which the items are expected to be recovered or settled. During the third quarter, the Company recorded provisional amounts as a result of the re-measurement of the Company’s net deferred tax asset did not result in income tax expense due to the Company’s full valuation allowance position. Total net deferred tax assets decreased by $14.3 million, which includes a reclassification of the federal alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) credit to long term receivable, discussed below. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had net deferred tax assets of approximately $38.6 million before a valuation allowance of $38.6 million.
The final transition impacts of the Act may differ from the above estimate, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations of the Act, any legislative action to address questions that arise because of the Act, any changes in accounting standards for income taxes or related interpretations in response to the Act, or any updates or changes to estimates the Company has utilized to calculate the transition impacts, including impacts from changes to current year earnings estimates. The Securities Exchange Commission has issued guidance that allows for a measurement period of up to one year after the enactment date of the Act to finalize the recording of the related tax impacts. We currently anticipate finalizing and recording any resulting adjustments in our Form 10-K for our current fiscal year ending March 31, 2018.
As of December 31, 2017, the Company has $697,000 of AMT credit carryforward, which does not expire and is now carried as a tax receivable since, under new federal tax law, the Company expects to recover the entire amount by 2022 via a tax refund. Previously, there was a valuation allowance against the entire AMT credit carryforward. In the third quarter, the Company is reversing the portion of the valuation allowance related to the AMT credit carryforward, resulting in a discrete tax benefit of $697,000.
The Company recorded $685,000 and $660,000 of income tax benefit in the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017, respectively, using an effective income tax rate of 1.76% plus discrete items including the AMT tax benefit described above. The Company recorded $10,000 and $20,000 of income tax expense in the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016, respectively, using an effective rate of (0.13)% plus discrete items. The effective rate in both periods is impacted by the intraperiod allocation as a result of income or loss from continuing operations, and states which base tax on gross margin and not pretax income.