v3.22.4
INCOME TAXES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. and its 80 percent (or more) owned U.S. subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return. We file unitary or separate state returns based on state filing requirements. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to audits of U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax returns before 2015. We are currently under an Internal Revenue Service audit for the 2015 to 2017 tax years.
In 2019, we removed our assertion that the unremitted earnings of our foreign subsidiaries were permanently reinvested with limited exceptions. If we repatriated all foreign earnings that are still considered to be permanently reinvested, the estimated effect on income taxes payable would be an increase of approximately $2.0 million as of December 31, 2022.
On March 27, 2020, the U.S. government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act allowed for a deferral of the employer share of federal payroll taxes. We recognized a payroll deferral of $14.7 million under the CARES Act as of December 31, 2021, which has been paid as of December 31, 2022.
Income before provision for income taxes consisted of (in thousands):
202220212020
Domestic$799,553 $566,847 $499,384 
Foreign367,212 455,444 128,947 
Total$1,166,765 $1,022,291 $628,331 
A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows (in thousands):
202220212020
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of period$37,302 $36,216 $33,938 
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year4,064 3,530 3,172 
Additions for tax positions of prior years3,016 1,919 1,568 
Reductions for tax positions of prior years(247)(2,431)(124)
Lapse in statute of limitations(5,026)(1,932)(2,276)
Settlements(53)— (62)
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of the period$39,056 $37,302 $36,216 
Income tax expense considers amounts that may be needed to cover exposures for open tax years. We do not expect any material impact related to open tax years; however, actual settlements may differ from amounts accrued.
As of December 31, 2022, we had $43.0 million of unrecognized tax benefits and related interest and penalties, all of which would affect our effective tax rate if recognized. In the unlikely event these unrecognized tax benefits and related interest and penalties were recognized fully in 2022, the impact to the annual effective tax rate would have been 3.7 percent. We are not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefit will significantly increase or decrease in the next 12 months. The total liability for unrecognized tax benefits is expected to decrease by approximately $3.0 million in the next 12 months due to lapsing of statutes.
We recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in the provision for income taxes. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020, we recognized approximately $0.6 million, $0.9 million, and $1.0 million in interest and penalties, respectively. We had approximately $3.9 million and $5.6 million for the payment of interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions accrued within noncurrent income taxes payable as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. These amounts are not included in the reconciliation above.
The components of the provision for income taxes consist of the following for the years ended December 31 (in thousands): 
202220212020
Tax provision:
Federal$153,349 $165,218 $99,901 
State33,309 36,718 19,825 
Foreign97,147 85,654 40,103 
283,805 287,590 159,829 
Deferred provision (benefit):
Federal(44,133)(90,960)(28,238)
State(7,848)(16,176)(5,749)
Foreign(5,583)(2,408)(3,932)
(57,564)(109,544)(37,919)
Total provision$226,241 $178,046 $121,910 
A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes using the statutory federal income tax rate to our effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, is as follows:  
202220212020
Federal statutory rate21.0 %21.0 %21.0 %
State income taxes, net of federal benefit2.1 1.7 2.5 
Share-based payment awards(1.1)(0.6)(2.8)
Excess foreign tax credits(1.2)(0.4)(2.2)
Other U.S. tax credits and incentives(2.0)(3.3)(1.4)
Foreign0.6 (1.2)1.3 
Other— 0.2 1.0 
Effective income tax rate19.4 %17.4 %19.4 %
Deferred tax assets (liabilities) are comprised of the following as of December 31 (in thousands):
20222021
Deferred tax assets:
Lease liabilities$79,402 $60,846 
Compensation69,305 71,770 
Accrued expenses52,416 92,936 
Foreign affiliate prepayment1,901 88,399 
Long-lived assets94,268 — 
Other23,990 22,925 
Deferred tax liabilities:
Right-of-use assets(74,507)(56,044)
Intangible assets(53,580)(79,198)
Accrued revenue— (47,255)
Prepaid assets(6,657)(14,021)
Long-lived assets— (10,387)
Foreign withholding tax(9,709)(11,917)
Other(9,483)(9,267)
Net deferred tax assets$167,346 $108,787 
We had foreign net operating loss carryforwards with a tax effect of $9.0 million as of December 31, 2022, and $8.6 million as of December 31, 2021. The net operating loss carryforwards will expire at various dates from 2023 to 2030, with certain jurisdictions having indefinite carryforward terms. We continually monitor and review the foreign net operating loss carryforwards to determine the ability to realize the deferred tax assets associated with the foreign net operating loss carryforwards. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we have recorded a valuation allowance of $1.4 million and $2.5 million, respectively, against the deferred tax asset related to the foreign operating loss carryforwards.