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INCOME TAXES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
The Company accounts for income taxes using ASC 740, “Income Taxes,” which is an asset and liability approach that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized differently in the financial statements and the tax returns. The provision for income taxes consists of the following at December 31:
($ in thousands)202520242023
Total provision (benefit):$1,088 $976 $2,323 
Federal:
Current110 26 1,371 
Deferred652 633 353 
762 659 1,724 
State:
Current85 260 584 
Deferred241 57 15 
326 317 599 
Total$1,088 $976 $2,323 
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows at December 31:
($ in thousands)20252024
Deferred income tax assets:
Accrued expenses$199 $319 
Deferred revenues614 644 
Capitalization of costs1,099 1,157 
Pension adjustment1,797 1,801 
Stock grant expense1,183 2,164 
State deferred taxes240 248 
Book deferred gains2,127 2,127 
Joint venture allocations130 524 
Provision for additional capitalized costs699 699 
Interest rate swap1,444 1,444 
Other490 74 
Total deferred income tax assets$10,022 $11,201 
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Deferred gains$1,753 $1,753 
Depreciation5,960 5,447 
Cost of sales allocations872 872 
Joint venture allocations7,249 7,729 
Capitalized stock compensation1,626 1,431 
Straight line rent165 231 
Prepaid expenses130 679 
Interest rate swap1,444 1,444 
Other672 674 
Total deferred income tax liabilities$19,871 $20,260 
Net deferred taxes$(9,849)$(9,059)
Due to the nature of the Company's deferred tax assets, the Company believes they will be used through operations in future years and a valuation allowance is not necessary. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had tax-effected net operating loss carryforwards of $207,000 that can be carried forward indefinitely under federal law. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had tax-effected net operating loss carryforwards of $195,000 that are generally carried forward a maximum of 20 years.
The Company made $50,000 in estimated federal tax payments in 2025 and $0 in 2024. The Company made $380,000 in estimated California state tax payments in 2025 and $315,000 in 2024. The Company received tax refunds of $28,000 and $1,000 in 2025 and 2024, respectively.
The Company evaluates its tax positions for all income tax items based on their technical merits to determine whether each position satisfies the “more likely than not to be sustained upon examination” test. The tax benefits are then measured as the largest amount of benefit, determined on a cumulative basis, that is “more likely than not” to be realized upon ultimate settlement. As a result of this evaluation, the Company determined there were no uncertain tax positions that required recognition and measurement for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 within the scope of ASC 740, "Income Taxes." Tax years from 2022 to 2024 and 2021 to 2024 remain available for examination by the Federal and California State taxing authorities, respectively.
In 2025, the Company’s effective tax rate varied from the statutory federal rate primarily due to permanent differences related to Section 162(m) limitations, state taxes and excess stock compensation expense. The Section 162(m) compensation deduction limitations occurred as a result of changes in tax law arising from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which first impacted the Company in 2020. A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes, with the amount computed by applying the statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% in 2025, 2024 and 2023, is as follows for the years ended December 31: 
The income tax rate reconciliation was as follows at December 31:
202520242023
($ in thousands)AmountTax RateAmountTax RateAmountTax Rate
Income tax at statutory rate$250 21.0 %$770 21.0 %$1,195 21.0 %
State income taxes, net of federal benefit257 21.6 %256 7.0 %578 10.2 %
Excess stock compensation expense (benefit)104 8.7 %6 0.2 %(501)(8.1)%
Non-deductible compensation608 53.6 %181 4.9 %1,302 22.9 %
Oil and mineral depletion(109)(9.1)%(129)(3.5)%(130)(2.3)%
Permanent differences5 0.4 %(11)(0.3)%9 0.2 %
Other(27)(2.3)%(97)(2.7)%(130)(2.3)%
Tax provision$1,088 93.9 %$976 26.6 %$2,323 41.6 %