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INCOME TAXES
 6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2026
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES
16. INCOME TAXES
For the three months ended June 30, 2026, the Company was qualified to be taxed as a REIT under Code Sections 856 through 860. As a REIT, the Company will not incur federal income tax to the extent that it distributes its taxable income to its stockholders. To maintain qualification as a REIT, the Company must distribute at least 90% of its annual REIT taxable income to its stockholders and meet certain other requirements that relate to, among other things, assets it may hold, income it may generate and its stockholder composition. It is generally the Company’s policy to distribute 100% of its REIT taxable income. To the extent there is any undistributed REIT taxable income at the end of a year, the Company distributes such shortfall within the next year as permitted by the Code.
The Company and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Annaly TRS, Inc. and certain subsidiaries of joint ventures, have made separate joint elections to treat these subsidiaries as TRSs. As such, each of these TRSs is taxable as a domestic C corporation and subject to federal, state and local income taxes based upon their taxable income.
The provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), clarify the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in financial statements and prescribe a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return. ASC 740 also requires that interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits be recognized in the financial statements. As of June 30, 2026, the Company does not have any unrecognized tax benefits that would affect its financial position. Thus, no accruals for penalties and interest were deemed necessary at June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025.
The state and local tax jurisdictions for which the Company is subject to tax-filing obligations recognize the Company’s status as a REIT and, therefore, the Company generally does not pay income tax in such jurisdictions. The Company may, however, be subject to certain minimum state and local tax filing fees as well as certain excise, franchise or business taxes. The Company’s TRSs are subject to federal, state and local taxes. The Company’s federal, state and local tax returns from 2022 and forward remain open for examination.
During the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, the Company recorded $6.9 million and $5.4 million, respectively, of income tax expense attributable to its TRSs. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, the Company recorded $0.4 million and $8.7 million, respectively, of income tax expense attributable to its TRSs.

 For the Three Months Ended
For the Six Months Ended
 June 30, 2026June 30, 2025June 30, 2026June 30, 2025
 (dollars in thousands)(dollars in thousands)
Current Tax Expense (Benefit)
Federal$(557)$— $839 $— 
State and local(69)— 104 13 
Total current income tax expense (benefit)$(626)$— $943 $13 
Deferred Tax Expense (Benefit)
Federal$6,871 $385 $4,051 $7,607 
State and local654 55 386 1,087 
Total deferred income tax expense (benefit)$7,525 $440 $4,437 $8,694 
Total income tax expense (benefit)$6,899 $440 $5,380 $8,707 

The difference between the Company's reported income tax provision and the U.S. federal statutory rate of 21.0% is as follows:    
 For the Three Months Ended
For the Six Months Ended
 June 30, 2026June 30, 2025June 30, 2026June 30, 2025
(dollars in thousands)(percentage)(dollars in thousands)(percentage)
Statutory federal income tax rate$175,281 21.0%21.0%$235,970 21.0%21.0%
Non-taxable REIT income(158,799)(19.0%)(8.8%)(190,949)(17.0%)(12.8%)
State and local taxes, net of federal income tax effect (1)
585 0.1%3.0%490 —%3.0%
VIE and Other(8,201)(1.1%)(14.5%)(38,689)(3.4%)(6.9%)
TRS Permanent Differences(1,967)(0.2%)—%(1,442)(0.1%)—%
Change in valuation allowance— —%—%— —%—%
Total provision$6,899 0.8%0.7%$5,380 0.5%4.3%
(1) State and local taxes in New York made up the majority (greater than 50 percent) of the tax effect in this category.
During the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, the amount of cash income taxes paid by the Company (net of refunds) consists of the following:
 For the Three Months Ended
For the Six Months Ended
 June 30, 2026June 30, 2026
(dollars in thousands)
Federal$550 $550 
State and local822 876 
Total income taxes paid (net of refunds)$1,372 $1,426 

As of June 30, 2026, the Company recorded a net deferred tax asset of $94.9 million resulting primarily from net operating loss carryforwards and securitization gains, and a net deferred tax liability of $161.4 million resulting primarily from unrealized gains on MSR, residential mortgage loans, forward purchase commitments, and interest rate swaps, which are included in Other assets and Other liabilities, respectively, in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. As of June 30, 2026, no valuation allowance was established.
As of June 30, 2026, the Company's TRSs had approximately $92.4 million of net operating loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes which may be available to offset future taxable income, including approximately $7.7 million of net operating loss carryforwards that are subject to an annual limitation under Internal Revenue Code Section 382 and $84.7 million that can be carried forward indefinitely.