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INCOME TAXES
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2026
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]  
INCOME TAXES INCOME TAXES
Components of the provision for income taxes are as follows (in thousands): 
Three Months Ended September 30,Nine Months Ended September 30,
2026202520262025
Federal$15,206 $25,115 $53,451 $94,244 
State1,825 3,836 10,729 18,241 
Total$17,031 $28,951 $64,180 $112,485 

The effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026 was 20.1% and 23.1%, respectively, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 was 22.6% and 23.4%, respectively. The rate for the three months ended September 30, 2026 reflected the benefit of acquired below-market transferable clean fuel production tax credits.
At September 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, we have no unrecognized tax benefits. We believe our current income tax filing positions and deductions will be sustained on audit and we do not anticipate any adjustments that will result in a material change. Our policy is to accrue interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits and include them in the provision for income taxes.
We determine our deferred tax assets and liabilities in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes. We evaluate our deferred tax assets, including the benefit from net operating losses ("NOLs"), by jurisdiction to determine if a valuation allowance is required. This evaluation considers, among other matters, the nature, frequency and severity of cumulative losses, forecasts of future profitability, the length of statutory carryforward periods, experiences with operating losses and experiences of utilizing tax credit carry forwards and tax planning alternatives. We have no federal NOLs or credit carryovers at September 30, 2026, and determined that no valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets was necessary at September 30, 2026.
At September 30, 2026, we had no income taxes payable and $16.6 million income taxes receivable. The income taxes receivable at September 30, 2026 primarily consists of federal and state estimated tax payments and energy tax credits in excess of income tax liability. We have accrued taxes of $12.3 million recorded in Accrued and other liabilities on the accompanying unaudited consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2026 that consists primarily of state franchise tax and federal excise tax.

We conduct business and are subject to tax in the U.S. both federally and in several states. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to U.S. federal, state, or local income tax examinations by taxing authorities for years prior to 2021. We do not have any federal or state tax examinations pending resolution at this time.