6. Income taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with ASC 740—Income Taxes. Under ASC 740, income taxes are recognized for the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current period and deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the future tax consequences of transactions that have been recognized in the Company’s financial statements or tax returns. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

The Company accounts for uncertainties in income tax in accordance with ASC 740-10—Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes. ASC 740-10 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. This accounting standard also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and transition.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties on taxes, if any, within its income tax provision. No significant interest or penalties were recognized during the periods presented.

The Company operates in multiple states. The statute of limitations has expired for all tax years prior to 2012 for federal and 2011 to 2012 for various state tax jurisdictions. However, the net operating loss generated on the Company’s federal and state tax returns in prior years may be subject to adjustments by the federal and state tax authorities.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company elected to early adopt ASU No. 2016-09, where income tax effects of stock-based compensation payment awards are recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement when the awards vests or are settled. The tax effects of exercised or vested awards are treated as discrete items in the interim reporting period in which they occur. The Company recognized $2,213 and $156 in discrete tax benefits related to stock-based compensation payment accounting for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and March 31, 2016, respectively.