Entity information:
Income Taxes
 
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”). In the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recorded an estimated net tax benefit of $31.4 million for the impact of the TCJA, which is included in the provision for income taxes in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income. The estimate is provisional and includes a net benefit of $33.4 million for the re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities, offset by a charge of $1.6 million for the transition tax on the deemed dividend on foreign earnings and a charge of $0.4 million related to certain other impacts of the TCJA. The Company will continue to evaluate and analyze the impact of the legislation. The $31.4 million is provisional and may be materially adjusted based on additional analysis and guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The provision for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Current:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Federal
 
$
33,623

 
$
38,103

 
$
31,295

State
 
7,717

 
6,685

 
5,837

Foreign
 
2,725

 
2,672

 
2,048

 
 
44,065

 
47,460

 
39,180

Deferred:
 
 
 
 

 
 

Federal and State
 
(4,726
)
 
13,169

 
11,520

Foreign
 
(120
)
 
(426
)
 
(209
)
 
 
(4,846
)
 
12,743

 
11,311

 
 
$
39,219

 
$
60,203

 
$
50,491


 
Income from continuing operations before income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):
 
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
United States
 
$
184,168

 
$
148,402

 
$
116,011

Foreign
 
12,925

 
8,997

 
5,902

 
 
$
197,093

 
$
157,399

 
$
121,913



The components of deferred tax assets (liabilities) are as follows (in thousands):
 
 
 
December 31,
 
 
2017
 
2016
Intangibles
 
$
(73,921
)
 
$
(88,832
)
Depreciation expense
 
(9,851
)
 
(14,383
)
Allowance for doubtful accounts
 
2,615

 
3,185

Employee-related accruals
 
2,616

 
10,156

Stock-based compensation
 
4,766

 
9,300

Other
 
4,339

 
6,239

Net operating loss carryforwards
 
1,255

 
1,262

Valuation allowance
 
(1,255
)
 
(1,209
)
 
 
$
(69,436
)
 
$
(74,282
)


 
The reconciliation between the amount computed by applying the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 35.0 percent to income before income taxes and the income tax provision is as follows (in thousands):
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Income tax provision at the statutory rate
 
$
68,983

 
$
55,089

 
$
42,669

State income taxes, net of federal benefit
 
6,751

 
4,873

 
4,559

Disallowed meals and entertainment expenses
 
1,854

 
1,814

 
1,718

Excess stock-based compensation benefit
 
(4,241
)
 
(165
)
 
(168
)
Impact of TCJA
 
(31,420
)
 
—

 
—

Other
 
(2,708
)
 
(1,408
)
 
1,713

 
 
$
39,219

 
$
60,203

 
$
50,491


 
As of December 31, 2017, the Company had no federal net operating losses, no state net operating losses, and $5.7 million of foreign net operating losses which begin to expire in 2021. The foreign net operating losses in the United Kingdom and Spain can be carried forward indefinitely. The Company has recorded a valuation allowance of approximately $1.2 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, related to net operating loss carryforwards.
 
The Company has not provided deferred income taxes on undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries as it intends to reinvest these earnings indefinitely. At December 31, 2017, undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries were $7.9 million. Upon repatriation of those earnings, in the form of dividends or otherwise, the Company would be subject to state income and foreign withholding taxes. Determination of the amount of unrecognized deferred income tax liability is not practicable due to the complexities associated with this hypothetical calculation.

The Company had gross deferred tax assets of $18.6 million and $34.4 million and gross deferred tax liabilities of $86.8 million and $107.5 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Management has determined the gross deferred tax assets are realizable, with the exception of foreign net operating losses discussed above.

At December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, there were $0.4 million, $1.3 million and $0.8 million of unrecognized tax benefits, respectively, that if recognized would affect the annual effective tax rate. The gross unrecognized tax benefits are included in other long-term liabilities. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. The amount of interest and penalties recognized in the financial statements is not significant. The Company believes that it is reasonably possible that a decrease of $0.1 million in unrecognized tax benefits may be recognized by the end of 2018 as a result of a lapse in the statute of limitations. The following is a reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits (in thousands):
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Unrecognized tax benefit beginning of year
 
$
1,293

 
$
814

 
$
848

Gross increases - tax positions in current year
 
71

 
—

 
—

Gross increases - tax positions in prior year
 
—

 
479

 
—

Gross decreases - tax positions in prior year
 
(254
)
 
—

 
(34
)
Lapse of the statute of limitations
 
(680
)
 
—

 
—

Unrecognized tax benefit end of year
 
$
430

 
$
1,293

 
$
814


 
The Company is subject to taxation in the United States and various states and foreign jurisdictions. The IRS has completed an examination of the Company's U.S. income tax return for 2014, resulting in no changes. The Company remains subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for 2014 and subsequent years. For major U.S. states, with few exceptions, and generally for the foreign tax jurisdictions, the Company remains subject to examination for 2013 and subsequent years.