10. INCOME TAXES

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and the state of California. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2014.

Deferred income taxes have been provided by temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for tax purposes. To the extent allowed by GAAP, we provide valuation allowances against the deferred tax assets for amounts when the realization is uncertain. Included in the balances at December 31, 2017 and 2016, are no tax positions for which the ultimate deductibility is highly certain, but for which there is uncertainty about the timing of such deductibility. Because of the impact of deferred tax accounting, other than interest and penalties, the disallowance of the shorter deductibility period would not affect the annual effective tax rate but would accelerate the payment of cash to the taxing authority to an earlier period.

The Company’s policy is to recognize interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in operating expenses. During the periods ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company did not recognize interest and penalties.

The income tax provision differs from the amount of income tax determined by applying the U.S. federal income tax rate to pretax income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 due to the following:

Deferred taxes are provided on a liability method whereby deferred tax assets are recognized for deductible differences and operating loss and tax credit carry-forwards and deferred tax liabilities are recognized for taxable temporary differences. Temporary differences are the difference between the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are adjusted for the effects of changes in tax laws and rates on the date of enactment.

At December 31, 2017, the Company had net operating loss carry-forwards of approximately $10.1 million that may be offset against future taxable income through 2037. No tax benefit has been reported in the 2017 financial statements, since the potential tax benefit is offset by a valuation allowance of the same amount.

Net deferred tax assets consist of the following components as of December 31, 2017 and 2016:

Due to the change in ownership provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, net operating loss carry-forwards for federal income tax reporting purposes are subject to annual limitations. Should a change in ownership occur, net operating loss carry-forwards may be limited as to use in future years.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). The Tax Act establishes new tax laws that affects 2018 and future years, including a reduction in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate to 21%, effective January 1, 2018. For certain deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities, we have recorded a provisional decrease of $1,074, with a corresponding net adjustment to valuation allowance of $1,074 as of December 31, 2017.