7. Income Taxes.
The provision for income taxes for continuing operations for fiscal years ended September 30 consists of the following (in thousands):
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Current: | ||||||||||||||
| Federal | $ | 739 | 1,247 | 2,315 | ||||||||||
| State | 164 | 334 | 408 | |||||||||||
| 903 | 1,581 | 2,723 | ||||||||||||
| Deferred | (434 | ) | 2,067 | (588 | ) | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 469 | 3,648 | 2,135 |
A reconciliation between the amount of tax shown above and the amount computed at the statutory Federal income tax rate follows (in thousands):
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | ||||||||||
| Amount computed at statutory | ||||||||||||
| Federal rate | $ | 781 | 3,180 | 1,862 | ||||||||
| State income taxes (net of Federal | ||||||||||||
| income tax benefit) | 108 | 440 | 257 | |||||||||
| Excess tax benefits from stock option exercises | (427 | ) | — | — | ||||||||
| Other, net | 7 | 28 | 16 | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 469 | 3,648 | 2,135 |
In this reconciliation, the category “Other, net” consists of changes in permanent tax differences related to non-deductible expenses, special tax rates and tax credits, interest and penalties, and adjustments to prior year estimates.
The types of temporary differences and their related tax effects that give rise to deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities at September 30, are presented below (in thousands):
| 2017 | 2016 | ||||||
| Deferred tax liabilities: | |||||||
| Property and equipment | $ | 11,568 | 12,156 | ||||
| Prepaid expenses | 121 | 134 | |||||
| Gross deferred tax liabilities | 11,689 | 12,290 | |||||
| Deferred tax assets: | |||||||
| Insurance liabilities | 159 | 184 | |||||
| Employee benefits and other | 1,485 | 1,627 | |||||
| Gross deferred tax assets | 1,644 | 1,811 | |||||
| Net deferred tax liability | $ | 10,045 | 10,479 |
The Company has no unrecognized tax benefits.
Patriot tax returns in the U.S. and various states that include the Company are subject to audit by taxing authorities. As of September 30, 2017, the earliest tax year that remains open for audit in the Unites States is 2012.