Tax Benefit and Tax Rate.  Income tax benefit for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2020, was $21.1 million and $23.3 million, respectively.  Income tax benefit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, was $55.5 million and $67.0 million, respectively.  For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, our effective tax rate primarily differed from the statutory Federal tax rate for adjustments recorded related to the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020 and the issuance by the United States Treasury Department (Treasury) of final and proposed regulations under Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 163(j) on July 28, 2020 that provided additional guidance and clarification related to the business interest expense limitation.  Included in the income tax benefit for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 is $19.0 million and $27.5 million, respectively, related to changes in our interest expense limitation due to the enactment of the CARES Act and final and proposed regulations under IRC Section 163(j).  During the three months ended September 30, 2019, we released a portion of the valuation allowance on our net deferred tax assets based on the Company’s quarterly assessment of the realizability of net deferred tax assets, resulting in an income tax benefit of $55.8 million.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we reversed a liability related to an uncertain tax position that was effectively settled with the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"), resulting in an income tax benefit of $11.5 million.  Our effective tax rate was not meaningful for any of the periods presented.  

Valuation Allowance.  Deferred tax assets are recorded related to net operating losses and temporary differences between the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities expected to produce tax deductions in future periods.  The realization of these assets depends on recognition of sufficient future taxable income in specific tax jurisdictions in which those temporary differences or net operating losses are deductible.  In assessing the need for a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets, we consider whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of them will not be realized.     

As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, our valuation allowance was $24.7 million and $54.4 million, respectively, and relates primarily to state net operating losses and the disallowed interest limitation carryover.

Calculation of Interim Provision for Income Tax.  Historically, we have calculated the provision for income taxes during interim reporting periods by applying an estimate of the annual effective tax rate for the full year to income (loss) for the interim period.  In the third quarter of 2020, we concluded that we could not calculate a reliable estimate of our annual effective tax rate due to the range of potential impacts the global COVID-19 pandemic may have on our business and results of operations.  Accordingly, we computed the effective tax rate for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2020 using actual results.

Income Taxes Receivable, Refunds and Payments.  As of December 31, 2019, we had current income taxes receivable of $1.9 million, which was received during the nine months ended September 30, 2020.  The refund related primarily to a net operating loss (“NOL”) carryback claim for 2017 that was carried back to prior years.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, we did not make any income tax payments of significance.  During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, we received $16.9 million in income tax refunds.  During the same periods, we recorded interest income of $0.5 million and $4.5 million related to these income tax claims, respectively.  During the nine months ended  September 30, 2019, we did not make any income tax payments of significance.

The tax years 2017 through 2019 remain open to examination by the tax jurisdictions to which we are subject.