Income Taxes

The Company is the sole managing member of Pla-Fit Holdings, which is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal and certain state and local income taxes. As a partnership, Pla-Fit Holdings is not subject to U.S. federal and certain state and local income taxes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Pla-Fit Holdings is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including the Company, on a pro-rata basis.

Planet Fitness, Inc. is subject to U.S. federal income taxes, in addition to state and local income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income of Pla-Fit Holdings. The Company’s effective tax rate was 23.3% and 36.4% for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively and 23.0% and 32.7% for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The reduction in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to the lower U.S. statutory tax rate in 2018, partially offset by the Company’s increased pro rata share of income from Pla-Fit Holdings. The impact of discrete items was not material. The Company was also subject to taxes in foreign jurisdictions. Undistributed earnings of foreign operations were not material for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017.

Net deferred tax assets of $405,310 and $406,153 as of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, relate primarily to the tax effects of temporary differences in the book basis as compared to the tax basis of our investment in Pla-Fit Holdings as a result of the secondary offerings, other exchanges, recapitalization transactions and IPO. As of June 30, 2018, the Company does not have any material net operating loss carryforwards.

As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the total liability related to uncertain tax positions was $300 and $2,608, respectively. During the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company settled an examination for $2,625 which was fully indemnified. At the date of settlement the Company had recorded on its balance sheet an uncertain tax position reserve and related indemnification asset of $2,967 reflecting principal and interest and therefore released $342 as an offset to provision for income taxes and also released an indemnification asset of $342 through other expense. The Company recognizes interest accrued and penalties, if applicable, related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. Interest and penalties for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 were not material.

On December 22, 2017, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 ("SAB 118") was issued to address the application of U.S. GAAP in situations when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of H.R. 1, originally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("2017 Tax Act"). As of December 31, 2017, the Company made reasonable provisional estimates of the effects of the Tax Act on our consolidated financial statements and tax disclosures, including changes to existing deferred tax balances, the mandatory repatriation tax and remeasurement of our tax benefit arrangements. At June 30, 2018, the Company has not obtained the additional information needed to complete the accounting for the effects of the 2017 Tax Act.

Tax benefit arrangements

The Company’s acquisition of Holdings Units in connection with the IPO and future and certain past exchanges of Holdings Units for shares of the Company’s Class A common stock (or cash at the option of the Company) are expected to produce and have produced favorable tax attributes. In connection with the IPO, the Company entered into two tax receivable agreements. Under the first of those agreements, the Company generally is required to pay to certain existing and previous equity owners of Pla-Fit Holdings (the “TRA Holders”) 85% of the applicable tax savings, if any, in U.S. federal and state income tax that the Company is deemed to realize as a result of certain tax attributes of their Holdings Units sold to the Company (or exchanged in a taxable sale) and that are created as a result of (i) the sales of their Holdings Units for shares of Class A common stock and (ii) tax benefits attributable to payments made under the tax receivable agreement (including imputed interest). Under the second tax receivable agreement, the Company generally is required to pay to TSG AIV II-A L.P and TSG PF Co-Investors A L.P. (the "Direct TSG Investors") 85% of the amount of tax savings, if any, that the Company is deemed to realize as a result of the tax attributes of the Holdings Units held in respect of the Direct TSG Investors’ interest in the Company, which resulted from the Direct TSG Investors’ purchase of interests in Pla-Fit Holdings in 2012, and certain other tax benefits. Under both agreements, the Company generally retains the benefit of the remaining 15% of the applicable tax savings.

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, 713,000 Holdings Units were redeemed by the TRA Holders for newly issued shares of Class A common stock, resulting in an increase in the tax basis of the net assets of Pla-Fit Holdings subject to the provisions of the tax receivable agreements. As a result of the change in Planet Fitness, Inc.’s ownership percentage of Pla-Fit Holdings that occurred in conjunction with the exchanges, we recorded a decrease to our net deferred tax assets of $426 during the six months ended June 30, 2018. As a result of these exchanges, during the six months ended June 30, 2018, we also recognized deferred tax assets in the amount of $9,587, and corresponding tax benefit arrangement liabilities of $8,154, representing 85% of the tax benefits due to the TRA Holders. The offset to the entries recorded in connection with exchanges was to equity.

As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had a liability of $417,454 and $431,360, respectively, related to its projected obligations under the tax benefit arrangements. Projected future payments under the tax benefit arrangements are as follows:



	Amount
Remainder of 2018	$	8,764
2019	24,004
2020	23,983
2021	24,407
2022	24,897
Thereafter	311,399
Total	$	417,454