Income Taxes	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Income Taxes.
Income Taxes	12. Income Taxes CWH is organized as a Subchapter C corporation and, as of March 31, 2018, is a 41.7% owner of CWGS, LLC (see Note 14 — Stockholders’ Equity and Note 15 — Non-Controlling Interests). CWGS, LLC is organized as a limited liability company and treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes, with the exception of Americas Road and Travel Club, Inc., Camping World and FreedomRoads RV, Inc. (“FRRV”) and their wholly-owned subsidiaries, which are Subchapter C corporations. The Company is subject to federal and state income taxes. Tax laws, regulations, and administrative practices in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change, with or without notice, due to economic, political, and other conditions, and significant judgment is required in evaluating and estimating the Company’s provision and accruals for these taxes. In addition, a number of jurisdictions in which the Company is subject to tax are actively pursuing changes to their tax laws applicable to corporate taxpayers, such as the recently enacted U.S. tax reform legislation commonly referred to as the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”). The 2017 Tax Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The 2017 Tax Act significantly revised the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and eliminating certain deductions. The 2017 Tax Act also enhanced and extended through 2026 the option to claim accelerated depreciation deductions on qualified property. As of March 31, 2018, the Company had not completed its accounting for the tax effects of the enactment of the 2017 Tax Act on its tax accruals. However, the Company has reasonably estimated the effects of the 2017 Tax Act and recorded provisional amounts in its financial statements as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017. The final impact of the 2017 Tax Act may differ from these estimates, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations, analysis and assumptions made by management, additional guidance that may be issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, and any updates or changes to estimates the Company has utilized to calculate the transition impact. Therefore, the Company’s accounting for the elements of the 2017 Tax Act is incomplete. However, the Company was able to make reasonable estimates of the effects of the 2017 Tax Act. Pursuant to the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”), the Company's measurement period for implementing the accounting changes required by the 2017 Tax Act will close before December 22, 2018 and the Company anticipates completing the accounting under ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes, in a subsequent reporting period within the measurement period. On December 22, 2017, SAB 118 was issued to address the application of 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 the 2017 Tax Act. In accordance with SAB 118, the Company has determined that the $118.4 million of the deferred tax expense recorded in connection with the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities during the three months ended December 31, 2017 was a provisional amount and a reasonable estimate at December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2018. As the Company completes its analysis of the 2017 Tax Act, collect and prepare necessary data, and interpret any additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the IRS, and other standard-setting bodies, the Company may make adjustments to the provisional amounts. Any subsequent adjustment to these amounts will be recorded to current tax expense in the quarter of 2018 when the analysis is complete. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company’s effective income tax rate was 29.5% and 10.1%, respectively. The amount of income tax expense and the effective income tax rate increased in 2018 partially due to operating losses recorded by its retail segment for which no tax benefit was recognized on account of the valuation allowance recorded against such losses, and partially due to an increased ownership percentage of CWGS, LLC for which the Company is subject to U.S., federal and state taxes on its allocable share of income of CWGS, LLC. The Company's effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was higher than the federal statutory rate of 21.0% partially due to the valuation allowance discussed above, and partly due to the effect of state taxes. The Company's effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2017 was significantly lower than the federal statutory rate of 35.0% primarily because no federal income taxes were payable by the Company for the non-controlling interests’ share of CWGS, LLC’s taxable income due to CWGS, LLC’s pass-through structure for federal and most state and local income tax reporting, with the exception of the Subchapter C corporations noted above. The Company evaluates its deferred tax assets on a quarterly basis to determine if they can be realized and establishes valuation allowances when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets may not be realized. At March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company determined that all of its deferred tax assets, except those pertaining to Camping World and the direct investment in the outside basis of CWGS, LLC, are more likely than not to be realized. The Company maintains a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets of Camping World, since it was determined that it would have insufficient taxable income in the current or carryforward periods under the tax laws to realize the future tax benefits of its deferred tax assets. The Company maintains a valuation allowance against the portion of the deferred tax asset pertaining to the outside basis of CWGS, LLC that is not amortizable for tax purposes, since the Company would likely only realize the non-amortizable portion of the deferred tax asset if the investment in CWGS, LLC was divested. The provision for income tax for the entities subject to federal income tax has been included in the consolidated financial statements. The income tax is based on the amount of taxes due on their tax returns plus deferred taxes computed based on the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax basis of assets and liabilities, using expected tax rates. The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements on a particular tax position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than a 50% likelihood of being realized upon settlement. The amount of unrecognized tax benefits is adjusted as appropriate for changes in facts and circumstances, such as significant amendments to existing tax law, new regulations or interpretations by the taxing authorities, new information obtained during a tax examination, or resolution of an examination. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had no uncertain tax positions. The Company did not recognize any interest or penalties relating to income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. On October 6, 2016, the Company entered into a tax receivable agreement (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”) that provides for the payment by the Company to the Continuing Equity Owners and Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. of 85% of the amount of tax benefits, if any, the Company actually realizes, or in some circumstances is deemed to realize, as a result of (i) increases in the tax basis from the purchase of common units from Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. in exchange for Class A common stock in connection with the consummation of the IPO and the related transactions and any future redemptions that are funded by the Company and any future redemptions or exchanges of common units by Continuing Equity Owners as described above and (ii) certain other tax benefits attributable to payments made under the Tax Receivable Agreement. CWGS intends to make an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code effective for each tax year in which a redemption or exchange (including a deemed exchange) of common units for cash or stock occur. These tax benefit payments are not conditioned upon one or more of the Continuing Equity Owners or Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. maintaining a continued ownership interest in CWGS, LLC. In general, the Continuing Equity Owners’ or Crestview Partners II GP, L.P.’s rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement are assignable, including to transferees of its common units in CWGS, LLC (other than the Company as transferee pursuant to a redemption or exchange of common units in CWGS, LLC). The Company expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of the tax benefits, if any, which may be realized. During the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, 173,286 and 10,000 common units in CWGS, LLC, respectively, were exchanged for Class A common stock subject to the provisions of the Tax Receivable Agreement. The Company recognized a liability for the Tax Receivable Agreement payments due to those parties that redeemed common units, representing 85% of the aggregate tax benefits the Company expects to realize from the tax basis increases related to the exchange, after concluding it was probable that the Tax Receivable Agreement payments would be paid based on estimates of future taxable income. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the amount of Tax Receivable Agreement payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement was $139.5 million and $137.7 million, respectively, of which $8.1 million and $8.1 million, respectively, were included in current portion of the Tax Receivable Agreement liability in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

12. Income Taxes

CWH is organized as a Subchapter C corporation and, as of March 31, 2018, is a 41.7% owner of CWGS, LLC (see Note 14 — Stockholders’ Equity and Note 15 — Non-Controlling Interests). CWGS, LLC is organized as a limited liability company and treated as a partnership for federal tax purposes, with the exception of Americas Road and Travel Club, Inc., Camping World and FreedomRoads RV, Inc. (“FRRV”) and their wholly-owned subsidiaries, which are Subchapter C corporations.

The Company is subject to federal and state income taxes. Tax laws, regulations, and administrative practices in various jurisdictions may be subject to significant change, with or without notice, due to economic, political, and other conditions, and significant judgment is required in evaluating and estimating the Company’s provision and accruals for these taxes. In addition, a number of jurisdictions in which the Company is subject to tax are actively pursuing changes to their tax laws applicable to corporate taxpayers, such as the recently enacted U.S. tax reform legislation commonly referred to as the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”). The 2017 Tax Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The 2017 Tax Act significantly revised the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and eliminating certain deductions. The 2017 Tax Act also enhanced and extended through 2026 the option to claim accelerated depreciation deductions on qualified property. As of March 31, 2018, the Company had not completed its accounting for the tax effects of the enactment of the 2017 Tax Act on its tax accruals. However, the Company has reasonably estimated the effects of the 2017 Tax Act and recorded provisional amounts in its financial statements as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017. The final impact of the 2017 Tax Act may differ from these estimates, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations, analysis and assumptions made by management, additional guidance that may be issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, and any updates or changes to estimates the Company has utilized to calculate the transition impact. Therefore, the Company’s accounting for the elements of the 2017 Tax Act is incomplete. However, the Company was able to make reasonable estimates of the effects of the 2017 Tax Act. Pursuant to the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”), the Company's measurement period for implementing the accounting changes required by the 2017 Tax Act will close before December 22, 2018 and the Company anticipates completing the accounting under ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes, in a subsequent reporting period within the measurement period.

On December 22, 2017, SAB 118 was issued to address the application of 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 the 2017 Tax Act. In accordance with SAB 118, the Company has determined that the $118.4 million of the deferred tax expense recorded in connection with the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities during the three months ended December 31, 2017 was a provisional amount and a reasonable estimate at December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2018. As the Company completes its analysis of the 2017 Tax Act, collect and prepare necessary data, and interpret any additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, the IRS, and other standard-setting bodies, the Company may make adjustments to the provisional amounts. Any subsequent adjustment to these amounts will be recorded to current tax expense in the quarter of 2018 when the analysis is complete.

For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company’s effective income tax rate was 29.5% and 10.1%, respectively. The amount of income tax expense and the effective income tax rate increased in 2018 partially due to operating losses recorded by its retail segment for which no tax benefit was recognized on account of the valuation allowance recorded against such losses, and partially due to an increased ownership percentage of CWGS, LLC for which the Company is subject to U.S., federal and state taxes on its allocable share of income of CWGS, LLC. The Company's effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was higher than the federal statutory rate of 21.0% partially due to the valuation allowance discussed above, and partly due to the effect of state taxes. The Company's effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2017 was significantly lower than the federal statutory rate of 35.0% primarily because no federal income taxes were payable by the Company for the non-controlling interests’ share of CWGS, LLC’s taxable income due to CWGS, LLC’s pass-through structure for federal and most state and local income tax reporting, with the exception of the Subchapter C corporations noted above.

The Company evaluates its deferred tax assets on a quarterly basis to determine if they can be realized and establishes valuation allowances when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets may not be realized. At March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company determined that all of its deferred tax assets, except those pertaining to Camping World and the direct investment in the outside basis of CWGS, LLC, are more likely than not to be realized. The Company maintains a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets of Camping World, since it was determined that it would have insufficient taxable income in the current or carryforward periods under the tax laws to realize the future tax benefits of its deferred tax assets. The Company maintains a valuation allowance against the portion of the deferred tax asset pertaining to the outside basis of CWGS, LLC that is not amortizable for tax purposes, since the Company would likely only realize the non-amortizable portion of the deferred tax asset if the investment in CWGS, LLC was divested.

The provision for income tax for the entities subject to federal income tax has been included in the consolidated financial statements. The income tax is based on the amount of taxes due on their tax returns plus deferred taxes computed based on the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax basis of assets and liabilities, using expected tax rates.

The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements on a particular tax position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than a 50% likelihood of being realized upon settlement. The amount of unrecognized tax benefits is adjusted as appropriate for changes in facts and circumstances, such as significant amendments to existing tax law, new regulations or interpretations by the taxing authorities, new information obtained during a tax examination, or resolution of an examination. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company had no uncertain tax positions. The Company did not recognize any interest or penalties relating to income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

On October 6, 2016, the Company entered into a tax receivable agreement (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”) that provides for the payment by the Company to the Continuing Equity Owners and Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. of 85% of the amount of tax benefits, if any, the Company actually realizes, or in some circumstances is deemed to realize, as a result of (i) increases in the tax basis from the purchase of common units from Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. in exchange for Class A common stock in connection with the consummation of the IPO and the related transactions and any future redemptions that are funded by the Company and any future redemptions or exchanges of common units by Continuing Equity Owners as described above and (ii) certain other tax benefits attributable to payments made under the Tax Receivable Agreement. CWGS intends to make an election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code effective for each tax year in which a redemption or exchange (including a deemed exchange) of common units for cash or stock occur. These tax benefit payments are not conditioned upon one or more of the Continuing Equity Owners or Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. maintaining a continued ownership interest in CWGS, LLC. In general, the Continuing Equity Owners’ or Crestview Partners II GP, L.P.’s rights under the Tax Receivable Agreement are assignable, including to transferees of its common units in CWGS, LLC (other than the Company as transferee pursuant to a redemption or exchange of common units in CWGS, LLC). The Company expects to benefit from the remaining 15% of the tax benefits, if any, which may be realized. During the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, 173,286 and 10,000 common units in CWGS, LLC, respectively, were exchanged for Class A common stock subject to the provisions of the Tax Receivable Agreement. The Company recognized a liability for the Tax Receivable Agreement payments due to those parties that redeemed common units, representing 85% of the aggregate tax benefits the Company expects to realize from the tax basis increases related to the exchange, after concluding it was probable that the Tax Receivable Agreement payments would be paid based on estimates of future taxable income. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the amount of Tax Receivable Agreement payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement was $139.5 million and $137.7 million, respectively, of which $8.1 million and $8.1 million, respectively, were included in current portion of the Tax Receivable Agreement liability in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.