Income Taxes |
3 Months Ended |
|---|---|
Mar. 31, 2026 | |
| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| Income Taxes | Income Taxes The Company is the sole managing member of Alclear, which is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. As a partnership, Alclear is generally not subject to U.S. federal and most state and local income taxes. Any taxable income or loss generated by Alclear is passed through to and included in the taxable income or loss of its members, including us, on a pro rata basis. The Company is subject to U.S. federal income taxes in the U.S. and its territories, in addition to state and local income taxes with respect to our allocable share of any taxable income or loss of Alclear, as well as any stand-alone income or loss generated by the Company. The Company is also subject to income taxes in Israel, Argentina, and Mexico. The Company reported a tax expense of $14,361 on a pretax income of $70,745 for the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared to a tax expense of $5,422 on a pretax income of $44,005 for the three months ended March 31, 2025. This resulted in an effective tax rate of 20.3% for the three months ended March 31, 2026 as compared to 12.3% percent for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The Company's effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate primarily due to the following: (1) the impact of Alclear being a partnership and allocating its taxable results to its non-controlling members, (2) impact of state and foreign taxes, and (3) non-deductible officer compensation. The Company paid $9,442 in estimated income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2026. The Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. and its territories, Israel, Argentina, and Mexico. The statute of limitations for adjustments to our historic tax obligations will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The tax years for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes open for examination are for the years ending December 31, 2020 and forward. The tax years for foreign jurisdictions open for examination are for the years ending December 31, 2020 and forward. During the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company repurchased 39,901 shares of its Class A Common Stock. However, there was no excise tax as of March 31, 2026 because the stock issuances were in excess of repurchases. Tax Receivable Agreement The Company entered into a Tax Receivable Agreement (“TRA”), which generally provides for payment by the Company to the remaining members of Alclear of 85% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax and franchise tax that Clear Secure, Inc. actually realizes or is deemed to realize as a result of (i) any increase in tax basis in Alclear’s assets resulting from (a) exchanges by the post-IPO members of Alclear (the “Alclear Members”) (or their transferees or other assignees) of Alclear Units (along with the corresponding shares of our Class C Common Stock or Class D Common Stock, as applicable) for shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock or Class B Common Stock, as applicable, and purchases of Alclear Units and corresponding shares of Class C Common Stock or Class D Common Stock, as the case may be, from the Alclear Members (or their transferees or other assignees) or (b) payments under the TRA, and (ii) tax benefits related to imputed interest deemed arising as a result of payments made under the TRA. The Company will retain the benefit of the remaining 15% of these net cash savings. The TRA liability is calculated by determining the tax basis subject to TRA (“tax basis”) and applying a blended tax rate to the basis differences and calculating the iterative impact. The blended tax rate consists of the U.S. federal income tax rate and an assumed combined state and local income tax rate driven by the apportionment factors applicable to each state. Subsequent changes to the measurement of the TRA liability are recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations as a component of other income (expense), net. The Company expects to obtain an increase in the share of the tax basis of its share of the assets of Alclear when Alclear Units are redeemed or exchanged by Alclear Members and other qualifying transactions. This increase in tax basis may have the effect of reducing the amounts that the Company would otherwise pay in the future to various tax authorities. The increase in tax basis may also decrease gains (or increase losses) on future dispositions of certain capital assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those capital assets. During the three months ended March 31, 2026, the Company issued 1,979,104 shares of Class A Common Stock to certain non-controlling interest holders who exchanged their Alclear Units. Refer to Note 12 for further details. These exchanges resulted in a tax basis increase subject to the provisions of the TRA. The recognition of the Company’s liability under the tax receivable agreement mirrors the recognition related to its deferred tax assets. As of March 31, 2026, the Company has recognized the deferred tax asset of $297,002 for the step-up in tax basis, as the asset is more-likely-than-not to be realized. As a result, the Company has determined the TRA liability is probable and therefore has recorded a tax receivable agreement liability of $252,452. Tax Distributions The members of Alclear, including Clear Secure, Inc., incur U.S. federal, state and local income taxes on their share of any taxable income of Alclear. The Operating Agreement provides for pro rata cash distributions (“tax distributions”) to the holders of the Alclear Units in an amount generally calculated to provide each member of Alclear with sufficient cash to cover its tax liability in respect of the taxable income of Alclear allocable to them. In general, these tax distributions are computed based on Alclear’s estimated taxable income, multiplied by an assumed tax rate as set forth in the Operating Agreement. During the three months ended March 31, 2026, Alclear paid a tax distribution, including withholding taxes, of $15,078, to holders of Alclear Units other than Clear Secure, Inc. and the state tax authorities.
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