14. Taxation

Repay Holdings Corporation is taxed as a corporation and is subject to paying corporate federal, state and local taxes on the income allocated to it from Hawk Parent, based upon Repay Holding Corporation’s economic interest held in Hawk Parent, as well as any stand-alone income or loss it generates. Hawk Parent is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal and most applicable state and local income tax purposes. As a partnership, Hawk Parent is not subject to U.S. federal and certain state and local income taxes. Hawk Parent’s members, including Repay Holdings Corporation, are liable for federal, state and local income taxes based on their allocable share of Hawk Parent’s pass-through taxable income.

The components of income (loss) before income taxes are as follows:

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

($ in thousands)

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

U.S.

 

$

(278,538

)

 

$

(13,146

)

 

$

(121,593

)

Foreign

 

 

1,581

 

 

 

2,226

 

 

 

2,058

 

Loss before income tax benefit

 

$

(276,957

)

 

$

(10,920

)

 

$

(119,535

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Company recorded a provision (benefit) for income tax as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

($ in thousands)

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

Current expense (benefit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Federal

 

$

276

 

 

$

872

 

 

$

591

 

U.S. state and local

 

 

(71

)

 

 

570

 

 

 

332

 

Foreign

 

 

299

 

 

 

473

 

 

 

556

 

Total current expense

 

$

504

 

 

$

1,915

 

 

$

1,479

 

Deferred expense (benefit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Federal

 

$

(4,480

)

 

$

(2,774

)

 

$

(1,858

)

U.S. state and local

 

 

(1,893

)

 

 

284

 

 

 

(1,736

)

Foreign

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total deferred benefit

 

$

(6,373

)

 

$

(2,490

)

 

$

(3,594

)

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Federal

 

$

(4,204

)

 

$

(1,902

)

 

$

(1,267

)

U.S. state and local

 

 

(1,964

)

 

 

854

 

 

 

(1,404

)

Foreign

 

 

299

 

 

 

473

 

 

 

556

 

Income tax benefit

 

$

(5,869

)

 

$

(575

)

 

$

(2,115

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A reconciliation of the income taxes paid, net of refunds received by the Company is as follows for the years indicated:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

($ in thousands)

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

 

U.S. Federal

 

$

1,270

 

 

$

1,300

 

 

$

709

 

 

U.S. state and local

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pennsylvania

 

$

 

(1)

$

181

 

 

$

 

(1)

Other

 

 

52

 

 

 

523

 

 

 

217

 

 

 

$

52

 

 

$

704

 

 

$

217

 

 

Foreign

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canada - Federal

 

$

341

 

 

$

624

 

 

$

224

 

 

Canada - British Columbia

 

 

98

 

 

 

183

 

 

 

180

 

 

 

$

439

 

 

$

807

 

 

$

404

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

1,761

 

 

$

2,811

 

 

$

1,330

 

 

(1)
The amount of income taxes paid during the year does not meet the 5% disaggregation threshold.

A reconciliation of the United States statutory income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate is as follows for the years indicated:

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

 

2023

 

($ in thousands)

 

Amount

 

 

Percent

 

 

Amount

 

 

Percent

 

 

Amount

 

 

Percent

 

U.S. Federal Statutory Tax Rate

 

$

(58,161

)

 

 

21.0

%

 

$

(2,293

)

 

 

21.0

%

 

$

(25,104

)

 

 

21.0

%

Domestic Federal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax Credits

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development tax credits

 

 

 

 

 

0.0

%

 

 

(871

)

 

 

8.0

%

 

 

(1,315

)

 

 

1.1

%

Foreign tax credit

 

 

(458

)

 

 

0.2

%

 

 

(375

)

 

 

3.5

%

 

 

(235

)

 

 

0.2

%

Nontaxable or Nondeductible Items

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodwill impairment

 

 

49,026

 

 

 

(17.7

%)

 

 

 

 

 

0.0

%

 

 

14,693

 

 

 

(12.3

%)

Other

 

 

219

 

 

 

(0.1

%)

 

 

204

 

 

 

(1.9

%)

 

 

123

 

 

 

(0.1

%)

Effect of Changes in Tax Laws or Rates Enacted in the Current Period

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Adjustments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excess tax shortfall related to share-based compensation

 

 

2,062

 

 

 

(0.7

%)

 

 

1,420

 

 

 

(13.0

%)

 

 

2,318

 

 

 

(1.9

%)

Gain on sale of Blue Cow

 

 

 

 

 

0.0

%

 

 

 

 

 

0.0

%

 

 

7,407

 

 

 

(6.2

%)

Other

 

 

3,010

 

 

 

(1.1

%)

 

 

(55

)

 

 

0.5

%

 

 

948

 

 

 

(0.8

%)

Domestic State and Local Income Taxes, Net of Federal Income Tax Effect (1)

 

 

(1,994

)

 

 

0.7

%

 

 

794

 

 

 

(7.3

%)

 

 

(1,505

)

 

 

1.3

%

Foreign Tax Effects

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statutory tax rate difference between Canada and United States

 

 

427

 

 

 

(0.2

%)

 

 

601

 

 

 

(5.5

%)

 

 

555

 

 

 

(0.5

%)

Effective tax rate

 

$

(5,869

)

 

 

2.1

%

 

$

(575

)

 

 

5.3

%

 

$

(2,115

)

 

 

1.8

%

(1)
State taxes in Arizona, California, Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania made up the majority (greater than 50 percent) of the tax effect in this category.

The Company’s effective tax rate was 2.1%, 5.3% and 1.8% for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The comparison of the Company’s effective tax rate to the U.S. statutory tax rate of 21% was primarily influenced by the fact that the Company is not liable for the income taxes on the portion of Hawk Parent’s earnings that are attributable to

noncontrolling interests, the calculation of the Federal and state research and development credit and its impact on income taxes, the excess tax shortfall related to share-based compensation and the impact of the goodwill impairment. Further, the comparison is reflective of the effect of remeasuring net deferred tax assets for state tax rate changes.

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Details of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

 

($ in thousands)

 

December 31, 2025

 

 

December 31, 2024

 

Deferred tax assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax credits

 

$

5,492

 

 

$

5,653

 

Acquisition costs

 

 

230

 

 

 

257

 

Federal net operating losses

 

 

42,647

 

 

 

26,761

 

State net operating losses

 

 

11,013

 

 

 

6,624

 

Tax integrated capped call

 

 

7,177

 

 

 

8,954

 

Other assets

 

 

(38

)

 

 

(41

)

Partnership basis tax differences

 

 

116,030

 

 

 

131,598

 

Total deferred tax asset

 

 

182,551

 

 

 

179,806

 

Valuation allowance

 

 

(5,739

)

 

 

(8,734

)

Total deferred tax asset, net of valuation allowance

 

 

176,812

 

 

 

171,072

 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other intangibles - Payix

 

 

(2,387

)

 

 

(3,023

)

Other liabilities

 

 

(1,397

)

 

 

(4,766

)

Total deferred tax liabilities

 

 

(3,784

)

 

 

(7,789

)

Net deferred tax assets

 

$

173,028

 

 

$

163,283

 

As a result of the finalization of 2024 income tax returns, Post-Merger Repay Unit exchanges during the year ended December 31, 2025, and estimates of current year activity, the Company recognized a reduction of the deferred tax asset (“DTA”) and offsetting deferred tax liability (“DTL”) in the amount of $3.0 million, compared to a reduction of $3.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2024, to account for the portion of the Company’s outside basis in the partnership interest that it will not recover through tax deductions, a ceiling rule limitation arising under Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) sec. 704(c). As the ceiling rule causes taxable income allocations to be in excess of 704(b) book allocations the DTL will unwind, leaving only the DTA, which may only be recovered through the sale of the partnership interest in Hawk Parent. The Company has concluded, based on the weight of all positive and negative evidence, that all of the DTA associated with the ceiling rule limitation is not likely to be realized as of December 31, 2025. As such, a 100% valuation allowance was recognized.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had net tax effected federal and state (net of federal benefit) net operating losses (“NOLs”) of $53.6 million, of which approximately $47.1 million have an indefinite life. NOLs of approximately $0.3 million and $6.2 million will begin to expire in 2031 and 2034, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had federal and state research tax credit carryforwards of $3.5 million and $1.0 million, respectively, which will begin to expire in 2039 and 2032, respectively. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a federal foreign tax credit carryforward of $0.9 million. The Company believes as of December 31, 2025, based on the weight of all positive and negative evidence, it is more likely than not that the results of future operations will generate sufficient taxable income to realize the NOLs and tax credits and, as such, no valuation allowance was recorded.

On July 4, 2025, the United States enacted tax reform legislation through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”). Included in this legislation are provisions that allow for the immediate expensing of domestic United States research and development expenses, immediate expensing of certain capital expenditures, and other changes to the United States taxation of profits derived from foreign operations. The Company accounted for the effects of OBBBA in accordance with ASC740, Income Taxes, in the year ended December 31, 2025. The OBBBA did not have a material effect on the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, and the Company is continuing to evaluate the potential effect on future periods.

The Company is no longer subject to U.S. Federal, state, or local examinations by tax authorities for years prior to 2021. No uncertain tax positions existed as of December 31, 2025.

Tax Receivable Agreement Liability

Pursuant to our election under Section 754 of the Code, we expect to obtain an increase in our share of the tax basis in the net assets of Hawk Parent when Post-Merger Repay Units are redeemed or exchanged for Class A common stock of Repay Holdings Corporation. The Company intends to treat any redemptions and exchanges of Post-Merger Repay Units as direct purchases for U.S. federal income tax purposes. These increases in tax basis may reduce the amounts that the Company would otherwise pay in the future to various tax authorities. They 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.

On July 11, 2019, the Company entered into a TRA that provides for the payment by the Company of 100% of the amount of any tax benefits realized, or in some cases are deemed to realize, as a result of (i) increases in our share of the tax basis in the net assets of Hawk Parent resulting from any redemptions or exchanges of Post-Merger Repay Units and from our acquisition of the equity of the selling Hawk Parent members, (ii) tax basis increases attributable to payments made under the TRA, and (iii) deductions attributable to imputed interest pursuant to the TRA (the “TRA Payments”). The TRA Payments are not conditioned upon any continued ownership interest in Hawk Parent or Repay. The rights of each party under the TRA other than the Company are assignable. The timing and amount of aggregate payments due under the TRA may vary based on a number of factors, including the timing and amount of taxable income generated by the Company each year, as well as the tax rate then applicable, among other factors.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a liability of $200.9 million related to the fair value of its projected obligations under the TRA, which is captioned as the tax receivable agreement liability in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The decrease of $2.7 million in the TRA liability for the year ended December 31, 2025, was primarily a result of the decrease in the Early Termination Rate, subsequent exchanges of Post-Merger Repay Units occurring during the period, and accretion, partially offset by a decrease in the tax rate and a payment of the current portion of the TRA liability, as reported at December 31, 2024, over the same period.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Mar 9, 2026Showing above
2024Mar 3, 2025

About Income Taxes Disclosures

The income tax disclosure reveals how much a company actually pays in taxes versus what the statutory rate would predict. Analysts focus on the effective tax rate (ETR) reconciliation, which breaks down every item driving the gap between the 21% federal rate and the company's reported ETR — including R&D credits, foreign rate differentials, and state taxes. Deferred tax assets (DTAs) and their valuation allowances signal management's confidence in future profitability: a rising allowance suggests the company doubts it can use accumulated tax benefits. Uncertain tax benefit (UTB) reserves quantify exposure to IRS challenges on aggressive positions.

Key signals to watch: sudden ETR drops without clear operational reasons, large increases in valuation allowances, growing UTB balances, and significant unremitted foreign earnings. Post-TCJA, pay attention to GILTI and BEAT provisions that affect multinational tax structures. Compare the cash taxes paid (from the cash flow statement) against the income tax provision to gauge earnings quality.