	For the Three Months
	Ended March 31,
	2020		2019
Total cost of share-based payment plans	$	1,231	$	1,127
Amounts capitalized in oil and gas properties and equipment	$	51	$	286
Amounts charged against income, before income tax benefit	$	1,180	$	841
Amount of related income tax benefit recognized in income before valuation allowance	$	248	$	177

2017 Stock Incentive Plan. In April 2017, the Ultra Petroleum Corp. 2017 Stock Incentive Plan (“2017 Stock Incentive Plan”) was established by our board of directors (the “Board”) pursuant to which 7.5% of the equity in the Company (on a fully-diluted/fully-distributed basis) is reserved for grants to be made from time to time to the directors, officers, employees, and consultants of the Company. Detailed historical activity associated with the 2017 Stock Incentive Plan is disclosed in Note 7 of the December 31, 2019 Form 10-K. Activity pertaining to the period being presented in this report is described below.

In March 2019, management incentive plan grants were exchanged for new equity awards of time-based and performance-based restricted stock units. The Company evaluated the cancellation of an outstanding award of stock-based compensation followed by the issuance of a replacement award under ASC 718. For this modification, the fair value of the award is assessed both prior to modification and after modification. Per ASC 718, if the fair value after modification exceeds the fair value prior to modification, incremental expense is generated and recognized over the remaining vesting period.

Long Term Incentive Awards. In 2018 and March 2019, the Board approved long-term incentive awards under the 2017 Stock Incentive Plan in order to further align the interests of key employees with shareholders and to give key employees the opportunity to share in the long-term performance of the Company when specific corporate financial and operational goals are achieved. The awards cover a performance period of three years and include time-based and performance-based measures established by the Board at the beginning of the three-year period.

Market-Based Condition Awards. When vesting of an award of stock-based compensation is dependent, at least in part, on the value of a company’s total equity, for purposes of FASB ASC 718, the award is considered to be subject to a “market condition”. Because the Company’s total equity value is a component of its enterprise value, the awards based on enterprise value are considered to be subject to a market condition. Unlike the valuation of an award that is subject to a service condition (i.e., time vested awards) or a performance condition that is not related to stock price, FASB ASC 718 requires the impact of the market condition to be considered when estimating the fair value of the award. As a result, we have used a Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate the fair value of the awards that include a market condition.

FASB ASC 718 requires the expense for an award of stock-based compensation that is subject to a market condition that can be attained at any point during the performance period to be recognized over the shorter of (a) the period between the date of grant and the date the market condition is attained, and (b) the award’s derived service period. For purposes of FASB ASC 718, the derived service period represents the duration of the median of the distribution of share price paths on which the market condition is satisfied. That median is the middle share price path (the midpoint of the distribution of paths within the model) on which the market condition is satisfied. The duration is the period of time from the service inception date to the expected date of market condition satisfaction. Compensation expense is recognized regardless of whether the market condition is actually satisfied.

Expense. The accounting for existing share-based compensation awards will continue throughout the period covered by the Chapter 11 Cases. For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the Company recognized $1.2 million in pre-tax compensation expense, which is included within General and administrative expenses on the condensed consolidated statement of operations. During the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company recognized $0.8 million in pre-tax compensation expense.