Partnership Distributions

Partnership distributions include the following.

• A withdrawal by a partner in anticipation of the current year's earnings.
• A distribution of the current year's or prior years' earnings not needed for working capital.
• A complete or partial liquidation of a partner's interest.
• A distribution to all partners in a complete liquidation of the partnership.

A partnership distribution is not taken into account in determining the partner's distributive share of partnership income or loss. If any gain or loss from the distribution is recognized by the partner, it must be reported on his or her return for the tax year in which the distribution is received. Money or property withdrawn by a partner in anticipation of the current year's earnings is treated as a distribution received on the last day of the partnership's tax year.

Effect on partner's basis. A partner's adjusted basis in his or her partnership interest is decreased (but not below zero) by the money and adjusted basis of property distributed to the partner. See Adjusted Basis under Basis of Partner's Interest, later.

Effect on partnership. A partnership generally does not recognize any gain or loss because of distributions it makes to partners. The partnership may be able to elect to adjust the basis of its undistributed property, as explained later under Adjusting the Basis of Partnership Property.

Certain distributions treated as a sale or exchange. When a partnership distributes the following items, the distribution may be treated as a sale or exchange of property rather than a distribution.

• Unrealized receivables or substantially appreciated inventory items distributed in exchange for any part of the partner's interest in other partnership property, including money.
• Other property (including money) distributed in exchange for any part of a partner's interest in unrealized receivables or substantially appreciated inventory items.

See Payments for Unrealized Receivables and Inventory Items under Disposition of Partner's Interest, later.

This treatment does not apply to the following distributions.

• A distribution of property to the partner who contributed the property to the partnership.
• Payments made to a retiring partner or successor in interest of a deceased partner that are the partner's distributive share of partnership income or guaranteed payments.

Substantially appreciated inventory items. Inventory items of the partnership are considered to have appreciated substantially in value if, at the time of the distribution, their total fair market value is more than 120% of the partnership's adjusted basis for the property. However, if a principal purpose for acquiring inventory property is to avoid ordinary income treatment by reducing the appreciation to less than 120%, that property is excluded.

Partner's Gain or Loss

A partner generally recognizes gain on a partnership distribution only to the extent any money (and marketable securities treated as money) included in the distribution exceeds the adjusted basis of the partner's interest in the partnership. Any gain recognized is generally treated as capital gain from the sale of the partnership interest on the date of the distribution. If partnership property (other than marketable securities treated as money) is distributed to a partner, he or she generally does not recognize any gain until the sale or other disposition of the property.

For exceptions to these rules, see Distribution of partner's debt and Net precontribution gain, later. Also, see Payments for Unrealized Receivables and Inventory Items under Disposition of Partner's Interest, later.

Example. The adjusted basis of Jo's partnership interest is $14,000. She receives a distribution of $8,000 cash and land that has an adjusted basis of $2,000 and a fair market value of $3,000. Because the cash received does not exceed the basis of her partnership interest, Jo does not recognize any gain on the distribution. Any gain on the land will be recognized when she sells or otherwise disposes of it. The distribution decreases the adjusted basis of Jo's partnership interest to $4,000 [$14,000 - ($8,000 + $2,000)].

Marketable securities treated as money. Generally, a marketable security distributed to a partner is treated as money in determining whether gain is recognized on the distribution. This treatment, however, does not generally apply if that partner contributed the security to the partnership or an investment partnership made the distribution to an eligible partner.

The amount treated as money is the security's fair market value when distributed, reduced (but not below zero) by the excess (if any) of:

1. The partner's distributive share of the gain that would be recognized had the partnership sold all its marketable securities at their fair market value immediately before the transaction resulting in the distribution, over
2. The partner's distributive share of the gain that would be recognized had the partnership sold all such securities it still held after the distribution at the fair market value in (1).

For more information, including the definition of marketable securities, see section 731(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Loss on distribution. A partner does not recognize loss on a partnership distribution unless all the following requirements are met.

• The adjusted basis of the partner's interest in the partnership exceeds the distribution.
• The partner's entire interest in the partnership is liquidated.
• The distribution is in money, unrealized receivables, or inventory items.

There are exceptions to these general rules. See the following discussions. Also, see Liquidation at Partner's Retirement or Death under Disposition of Partner's Interest, later.

Distribution of partner's debt. If a partnership acquires a partner's debt and extinguishes the debt by distributing it to the partner, the partner will recognize capital gain or loss to the extent the fair market value of the debt differs from the basis of the debt (determined under the rules discussed in Partner's Basis for Distributed Property, later).

The partner is treated as having satisfied the debt for its fair market value. If the issue price (adjusted for any premium or discount) of the debt exceeds its fair market value when distributed, the partner may have to include the excess amount in income as canceled debt.

Similarly, a deduction may be available to a corporate partner if the fair market value of the debt at the time of distribution exceeds its adjusted issue price.

Net precontribution gain. A partner generally must recognize gain on the distribution of property (other than money) if the partner contributed appreciated property to the partnership during the 7-year period before the distribution.

A 5-year period applies to property contributed before June 9, 1997, or under a written binding contract:

1. That was in effect on June 8, 1997, and at all times thereafter before the contribution, and
2. That provides for the contribution of a fixed amount of property.

The gain recognized is the lesser of the following amounts.

1. The excess of:
1. The fair market value of the property received in the distribution, over
2. The adjusted basis of the partner's interest in the partnership immediately before the distribution, reduced (but not below zero) by any money received in the distribution.
2. The "net precontribution gain" of the partner. This is the net gain the partner would recognize if all the property contributed by the partner within 7 years (5 years for property contributed before June 9, 1997) of the distribution, and held by the partnership immediately before the distribution, were distributed to another partner, other than a partner who owns more than 50% of the partnership. For information about the distribution of contributed property to another partner, see Contribution of Property, under Transactions Between Partnership and Partners, later.

The character of the gain is determined by reference to the character of the net precontribution gain. This gain is in addition to any gain the partner must recognize if the money distributed is more than his or her basis in the partnership.

For these rules, the term "money" includes marketable securities treated as money, as discussed earlier.

Effect on basis. The adjusted basis of the partner's interest in the partnership is increased by any net precontribution gain recognized by the partner. Other than for purposes of determining the gain, the increase is treated as occurring immediately before the distribution. See Basis of Partner's Interest, later.

The partnership must adjust its basis in any property the partner contributed within 7 years (5 years for property contributed before June 9, 1997) of the distribution to reflect any gain that partner recognizes under this rule.

Exceptions. Any part of a distribution that is property the partner previously contributed to the partnership is not taken into account in determining the amount of the excess distribution or the partner's net precontribution gain. For this purpose, the partner's previously contributed property does not include a contributed interest in an entity to the extent its value is due to property contributed to the entity after the interest was contributed to the partnership.

Recognition of gain under this rule also does not apply to a distribution of unrealized receivables or substantially appreciated inventory items if the distribution is treated as a sale or exchange, as discussed earlier.

Partner's Basis for Distributed Property

Unless there is a complete liquidation of a partner's interest, the basis of property (other than money) distributed to the partner by a partnership is its adjusted basis to the partnership immediately before the distribution. However, the basis of the property to the partner cannot be more than the adjusted basis of his or her interest in the partnership reduced by any money received in the same transaction.

Example 1. The adjusted basis of Beth's partnership interest is $30,000. She receives a distribution of property that has an adjusted basis of $20,000 to the partnership and $4,000 in cash. Her basis for the property is $20,000.

Example 2. The adjusted basis of Mike's partnership interest is $10,000. He receives a distribution of $4,000 cash and property that has an adjusted basis to the partnership of $8,000. His basis for the distributed property is limited to $6,000 ($10,000 - $4,000, the cash he receives).

Complete liquidation of partner's interest. The basis of property received in complete liquidation of a partner's interest is the adjusted basis of the partner's interest in the partnership reduced by any money distributed to the partner in the same transaction.

Partner's holding period. A partner's holding period for property distributed to the partner includes the period the property was held by the partnership. If the property was contributed to the partnership by a partner, then the period it was held by that partner is also included.

Basis divided among properties. If the basis of property received is the adjusted basis of the partner's interest in the partnership (reduced by money received in the same transaction), it must be divided among the properties distributed to the partner. For property distributed after August 5, 1997, allocate the basis using the following rules.

1. Allocate the basis first to unrealized receivables and inventory items included in the distribution by assigning a basis to each item equal to the partnership's adjusted basis in the item immediately before the distribution. If the total of these assigned bases exceeds the allocable basis, decrease the assigned bases by the amount of the excess.
2. Allocate any remaining basis to properties other than unrealized receivables and inventory items by assigning a basis to each property equal to the partnership's adjusted basis in the property immediately before the distribution. If the allocable basis exceeds the total of these assigned bases, increase the assigned bases by the amount of the excess. If the total of these assigned bases exceeds the allocable basis, decrease the assigned bases by the amount of the excess.

Allocating a basis increase. Allocate any basis increase required in rule (2), above, first to properties with unrealized appreciation to the extent of the unrealized appreciation. (If the basis increase is less than the total unrealized appreciation, allocate it among those properties in proportion to their respective amounts of unrealized appreciation.) Allocate any remaining basis increase among all the properties in proportion to their respective fair market values.

Example. Julie's basis in her partnership interest is $55,000. In a distribution in liquidation of her entire interest, she receives properties A and B, neither of which is inventory or unrealized receivables. Property A has an adjusted basis to the partnership of $5,000 and a fair market value of $40,000. Property B has an adjusted basis to the partnership of $10,000 and a fair market value of $10,000.

To figure her basis in each property, Julie first assigns bases of $5,000 to property A and $10,000 to property B (their adjusted bases to the partnership). This leaves a $40,000 basis increase (the $55,000 allocable basis minus the $15,000 total of the assigned bases). She first allocates $35,000 to property A (its unrealized appreciation). The remaining $5,000 is allocated between the properties based on their fair market values. $4,000 ($40,000/$50,000) is allocated to property A and $1,000 ($10,000/$50,000) is allocated to property B. Julie's basis in property A is $44,000 ($5,000 + $35,000 + $4,000) and her basis in property B is $11,000 ($10,000 + $1,000).

Allocating a basis decrease. Use the following rules to allocate any basis decrease required in rule (1) or rule (2), earlier.

1. Allocate the basis decrease first to items with unrealized depreciation to the extent of the unrealized depreciation. (If the basis decrease is less than the total unrealized depreciation, allocate it among those items in proportion to their respective amounts of unrealized depreciation.)
2. Allocate any remaining basis decrease among all the items in proportion to their respective assigned basis amounts (as decreased in (1)).

Example. Tom's basis in his partnership interest is $20,000. In a distribution in liquidation of his entire interest, he receives properties C and D, neither of which is inventory or unrealized receivables. Property C has an adjusted basis to the partnership of $15,000 and a fair market value of $15,000. Property D has an adjusted basis to the partnership of $15,000 and a fair market value of $5,000.

To figure his basis in each property, Tom first assigns bases of $15,000 to property C and $15,000 to property D (their adjusted bases to the partnership). This leaves a $10,000 basis decrease (the $30,000 total of the assigned bases minus the $20,000 allocable basis). He allocates the entire $10,000 to property D (its unrealized depreciation). Tom's basis in property C is $15,000 and his basis in property D is $5,000 ($15,000 - $10,000).

Distributions before August 6, 1997. For property distributed before August 6, 1997, allocate the basis using the following rules.

1. Allocate the basis first to unrealized receivables and inventory items included in the distribution to the extent of the partnership's adjusted basis in those items. If the partnership's adjusted basis in those items exceeded the allocable basis, allocate the basis among the items in proportion to their adjusted bases to the partnership.
2. Allocate any remaining basis to other distributed properties in proportion to their adjusted bases to the partnership.

Partner's interest more than partnership basis. If the basis of a partner's interest to be divided in a complete liquidation of the partner's interest is more than the partnership's adjusted basis for the unrealized receivables and inventory items distributed, and if no other property is distributed to which the partner can apply the remaining basis, the partner has a capital loss to the extent of the remaining basis of the partnership interest.

Special adjustment to basis. A partner who acquired any part of his or her partnership interest in a sale or exchange or upon the death of another partner may be able to choose a special basis adjustment for property distributed by the partnership. To choose the special adjustment, the partner must have received the distribution within 2 years after acquiring the partnership interest. Also, the partnership must not have chosen the optional adjustment to basis, discussed later under Adjusting the Basis of Partnership Property, when the partner acquired the partnership interest.

If a partner chooses this special basis adjustment, the partner's basis for the property distributed is the same as it would have been if the partnership had chosen the optional adjustment to basis. However, this assigned basis is not reduced by any depletion or depreciation that would have been allowed or allowable if the partnership had previously chosen the optional adjustment.

The choice must be made with the partner's tax return for the year of the distribution if the distribution includes any property subject to depreciation, depletion, or amortization. If the choice does not have to be made for the distribution year, it must be made with the return for the first year in which the basis of the distributed property is pertinent in determining the partner's income tax.

A partner choosing this special basis adjustment must attach a statement to his or her tax return that the partner chooses under section 732(d) of the Internal Revenue Code to adjust the basis of property received in a distribution. The statement must show the computation of the special basis adjustment for the property distributed and list the properties to which the adjustment has been allocated.

Example. Bob purchased a 25% interest in X partnership for $17,000 cash. At the time of the purchase, the partnership owned inventory having a basis to the partnership of $14,000 and a fair market value of $16,000. Thus, $4,000 of the $17,000 he paid was attributable to his share of inventory with a basis to the partnership of $3,500.

Within 2 years after acquiring his interest, Bob withdrew from the partnership and for his entire interest received cash of $1,500, inventory with a basis to the partnership of $3,500, and other property with a basis of $6,000. The value of the inventory received was 25% of the value of all partnership inventory. (It is immaterial whether the inventory he received was on hand when he acquired his interest.)

Since the partnership from which Bob withdrew did not make the optional adjustment to basis, he chose to adjust the basis of the inventory received. His share of the partnership's basis for the inventory is increased by $500 (25% of the $2,000 difference between the $16,000 fair market value of the inventory and its $14,000 basis to the partnership at the time he acquired his interest). The adjustment applies only for purposes of determining his new basis in the inventory, and not for purposes of partnership gain or loss on disposition.

The total to be allocated among the properties Bob received in the distribution is $15,500 ($17,000 basis of his interest - $1,500 cash received). His basis in the inventory items is $4,000 ($3,500 partnership basis + $500 special adjustment). The remaining $11,500 is allocated to his new basis for the other property he received.

Mandatory adjustment. A partner does not always have a choice of making this special adjustment to basis. The special adjustment to basis must be made for a distribution of property, (whether or not within 2 years after the partnership interest was acquired) if all the following conditions existed when the partner received the partnership interest.

• The fair market value of all partnership property (other than money) was more than 110% of its adjusted basis to the partnership.
• If there had been a liquidation of the partner's interest immediately after it was acquired, an allocation of the basis of that interest under the general rules (discussed earlier under Basis divided among properties) would have decreased the basis of property that could not be depreciated, depleted, or amortized and increased the basis of property that could be.
• The optional basis adjustment, if it had been chosen by the partnership, would have changed the partner's basis for the property actually distributed.

Required statement. Generally, if a partner chooses a special basis adjustment and notifies the partnership, or if the partnership makes a distribution for which the special basis adjustment is mandatory, the partnership must provide a statement to the partner. The statement must provide information necessary for the partner to compute the special basis adjustment.

Marketable securities. A partner's basis in marketable securities received in a partnership distribution, as determined in the preceding discussions, is increased by any gain recognized by treating the securities as money. See Marketable securities treated as money under Partner's Gain or Loss, earlier. The basis increase is allocated among the securities in proportion to their respective amounts of unrealized appreciation before the basis increase.

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