Transactions Between Partnership & Partners

For certain transactions between a partner and his or her partnership, the partner is treated as not being a member of the partnership. These transactions include the following.

1. Performing services for or transferring property to a partnership if--
1. There is a related allocation and distribution to a partner, and
2. The entire transaction, when viewed together, is properly characterized as occurring between the partnership and a partner not acting in the capacity of a partner.
2. Transferring money or other property to a partnership if--
1. There is a related transfer of money or other property by the partnership to the contributing partner or another partner, and
2. The transfers together are properly characterized as a sale or exchange of property.

Payments by accrual basis partnership to cash basis partner. A partnership that uses an accrual method of accounting cannot deduct any business expense owed to a cash basis partner until the amount is paid. However, this rule does not apply to guaranteed payments made to a partner, which are generally deductible when accrued.

Guaranteed Payments

Guaranteed payments are those made by a partnership to a partner that are determined without regard to the partnership's income. A partnership treats guaranteed payments for services, or for the use of capital, as if they were made to a person who is not a partner. This treatment is for purposes of determining gross income and deductible business expenses only. For other tax purposes, guaranteed payments are treated as a partner's distributive share of ordinary income. Guaranteed payments are not subject to income tax withholding.

The partnership generally deducts guaranteed payments on line 10 of Form 1065 as a business expense. They are also listed on Schedules K and K-1 of the partnership return. The individual partner reports guaranteed payments on Schedule E (Form 1040) as ordinary income, along with his or her distributive share of the partnership's other ordinary income.

Guaranteed payments made to partners for organizing the partnership or syndicating interests in the partnership are capital expenses and are not deductible by the partnership. (See Organization expenses and syndication fees under Partnership Income or Loss, earlier). However, these payments must be included in the partners' individual income tax returns.

Minimum payment. If a partner is to receive a minimum payment from the partnership, the guaranteed payment is the amount by which the minimum payment is more than the partner's distributive share of the partnership income before taking into account the guaranteed payment.

Example. Under a partnership agreement, Sandy is to receive 30% of the partnership income, but not less than $8,000. The partnership has net income of $20,000. Sandy's share, without regard to the minimum guarantee, is $6,000 (30% × $20,000). The guaranteed payment that can be deducted by the partnership is $2,000 ($8,000 - $6,000). Sandy's income from the partnership is $8,000, and the remaining $12,000 of partnership income will be reported by the other partners in proportion to their shares under the partnership agreement.

If the partnership net income had been $30,000, there would have been no guaranteed payment since her share, without regard to the guarantee, would have been greater than the guarantee.

Self-employed health insurance premiums. Premiums for health insurance paid by a partnership on behalf of a partner for services as a partner are treated as guaranteed payments. The partnership can deduct the payments as a business expense and the partner must include them in gross income. However, if the partnership accounts for insurance paid for a partner as a reduction in distributions to the partner, the partnership cannot deduct the premiums.

For 2001, a partner who qualifies can deduct 60% of the health insurance premiums paid by the partnership on his or her behalf as an adjustment to income. The partner cannot deduct the premiums for any calendar month or part of a month in which the partner is eligible to participate in any subsidized health plan maintained by any employer of the partner or the partner's spouse. For more information on the self-employed health insurance deduction, see chapter 7 in Publication 535.

Including payments in partner's income. Guaranteed payments are included in income in the partner's tax year in which the partnership's tax year ends.

Example 1. Under the terms of a partnership agreement, Erica is entitled to a fixed annual payment of $10,000 without regard to the income of the partnership. Her distributive share of the partnership income is 10%. The partnership has $50,000 of ordinary income after deducting the guaranteed payment. She must include ordinary income of $15,000 ($10,000 guaranteed payment + $5,000 ($50,000 × 10%) distributive share) on her individual income tax return for her tax year in which the partnership's tax year ends.

Example 2. Mike is a calendar year taxpayer who is a partner in a partnership. The partnership uses a fiscal year that ended January 31, 2001. Mike received guaranteed payments from the partnership from February 1, 2000, until December 31, 2000. He must include these guaranteed payments in income for 2001 and report them on his 2001 income tax return.

Payments resulting in loss. If guaranteed payments to a partner result in a partnership loss in which the partner shares, the partner must report the full amount of the guaranteed payments as ordinary income. The partner separately takes into account his or her distributive share of the partnership loss, to the extent of the adjusted basis of the partner's partnership interest.

Sale or Exchange of Property

Special rules apply to a sale or exchange of property between a partnership and certain persons.

Losses. Losses will not be allowed from a sale or exchange of property (other than an interest in the partnership) directly or indirectly between a partnership and a person whose direct or indirect interest in the capital or profits of the partnership is more than 50%.

If the sale or exchange is between two partnerships in which the same persons directly or indirectly own more than 50% of the capital or profits interests in each partnership, no deduction of a loss is allowed.

The basis of each partner's interest in the partnership is decreased (but not below zero) by the partner's share of the disallowed loss.

If the purchaser later sells the property, only the gain realized that is greater than the loss not allowed will be taxable. If any gain from the sale of the property is not recognized because of this rule, the basis of each partner's interest in the partnership is increased by the partner's share of that gain.

Gains. Gains are treated as ordinary income in a sale or exchange of property directly or indirectly between a person and a partnership, or between two partnerships, if both of the following tests are met.

• More than 50% of the capital or profits interest in the partnership(s) is directly or indirectly owned by the same person(s).
• The property in the hands of the transferee immediately after the transfer is not a capital asset. Property that is not a capital asset includes accounts receivable, inventory, stock-in-trade, and depreciable or real property used in a trade or business.

More than 50% ownership. To determine if there is more than 50% ownership in partnership capital or profits, the following rules apply.

1. An interest directly or indirectly owned by or for a corporation, partnership, estate, or trust is considered to be owned proportionately by or for its shareholders, partners, or beneficiaries.
2. An individual is considered to own the interest directly or indirectly owned by or for the individual's family. For this rule, "family" includes only brothers, sisters, half-brothers, half-sisters, spouses, ancestors, and lineal descendants.
3. If a person is considered to own an interest using rule (1), that person (the "constructive owner") is treated as if actually owning that interest when rules (1) and (2) are applied. However, if a person is considered to own an interest using rule (2), that person is not treated as actually owning that interest in reapplying rule (2) to make another person the constructive owner.

Example. Individuals A and B and Trust T are equal partners in Partnership ABT. A's husband, AH, is the sole beneficiary of Trust T. Trust T's partnership interest will be attributed to AH only for the purpose of further attributing the interest to A. As a result, A is a more-than-50% partner. This means that any deduction for losses on transactions between her and ABT will not be allowed, and gain from property that in the hands of the transferee is not a capital asset is treated as ordinary, rather than capital, gain.

More information. For more information on these special rules, see Sales and Exchanges Between Related Persons in chapter 2 of Publication 544.

Contribution of Property

Usually, neither the partner nor the partnership recognizes a gain or loss when property is contributed to the partnership in exchange for a partnership interest. This applies whether a partnership is being formed or is already operating. The partnership's holding period for the property includes the partner's holding period.

The contribution of limited partnership interests in one partnership for limited partnership interests in another partnership qualifies as a tax-free contribution of property to the second partnership if the transaction is made for business purposes. The exchange is not subject to the rules explained later under Disposition of Partner's Interest.

Disguised sales. A contribution of money or other property to the partnership followed by a distribution of different property from the partnership to the partner is treated not as a contribution and distribution, but as a sale of property, if both of the following tests are met.

• The distribution would not have been made but for the contribution.
• The partner's right to the distribution does not depend on the success of partnership operations.

All facts and circumstances are considered in determining if the contribution and distribution are more properly characterized as a sale. However, if the contribution and distribution occur within 2 years of each other, the transfers are presumed to be a sale unless the facts clearly indicate that the transfers are not a sale. If the contribution and distribution occur more than 2 years apart, the transfers are presumed not to be a sale unless the facts clearly indicate that the transfers are a sale.

Form 8275 required. A partner must attach Form 8275, Disclosure Statement, (or other statement) to his or her return if the partner contributes property to a partnership and, within 2 years (before or after the contribution), the partnership transfers money or other consideration to the partner. For exceptions to this requirement, see section 1.707-3(c)(2) of the regulations.

A partnership must attach Form 8275 (or other statement) to its return if it distributes property to a partner, and, within 2 years (before or after the distribution), the partner transfers money or other consideration to the partnership.

Form 8275 must include the following information.

• A caption identifying the statement as a disclosure under section 707 of the Internal Revenue Code.
• A description of the transferred property or money, including its value.
• A description of any relevant facts in determining if the transfers are properly viewed as a disguised sale. (See section 1.707-3(b)(2) of the regulations for a description of the facts and circumstances considered in determining if the transfers are a disguised sale.)

Contribution to investment company. Gain is recognized when property is contributed (in exchange for an interest in the partnership) to a partnership that would be treated as an investment company if it were incorporated.

A partnership is generally treated as an investment company if over 80% of the value of its assets is held for investment and consists of certain readily marketable items. These items include money, stocks and other equity interests in a corporation, and interests in regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts. For more information, see section 351(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code and the related regulations. Whether a partnership is an investment company under this test is ordinarily determined immediately after the transfer of property.

This rule applies to limited partnerships and general partnerships, regardless of whether they are privately formed or publicly syndicated.

Contribution to foreign partnership. A domestic partnership that contributed property after August 5, 1997, to a foreign partnership in exchange for a partnership interest may have to file Form 8865 if either of the following apply.

1. Immediately after the contribution, the partnership owned, directly or indirectly, at least a 10% interest in the foreign partnership.
2. The fair market value of the property contributed to the foreign partnership, when added to other contributions of property made to the partnership during the preceding 12-month period, is greater than $100,000.

The partnership may also have to file Form 8865, even if no contributions are made during the tax year, if it owns a 10% or more interest in a foreign partnership at any time during the year. See the form instructions for more information.

Basis of contributed property. If a partner contributes property to a partnership, the partnership's basis for determining depreciation, depletion, and gain or loss for the property is the same as the partner's adjusted basis for the property when it was contributed, increased by any gain recognized by the partner at the time of contribution.

Allocations to account for built-in gain or loss. The fair market value of property at the time it is contributed may be different from the partner's adjusted basis. The partnership must allocate among the partners any income, deduction, gain, or loss on the property in a manner that will account for the difference. This rule also applies to contributions of accounts payable and other accrued but unpaid items of a cash basis partner.

The partnership can use different allocation methods for different items of contributed property. A single reasonable method must be consistently applied to each item, and the overall method or combination of methods must be reasonable. See section 1.704-3 of the regulations for allocation methods generally considered reasonable.

If the partnership sells contributed property and recognizes gain or loss, built-in gain or loss is allocated to the contributing partner. If contributed property is subject to depreciation or other cost recovery, the allocation of deductions for these items takes into account built-in gain or loss on the property. However, the total depreciation, depletion, gain, or loss allocated to partners cannot be more than the depreciation or depletion allowable to the partnership or the gain or loss realized by the partnership.

Example. Sara and Gail formed an equal partnership. Sara contributed $10,000 in cash to the partnership and Gail contributed depreciable property with a fair market value of $10,000 and an adjusted basis of $4,000. The partnership's basis for depreciation is limited to the adjusted basis of the property in Gail's hands, $4,000.

In effect, Sara purchased an undivided one-half interest in the depreciable property with her contribution of $10,000. Assuming that the depreciation rate is 10% a year under the General Depreciation System (GDS), she would have been entitled to a depreciation deduction of $500 per year, based on her interest in the partnership, if the adjusted basis of the property equaled its fair market value when contributed. (To simplify this example, the depreciation deductions are determined without regard to any first-year depreciation conventions.)

However, since the partnership is allowed only $400 per year of depreciation (10% of $4,000), no more than $400 can be allocated between the partners. The entire $400 must be allocated to Sara.

Distribution of contributed property to another partner. If a partner contributes property to a partnership and the partnership distributes the property to another partner within 7 years of the contribution, the contributing partner must recognize gain or loss on 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 recognized gain or loss is the amount the contributing partner would have recognized if the property had been sold for its fair market value when it was distributed. This amount is the difference between the property's basis and its fair market value at the time of contribution. The character of the gain or loss will be the same as the character of the gain or loss that would have resulted if the partnership had sold the property to the distributee partner. Appropriate adjustments must be made to the adjusted basis of the contributing partner's partnership interest and to the adjusted basis of the property distributed to reflect the recognized gain or loss.

Disposition of certain contributed property. The following rules determine the character of the partnership's gain or loss on a disposition of certain types of contributed property.

1. Unrealized receivables. If the property was an unrealized receivable in the hands of the contributing partner, any gain or loss on its disposition by the partnership is ordinary income or loss. Unrealized receivables are defined later under Payments for Unrealized Receivables and Inventory Items. When reading the definition, substitute "partner" for "partnership."
2. Inventory items. If the property was an inventory item in the hands of the contributing partner, any gain or loss on its disposition by the partnership within 5 years after the contribution is ordinary income or loss. Inventory items are defined later in Payments for Unrealized Receivables and Inventory Items.
3. Capital loss property. If the property was a capital asset in the contributing partner's hands, any loss on its disposition by the partnership within 5 years after the contribution is a capital loss. The capital loss is limited to the amount by which the partner's adjusted basis for the property exceeded the property's fair market value immediately before the contribution.
4. Substituted basis property. If the disposition of any of the property listed in (1), (2), or (3) is a nonrecognition transaction, these rules apply when the recipient of the property disposes of any substituted basis property (other than certain corporate stock) resulting from the transaction.

Contribution of Services

A partner can acquire an interest in partnership capital or profits as compensation for services performed or to be performed.

Capital interest. A capital interest is an interest that would give the holder a share of the proceeds if the partnership's assets were sold at fair market value and the proceeds were distributed in a complete liquidation of the partnership. This determination generally is made at the time of receipt of the partnership interest. The fair market value of such an interest received by a partner as compensation for services must generally be included in the partner's gross income in the first tax year in which the partner can transfer the interest or the interest is not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. The capital interest transferred as compensation for services is subject to the rules for restricted property discussed in Publication 525 under Employee Compensation.

The fair market value of an interest in partnership capital transferred to a partner as payment for services to the partnership is a guaranteed payment, discussed earlier.

Profits interest. A profits interest is a partnership interest other than a capital interest. If a person receives a profits interest for providing services to or for the benefit of a partnership in a partner capacity or in anticipation of being a partner, the receipt of such an interest is not a taxable event for the partner or the partnership. However, this does not apply in the following situations.

• The profits interest relates to a substantially certain and predictable stream of income from partnership assets, such as income from high-quality debt securities or a high-quality net lease.
• Within 2 years of receipt, the partner disposes of the profits interest.
• The profits interest is a limited partnership interest in a publicly traded partnership.

A profits interest transferred as compensation for services is not subject to the rules for restricted property that apply to capital interests.

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