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TAXES
> Partnerships (1065)
A
partnership is an organization (syndicate, group, pool, joint venture or
other unincorporated entity) by which any business, financial operation
or venture is carried on, with two or more members, not mandatorily classified
as a corporation, and that has elected, or defaulted to, partnership tax
status. A limited liability company (LLC) is a creation of state law which
is owned (in some cases managed) by members who are not personally liable
for the LLC's debts or obligations. It is generally taxed as a partnership
unless certain elections are made to be taxed as a corporation. As such,
a partnership is a "pass-through" entity, i.e., its income is subject to
tax only once, at the partner level, similar to S corporations, but not
C corporations (whose income is taxed twice, at the corporate and again
at the shareholder level). Partnerships have no limitation on who may be
a partner, or on how many persons may be partners, unlike the S corporation
which is subject to limitations on who may be a shareholder and on how many
shareholders the corporation may have, and there is far greater flexibility
in allocating the enterprise's profits, losses and credits among partners
of a partnership than among shareholders of an S corporation. Finally, a
partner's basis in his partnership interest, unlike a shareholder's basis
in S corporation shares, includes the partner's share of partnership liabilities.
Partner's capital consists of contributions to the partnership, either upon
formation of the partnership or at a later date, plus partnership income,
less distributions. The partnership is essentially a conduit which passes
through to each partner the share of income and deductions generated by
the partnership. The partners, not the partnership, are taxed on the partnership's
income. The partnership only files an information return (Form 1065) showing
each partner's distributive share of the partnership income, gains, losses,
etc., on Form 1065, Schedule K-1. Each partner includes the proportional
share of these items on Form 1040. Partnership taxable income is computed
the same as an individual's except that there is no standard deduction or
personal exemption, and it may not deduct charitable contributions, medical
or other nonbusiness expenses, alimony, taxes and interest paid to cooperative
housing corporations, capital loss carryovers, net operating losses, taxes
paid to a foreign country or U.S. possession that can be taken as a credit
or as a deduction, or oil and gas well depletion. It must separately state
certain such items which will pass through to the partners, who then deduct
them on Form 1040. These include charitable contributions, dividends, capital
gains or losses (including Sec. 1231), foreign taxes, and the like. Similarly,
certain partner dealings with their partnerships in other than their capacity
as partners are taxed as income, including "guaranteed payments" to partners
for services rendered which are treated like salary payments to employees
or interest payments to creditors, not partnership distributions. Losses
may be deducted by partners against other taxable income, but may not exceed
the basis of interest in the partnership. However, partners are allowed
loss carrybacks and carryovers. Excess losses disallowed to a partner in
any year are carried over, and are deductible at the end of the partnership
year in which the adjusted basis of the partner's interest at the end of
the year exceeds zero (before reduction by that year's loss).
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