A Deficit Restoration Obligation is an obligation by a partner in a partnership (or a member in an LLC taxed as a partnership) to restore the negative balance in its capital account when the partnership liquidates.
A DRO requires a partner to restore any negative balance (deficit) in their capital account upon the liquidation of the partnership. The DRO demonstrates the partner's willingness to assume the economic risk of loss in the partnership.
However, a partner's capital account can be negative. This generally happens when the partnership allocates losses or receives a distribution funded by debt incurred by the partnership. These actions can result in a taxable event for partners, so proactive steps need to be taken to avoid a negative balance.
The partner with a deficit contributes enough assets to offset the deficit balance. The deficit balance is removed from the accounting records with only the remaining partners sharing in future gains and losses. The other partners file a legal suit against the partner with the deficit balance.
If a partnership holds IRC 751(a) property at the time of the sale, the partner recognizes gain or loss from its share of IRC 751(a) assets. The ordinary gain or loss is subtracted from the total gain or loss. The result is the partner's capital gain or loss from the sale.
How to zero out partner capital accounts in a final year Go into the Input Return tab. From the left of the screen, select Balance Sheet, M-1, M-2 and choose Sch M-2 (Capital Account). Scroll down to the Distributions section. In the field Other decreases (-) (Ctrl+E), enter the appropriate amount.
Generally, a partner selling his partnership interest recognizes capital gain or loss on the sale. The amount of the gain or loss recognized is the difference between the amount realized and the partner's adjusted tax basis in his partnership interest.
The best way to sell your limited partnership interest may lie in finding an experienced broker or advisor who can help you to identify potential buyers and guide you through any negotiations that may arise.
As with an S corporation, the 3.8% net investment income tax generally does not apply to gain recognized on a sale of partnership interests, or gain allocable to a partner from a sale of the assets of the partnership, to the extent the relevant partner “materially participates” in the business of the partnership.