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.
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.
A partner's capital account can't begin with a negative balance. However, a partner can have a negative capital account after accounting for the partner's distributive share of losses and distributions. A partner's outside basis should never have a negative balance.
In certain situations, a negative capital account balance on a Schedule K-1 (the tax form for a partner's share of income) may not reflect whether that partner is able to take a deduction. The reason is debt basis.
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.
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.
If the capital and financial accounts are negative, the country has a net financial outflow. It has more claims than it does liabilities, either because of an increase in claims by the economy abroad or a reduction in liabilities from foreign economies.
If there is no payout and the final Schedule K-1 shows a positive ending capital account balance of $1,000 for a departing partner, this indicates that the partner has not received the value of their equity in the partnership.
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.