Selling Partnership Interest With Negative Capital Account In Wake
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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.
Interest on partner's capital is allowed maximum at a maximum rate of 12% p.a simple interest. It should be related to the period of the partnership deed. If the partnership deed is renewed, then such renewed provisions will be considered for that period.
When the partner leaves the business, then their capital account is transferred to a liability account and that liability (capital contribution + any lending funds + unpaid distribution) is still payable from the business funds, because that is what the business owes the partner.
Gain Realized 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.
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.
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 any members of a partnership have a negative capital account, that partner is legally obligated to restore their deficit, also known as a DRO (deficit restoration obligation).
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.
In a final K-1 from a partnership LLC, the ending capital in Box L should ideally be zero, assuming all capital has been distributed and there are no outstanding obligations. However, if there is still a balance: It could indicate that not all distributions or payouts have been made.
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.
