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These PTPs are notorious for showing losses year after year yet making nice distributions so investors think they are making money. It's return of capital, lowering basis and adding to the surprise gains when they eventually sell. At least they can take those suspended losses at the end, mitigating the tax bite a bit. Always check that the K-1 is in the taxpayer's Soc Sec number and not in an IRA, in which case you don't have to do anything except alert the client that the custodian may have some UBI reporting.

Good advice from all. I have told him to expect anything. And, yes, his AGI was $750,000 this year.

Some may remember back in the 70's when bar codes first came out that many thought it was "The Devils Work". The precursor to the mark of the beast. Some thought it was the mark. Crazy times back then, but we all know that many times this shit comes true.

Frog: you CAN warn him that the sale might not be all capital gain rate, that some could be at his ordinary income tax rate. Was he near the top of a bracket last year? And, that the sale involves more time, more calculations, often more forms, so your fee will be a LOT higher. Tell him to bring you every single page and every single piece of paper and every single mailing for year end.

"We had the local politician over for dinner. The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."

I love the "red flag" quote.

I could get into this discussion because I prepare Partnership returns; but I won't. I believe we are talking here about the multitude of small limited partnerships that so many of our clients are coming in with this year. Many of them were late and I had more than one amendment because of it. When I prepare a Partnership, I have to have it filed by March 15 or file for an extension. I get my K-1s out on time for my active partners. Why is it that brokers seem to have forever to deliver?

Thanks for the responses. The sale will not occur until 2025, so I will not be able to advise about this until we have the information of which you speak. Interesting...

Yes, there is usually a separate chart of state adjustments (since these are sold all over). Forgot about that; thanks, @Abby Normal. Lucky me, as I haven't seen one of these in a while. I think everyone they got foisted off onto... umm, I mean sold to, yeah, sold to... either dumped them or was elderly and has passed on. I also pointed out how much more the tax prep bill was and compared that to the distributions they got (usually not particularly favorable). Not investment advice! Just cash flow analysis.

If the contribution can't be recharacterized to the next year (or even the year after), then he needs to withdraw it. Pronto. Save for retirement. Don't save for your retirement if you make more than X. Save it this way. Make and honest mistake and we'll punish you while being cagey about how to fix the problem. You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out, you put your right foot in, and you shake it all about.

When these K1s are sold, either partially or completely, the broker will normally show the initial investment cost, but the K1 will have attachments showing both a basis adjustment and an ordinary income component of the gain or loss. The basis adjustment increases the gain and the ordinary income component will decrease the gain on the Sch D and also be reported on the 4797 (as Catherine already noted). On 8949, you will use adjustment codes BO to net the two adjustments so the Sch D gain is correct. You can do this even if you're reporting totals from the 1099-B. And the state gain or loss is almost always different, so you'll need an adjustment on the state return, if there's a state income tax. When I see these investments by a client, I always warn them that their tax prep bill will be higher every year that they own them and a lot higher when the sell them.

For the most part, the articles there are superfluous; most of the giggles come from the headline. Love the barcode idea! (Wasn't it Heinlein who claimed that an "honest" politician is one who stays bought by the initial buyer?)

Except Alaska. My contribution to the discussion here is in the sig area.

Upon sale, the partnership *usually* provides a worksheet for reporting the sale. This is separate from the K-1 (although sometimes appended) and also separate from any brokerage Schedule D-style reporting. In the worksheet, information is provided for determining LTCG, Ordinary Income, Form 4797 sale of business property items, and more. Look for that.

Thank you Mr. Normal. This is a PTP. Taxpayer paid $175,000 for it, and has been reporting income for 5 years, and has been also receiving distributions which are not necessarily equal to the income. Will sell in 2025 for $200,000. If there is no need to track basis, then is it as simple as reporting $25,000 LTCG? Can't find this in IRS Sch D instructions, and not sure I would understand it anyway.

If this is a PTP (Publicly Traded Partnership), you don't need to track basis. But if this a regular limited partnership, yes, basis is increased by taxable and nontaxable income and decreased by deductible and nondeductible expenses/losses. So basically everything in and out. If you didn't allocate basis to passive losses, there'd be no basis for deducting those losses later.

The formula for partnership basis calls for a decrease if there are nondeductible expenses. One example is 50% nondeductible meals. However, in a "limited" partnership, nondeductible losses could include losses disallowed because they are passive. Question: Are passive losses required to be deducted from basis according to the formula? I don't see why they wouldn't but thought I would ask...

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” Margaret Thatcher "A tax is a fine for doing well, a fine is a tax for doing wrong." Mark Twain "A person doesn't know how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes on it." Ann Landers "Worried about an IRS audit? Avoid what's called a red flag. That's something the IRS always looks for. For example, say you have some money left in your bank account after paying taxes. That's a red flag!" Jay Leno

“Don’t steal, the government does not accept the competition.” Unknown

"Everything is bigger in TEXAS!" Oh, you said TAXES....oops Tom Longview, TX

By far my favorite satire site is The Babylon Bee. A recent parody news story pictured one of them with a bar code on their head with the following explanation “To make purchasing congresspeople easier and faster for lobbyists, congresspeople will now have barcodes printed on their foreheads to be conveniently scanned at newly installed self-checkout machines.” The article in and of itself is funny, but the video “News Bulletin” is hilarious. I’d post a link, but it probably violates a few terms of our forum.

That's funny since Al Capone was taken down partially due a forensic accounting investigation of his finances by a U S Treasury Agent.

“They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.” Al Capone “The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.” Barry Goldwater

“The art of taxation consists of plucking the goose so as to obtain the most feathers with the least amount of hissing.” Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, TAX it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." — Ronald Reagan