- 1). Determine which version of Schedule K-1 you wish to use. K-1 forms for Form 1120S (S corporation tax return), Form 1065 (partnership tax return) and Form 8865 (foreign partnership return) differ significantly. An LLC with more than one member will be taxed as a domestic partnership using Form 1065 unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation. LLCs electing to be taxed as S corporations must file Form 1120S with Schedule K-1.
- 2). Calculate the business's total profits or losses. This will have to be broken down into various income components - interest income, rental income, etc. Record this on Schedule K-1.
- 3). Subtract deductible expenses such as payroll and advertising expenses to arrive at profits or losses, and record this on Schedule K-1. Do not rely on pre-existing company financial statements, because profits or losses might be different when calculated for tax purposes than they are when calculated for company financial statements.
- 4). Determine the ownership share and profit or loss allocation percentage of each shareholder, partner or member. Remember that the allocation of profits or losses to LLC members need not be equal to ownership shares if the LLC operating agreement provides otherwise. This means that you will have to check the LLC operating agreement (if any) to confirm the allocation of profits or losses.
- 5). Multiply the business's total profit or loss by the fractional allocation attributable to each shareholder, partner or member, in order to determine the individual allocation of of profits or losses. Record the result on Schedule K-1.
- 6). Append Schedule K-1 to your company's tax return, file it with the IRS, and send a copy of Schedule K-1 to each shareholder, partner or member.
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