Reporting Personal-Title Properties on a Partnership Tax Return

Reporting Personal-Title Properties on a Partnership Tax Return

Member since 2018 · 33 posts · 10 votes

My husband and I are members in an LLC partnership that owns several rental properties. We also have a handful of properties that are titled in our personal names because we have mortgages on them that had to be in our names. We do the accounting for all the properties as part of the business. They are all under one Quickbooks file. The LLC receives all the rents in its checking account and also pays all expenses, including the mortgages that are in our personal names. So far we have been reporting all the income and expenses on our partnership 1065 tax return, rather than filing a schedule E on our personal return. The CPA we worked with last year told us that this was a fine practice, as long as we are accounting for and reporting everything and paying all the taxes we owe (we are), that it is okay to report it all on the partnership return where we are actually running the accounting, rather than dividing the properties up between the 1065 and the 1040 according to the name on the property titles. Since the partnership is a pass-through entity, it doesn't make any difference in the amount of tax that we owe - just keeps the accounting simpler to do it all in one place. But before we continue any further with this practice, I wanted to ask the community whether anyone else has experience with this, and whether this arrangement could potentially get us into trouble down the road. I know there are liability ramifications with the way the properties are titled, but in this case my question is really about the tax reporting between the two returns and not the division of liability. Thank you!

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Natalie KolodijBusiness Member
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Tax Strategist| National Tax Educator| Accepting New Clients · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y

The LLC doesn't own those properties. The LLC/Partnership shouldn't be reporting anything related to them.

Lance is right with regard to the rental reporting being EXACTLY the same. 

The only reason people put rentals in LLC's is for asset protection. Tax impact doesn't change.

Currently you have none of the legal protection benefit, incorrect tax returns, and a CPA who in my opinion should be fired. 

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  • Nicholas AiolaBusiness Member
    CPA & Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    @Michael Plaks Yeah, no real tax impact either way, which I think everyone is in agreement with. Correctness and completeness, substance over form, and other fun accounting terms would be my argument.

    But my opinion as to why shopping for a new tax pro wouldn't be a bad idea was a matter of carelessness and lack of due diligence, not necessarily an incorrect tax return. If the current CPA didn't know the situation or ask questions to learn the situation, that's indicative of a lack of care, which can certainly be dangerous.

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  • Accountant, Enrolled Agent · Grayslake, IL · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    I would highly recommend writing a memorandum of contribution and detailing out the reasons preventing clean title transfer to the LLC. and confirming that it will be done upon resolution of those issues ad to actually follow through.

    I'm in agreement of the above. However, steps should be taken to correct the situation now that they are aware of the issues.

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