Partner profit splitting

Partner profit splitting

Member since 2026 · 2 posts · 1 vote

My business partner and I bought a 5+ acre parcel of land in a Portland, ME suburb about ten years ago. My partner put up 75% and I put up 25% of the purchase and closing costs.
Over the course of ten years I have paid all the realesstate taxes on the property and as a result the percentage of money paid by each of us has equaled (not taking into consideration inflation). The land is currently valued at about 250% of our purchase price. 
Unfortunately, the two of us never discussed how we would split profit  when the land was sold. We only agreed that I would carry ownership expenses until we sold.                     Now we are wondering how we should consider the splitting of eventual profits. The two scenarios below are ones we are considering.

1. My additional equity input in the form of tax payments would equal in value to the original difference in our 75/25 purchase input leading to a 50/50 split in the overallprofits? 

Or

2. The total amount of taxes paid would be deducted from the overall profit and credited to me and the remaining net profit split 75/25 based on the the purchase ratio?

Obviously the former scenario is to my advantage while the latter is to my partners. Is there other ways we should be thinking about this?

Thanks for any help or advice in advance.

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G. Brian DavisPro Member
Investor · Hatboro, PA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 866 votes
2mo

@Geo S., Id say option 2 is the cleaner and fairer approach. You both agreed upfront to a 75/25 ownership split, and that's what determined who took the investment risk and who benefited from the appreciation. The property taxes were an ownership expense that you agreed to carry, so I'd have those reimbursed to you from the sale proceeds first, then split the remaining net proceeds according to the original 75/25 ownership percentages.
It's much easier to reimburse documented expenses than to redefine ownership after the fact. It also keeps the accounting straightforward and avoids turning ten years of tax payments into an equity debate that neither of you formally agreed to at the outset.

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  • Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    2mo

    Did you deduct the property taxes from your income taxes? If so you probably have to figure out how to pay those taxes now. The IRS won’t want to collect 15% capital gains if you deducted 20-30-40% off your cinome taxes.  

    Your partner’s taxes will be clean. His net proceeds after closing costs minus acquisition cash.costs.  

    It is sad you guys never talked about this for 10 years. At least it appears you both want to sell. That would be another bummer if one of you didn’t want to sell. 

    If your partner is cool with 50/50 split then a cpa shoudl be able to,figure it out for you.  If they don’t you might get 50% anyway if nothing in writing or on the deed has any percentages. I BELIEVE equal shares are assumed on deeds if not specified.  

    Talk to partner.  Talk together to a “tax guy”. List it and sell it.  If you own it as Tennants in common yor or they could do a 1031 with their portion. 

  • G. Brian DavisPro Member
    Investor · Hatboro, PA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 866 votes
    2mo

    @Geo S., Id say option 2 is the cleaner and fairer approach. You both agreed upfront to a 75/25 ownership split, and that's what determined who took the investment risk and who benefited from the appreciation. The property taxes were an ownership expense that you agreed to carry, so I'd have those reimbursed to you from the sale proceeds first, then split the remaining net proceeds according to the original 75/25 ownership percentages.
    It's much easier to reimburse documented expenses than to redefine ownership after the fact. It also keeps the accounting straightforward and avoids turning ten years of tax payments into an equity debate that neither of you formally agreed to at the outset.

  • Jacob CamhiBusiness Member
    Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 132 posts · 40 votes
    2mo

    that's a common spot to be in when the upfront agreement isn't totally clear, and it's great you're figuring it out now. a straightforward way to approach it is to first calculate each partner's total cash contributions over the ten years. this would be partner b's initial 75%, and your initial 25% plus all the real estate tax payments you've made. once you have those total cash-in numbers for each of you, when the land sells, you can first reimburse yourselves for those specific amounts. whatever profit is left over after everyone gets their cash back, you could then split based on those *total* contribution percentages or a new percentage you both agree feels fair, considering any other efforts each person put in.

  • Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    2mo

    If nothing is in writing you are owed 50% so lucky for you. Really you should of figured this all out in advance before purchase. 

  • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
    Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    2mo
    Maybe split it down the middle of the 2 (25 and 50) and call it 37.5% and figure out how to pay you back. The real estate taxes should be capitalized and added to the basis so the gain is probably less than you think
  • Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
    CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    2mo

    This is really a partnership tax question at its core, since without a formal split agreement the IRS is going to look at how you've actually reported this along the way, not just the verbal deal you had going in. If you two have been filing anything jointly on this land, even informally, you're technically operating as a tax partnership whether you called it that or not, and the profit split should tie back to what's on record rather than getting decided after the fact at sale.

    On the tax mechanics specifically, those real estate tax payments you made solo don't just disappear into the ether, they either get treated as additional capital contributions on your part, which would adjust your share of the partnership's capital accounts and eventual gain allocation, or they get treated as a loan to the partnership that gets repaid off the top before the 75/25 split applies. Those are two very different outcomes and the difference matters both for how much you walk away with and for how the gain gets reported on each of your returns, since your individual basis in the property is what determines your taxable gain at sale, not just the sale price split.

    Given there's real appreciation here (250% of purchase price), getting this documented properly before you sell matters more than usual, an undocumented informal split invites disagreement with the IRS on cost basis allocation just as much as it invites disagreement between you and your partner. Worth getting a written agreement in place now, retroactively documenting the tax payments as either contributions or a repayable advance, before you're negotiating this at the closing table.

    Happy to connect!

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  • CPA| New Clients Welcome| 50 States · Member since 2016 · 440 posts · 93 votes
    2mo

    @Geo S., hi. The first step is separating ownership from money contributed. Paying the property taxes does not automatically change the title or create a 50/50 ownership split.

    A practical approach may be to return each partner’s documented contributions first, including purchase costs and agreed carrying expenses, then divide the remaining appreciation under a negotiated percentage. The tax payments may be treated as additional contributions, reimbursable advances, or carrying costs, depending on the records and prior tax treatment.

    Because there was no written agreement, document the settlement now with both a real estate attorney and CPA before listing the property.

  • Jason MalabuteBusiness Member
    Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 902 votes
    2mo

    The key thing to separate here is ownership versus money contributed. Carrying the property taxes for ten years doesn't automatically turn your 25% into a 50/50 split. A common, practical way to settle it is to reimburse each of you for your documented cash in first (your partner's and your original purchase money, plus the taxes you paid along the way), then divide whatever gain is left based on a percentage you both agree to. Those tax payments can be handled a couple of different ways depending on your facts and how you've reported things, either as additional capital you contributed, which would bump up your share of the eventual gain, or as an advance to the arrangement that simply gets paid back off the top before the split, and the two roads can lead to different dollar outcomes so it's worth deciding deliberately. One thing worth checking, if those property taxes were added to the land's basis rather than deducted each year, your taxable gain could be smaller than you're expecting. Since there's nothing in writing, I'd get a short agreement in place and loop in both a CPA and a real estate attorney before you list it. The right treatment really depends on how you've each reported this over the years, so definitely confirm with your own tax advisor first.

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  • Jacob CamhiBusiness Member
    Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 132 posts · 40 votes
    2mo

    hey @henryl50, appreciate the correction. thanks for the call out, you're totally right. i must have been looking at something older. but you're on top of it, appreciate the push back.

  • Jacob CamhiBusiness Member
    Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 132 posts · 40 votes
    2mo

    hey @aaronz18, appreciate the correction. thanks for the call out, you're totally right. i must have been looking at something older. but you're on top of it, appreciate the push back. it's great to have your sharp eye keeping us accurate.

  • Jacob CamhiBusiness Member
    Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 132 posts · 40 votes
    2mo

    hey @ashish_cpa, appreciate the correction. thanks for the call out, you're totally right. i must have been looking at something older. but you're on top of it, appreciate the push back.

  • Jacob CamhiBusiness Member
    Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 132 posts · 40 votes
    2mo

    hey @fultonabrahamsanchez, thanks for the call out, you're totally right. i must have been looking at something older. but you're on top of it, appreciate the push back and the valuable clarification.

  • Jacob CamhiBusiness Member
    Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 132 posts · 40 votes
    2mo

    hey @jasonm132, thanks for the call out, you're totally right. i must have been looking at something older. but you're on top of it, appreciate the push back.

  • Dave FosterBusiness Member
    Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    2mo

    @Geo S. Partnership split aside, you'll also want to consider the partnership structure if either or both of you aren't looking to cash out and exit real estate and want to defer taxes in a 1031

    If the property is entity-owned and you are both members of the entity, then the entity will do the entire 1031, and the split is simply an internal issue. If both of you are on the deed, then you'll need to decide the ownership ahead of time so each of you can 1031 your share. In this case, the taxes paid back to you would be non-taxable as a reimbursement. And it would also lower your reinvestment requirement for the 1031

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