Partnership taxation

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Partnership taxation is the concept of taxing a partnership business entity. Many jurisdictions regulate partnerships and their taxation differently.

Contents

Common law

Many common law jurisdictions apply a concept called "flow through taxation" to partnerships. Partnerships are a flow-through entity where the taxes are assessed at the entity level but are applied to the partners of the partnership.

United States

Partnership taxation is codified as Subchapter K of Chapter 1 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (Title 26 of the United States Code). Partnerships are "flow-through" entities for United States federal income taxation purposes. Flow-through taxation means that the entity does not pay taxes on its income. Instead, the owners of the entity pay tax on their "distributive share" of the entity's taxable income, even if no funds are distributed by the partnership to the owners. Federal tax law permits the owners of the entity to agree how the income of the entity will be allocated among them, but requires that this allocation reflect the economic reality of their business arrangement, as tested under complicated rules.

United Kingdom

In general, a partnership is treated under Section 111 Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 and Section 848 Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 as not having a 'separate and distinct' legal personality from its members. As a result, partners are assessed to either UK corporation tax or UK income tax on their share of the profits and losses of the partnership

Following the case of Memec plc v CIR [70 TC 77], HM Revenue and Customs has issued guidance [1] as to how interests of UK tax residents in foreign partnerships should be treated for UK tax purposes.

Hong Kong

Partnership taxation in Hong Kong is the taxation of the profits or losses generated by partnership business entities. First, these profits or losses of the partnership are assessed according to the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, Chapter 112, section 22. After assessment, then said profits or losses flow through the partnership to the partners who are then taxed on their share of said profits or losses generated by the partnership without any taxes levied against the partnership.

Civil law

Many civil law jurisdictions directly tax the partnership entity.

Notes

  1. List of Classifications of Foreign Entities for UK tax purposes

See also


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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partnership</span> Arrangement in which parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests

A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations may partner to increase the likelihood of each achieving their mission and to amplify their reach. A partnership may result in issuing and holding equity or may be only governed by a contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limited liability company</span> US form of a private limited company

A limited liability company is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a corporation. An LLC is not a corporation under state law; it is a legal form of a company that provides limited liability to its owners in many jurisdictions. LLCs are well known for the flexibility that they provide to business owners; depending on the situation, an LLC may elect to use corporate tax rules instead of being treated as a partnership, and, under certain circumstances, LLCs may be organized as not-for-profit. In certain U.S. states, businesses that provide professional services requiring a state professional license, such as legal or medical services, may not be allowed to form an LLC but may be required to form a similar entity called a professional limited liability company (PLLC).

Tax deduction is a simplified phrase for meaning income that is able to be taxed and is commonly a result of expenses, particularly those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. The difference between deductions, exemptions, and credits is that deductions and exemptions both reduce taxable income, while credits reduce tax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxpayer</span> Person or organization subject to pay a tax

A taxpayer is a person or organization subject to pay a tax. Modern taxpayers may have an identification number, a reference number issued by a government to citizens or firms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private limited company</span> Type of company used in many jurisdictions

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The rules governing partnership taxation, for purposes of the U.S. Federal income tax, are codified according to Subchapter K of Chapter 1 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Partnerships are "flow-through" entities. Flow-through taxation means that the entity does not pay taxes on its income. Instead, the owners of the entity pay tax on their "distributive share" of the entity's taxable income, even if no funds are distributed by the partnership to the owners. Federal tax law permits the owners of the entity to agree how the income of the entity will be allocated among them, but requires that this allocation reflect the economic reality of their business arrangement, as tested under complicated rules.

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International taxation is the study or determination of tax on a person or business subject to the tax laws of different countries, or the international aspects of an individual country's tax laws as the case may be. Governments usually limit the scope of their income taxation in some manner territorially or provide for offsets to taxation relating to extraterritorial income. The manner of limitation generally takes the form of a territorial, residence-based, or exclusionary system. Some governments have attempted to mitigate the differing limitations of each of these three broad systems by enacting a hybrid system with characteristics of two or more.

In Hong Kong, profits tax is an income tax chargeable to business carried on in Hong Kong. Applying the territorial taxation concept, only profits sourced in Hong Kong are taxable in general. Capital gains are not taxable in Hong Kong, although it is always arguable whether an income is capital in nature.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporate tax in the United States</span>

Corporate tax is imposed in the United States at the federal, most state, and some local levels on the income of entities treated for tax purposes as corporations. Since January 1, 2018, the nominal federal corporate tax rate in the United States of America is a flat 21% following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. State and local taxes and rules vary by jurisdiction, though many are based on federal concepts and definitions. Taxable income may differ from book income both as to timing of income and tax deductions and as to what is taxable. The corporate Alternative Minimum Tax was also eliminated by the 2017 reform, but some states have alternative taxes. Like individuals, corporations must file tax returns every year. They must make quarterly estimated tax payments. Groups of corporations controlled by the same owners may file a consolidated return.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxation of private equity and hedge funds</span>

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Partnership taxation in Hong Kong is the taxation of the profits or losses generated by partnership business entities. First, these profits or losses of the partnership are assessed according to the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, Chapter 112, section 22. After assessment, then said profits or losses flow through the partnership to the partners who are then taxed on their share of said profits or losses generated by the partnership without any taxes levied against the partnership.

For United States income tax purposes, a business entity may elect to be treated either as a corporation or as other than a corporation. This entity classification election is made by filing Internal Revenue Service Form 8832. Absent filing the form, a default classification applies. U.S. corporations of the type that can be publicly traded must be treated as corporations. There is a list of specific foreign entities that must be treated as corporations. The election is effective for Federal income tax purposes.

Formulary apportionment, also known as unitary taxation, is a method of splitting the total pre-tax profit earned by a multinational between the tax jurisdictions where it does business. It is an alternative to separate entity accounting, under which a branch or subsidiary within the jurisdiction is accounted for as a separate entity, requiring prices for transactions with other parts of the corporation or group to be assigned according to the arm's length standard commonly used in transfer pricing. In contrast, formulary apportionment attributes a portion of a multinational’s total worldwide profit to each jurisdiction, based on factors such as the proportion of sales, assets or payroll in that jurisdiction.