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“Constructive Gifts” & The Partnership Allocation Rules

October 09, 2017

Relief? Not So Fast

You may recall that the President directed the Treasury Department to identify “significant tax regulations” issued during 2016 that, among other things, add undue complexity to the tax laws. An interim report to the President in June identified the proposed rules on the valuation of family-controlled business entities as “unworkable,” and recommended that they be withdrawn.

Although many taxpayers are pleased to see the demise of the proposed valuation rules, which many had heralded as the end of valuation discounts for estate and gift tax purposes, there remain a number of traps against which taxpayers and their advisers must be vigilant – but of which many are unaware – lest they inadvertently stumble onto a taxable gift.

One such trap involves the maintenance of capital accounts where the family-controlled business entity is treated as a partnership for tax purposes.

Family Partnership

Family members often combine their “disposable” investment assets in a tax-efficient family-held investment vehicle, such as an LLC that is taxable as a partnership. By pooling their resources, they may be able to better diversify their investments and gain access to larger, more sophisticated, investments that may not have been available to any single family member.

Moreover, as younger family members mature and amass their own wealth, they may decide to participate in the family investment vehicle by making a capital contribution in exchange for a partnership interest.

Capital Account Rules

An earlier post reviewed the capital account and allocation rules applicable to partnerships; in particular, the requirement that the tax consequences to each partner arising from the partnership’s operations – specifically, from such partner’s allocable share of the partnership’s items of income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit – must accurately reflect the partners’ economic agreement.

According to these regulations, an allocation set forth in a partnership agreement shall be respected by the IRS if the allocation has substantial economic effect or, if taking into account all of the facts and circumstances, the allocation is in accordance with the partners’ interests in the partnership.

Economic Effect

In order for an allocation to have economic effect, it must be consistent with the underlying economic arrangement of the partners. This means that in the event there is an economic benefit or economic burden that corresponds to the allocation, the partner to whom an allocation is made must receive such economic benefit or bear such economic burden. Stated differently, tax must follow economics.

In general, an allocation will have economic effect if the partnership agreement provides for the determination and maintenance of the partners’ capital accounts in accordance with the rules set forth in the regulations and, upon the liquidation of the partnership (or of a partner’s interest in the partnership), liquidating distributions are made in accordance with the positive capital account balances of the partners, as determined after taking into account all capital account adjustments. In other words, a partner’s capital account will generally reflect the partner’s equity in the partnership.

Basically, the capital account rules require that a partner’s capital account be increased by (1) the amount of money contributed by him to the partnership, (2) the fair market value (“FMV”) of property contributed by him to the partnership (net of liabilities that the partnership is considered to assume or take subject to), and (3) allocations to him of partnership income and gain; and is decreased by (4) the amount of money distributed to him by the partnership, and (5) the FMV of property distributed to him by the partnership (net of liabilities that such partner is considered to assume or take subject to), and (6) allocations to him of partnership loss and deduction.

Revaluation of Property

It should be noted that the capital account rules generally do not require that the partners’ capital accounts be adjusted on an ongoing basis to reflect changes in the FMV of the partnership’s assets.

However, the rules do require that the capital accounts be adjusted to reflect a revaluation of partnership property on the partnership’s books upon the happening of certain enumerated events. In general, these adjustments are based upon the FMV of partnership property on the date of the adjustment.

These adjustments reflect the manner in which the unrealized gain inherent in such property (that has not been reflected in the capital accounts previously) would be allocated among the partners if there were a taxable disposition of such property for its FMV on the date of a “revaluation event.”

In general, a revaluation event is one that marks a change in the economic arrangement among the partners. Among these events is the contribution of money or other property (other than a de minimis amount) to the partnership by a new or existing partner as consideration for an interest in the partnership. The adjustments are made among the capital accounts of the existing partners in accordance with their existing economic agreement, just prior to the above-referenced change.

In this way, the capital accounts will reflect the amount to which each existing partner would have been entitled had the partnership been liquidated immediately prior to the admission of the new partner and the change in the partners’ economic agreement.

Grandson:      Hold it, hold it! What is this? Are you tryin’ to trick me?

   Where’s the [estate tax]? Is this a [partnership tax post?]

Grandfather:  Wait, just wait.

Grandson:     Well when does it get good?

– from “The Princess Bride” (mostly)

Book-Tax Difference

When partnership property is revalued under these rules, and the partners’ capital accounts are adjusted accordingly, the gain computed for book purposes with respect to such property will differ from the gain computed for tax purposes for such property; in other words, the book value of the property reflected in the now-adjusted capital accounts will differ from the tax basis of such property (which was not adjusted in connection with the revaluation).

Consequently, the partners’ shares of the corresponding tax items – such as the gain on the sale of the property – are not reflected by further adjustments to the capital accounts, which have already been adjusted as though a sale had occurred.

Rather, these tax items must be shared among the partners in a manner that takes account of the variations between the adjusted tax basis of the property and its book value. Otherwise, the allocation may not be respected by the IRS.

Illustration

Perhaps the best way to convey the import of the foregoing rules is with an example.

Facts

Assume dad Abe and son Ben form an equal partnership to which each contributes $10,000 cash (which is credited to their respective capital account; each has a capital account of $10,000). This $20,000 is invested in securities (the book value and the tax basis of the securities are both $20,000). Assume that the partnership breaks even on an operational basis (no profit, no loss; no change to capital accounts), and that the securities appreciate in value to $50,000.

At that point, grandson Cal joins the partnership, making a $25,000 cash contribution in exchange for a one-third interest (an amount equal to one-third of the FMV of the partnership ($75,000) immediately after his capital contribution). Assume that the cash is held in held in a bank account.

Revaluation; Account for Book-Tax Difference

Upon Cal’s admission to the partnership – a revaluation event – the capital accounts of Abe and Ben are adjusted upward (from $10,000 to $25,000, each: $50,000 FMV of securities minus book value of $20,000 = $30,000 gain, or $15,000 each) to reflect their shares of the unrealized appreciation in the securities that occurred before Cal was admitted to the partnership.

Immediately after Cal’s admission, the securities are sold for $50,000, resulting in taxable gain of $30,000 ($50,000 less tax basis of $20,000), and no book gain (because the capital accounts had already been adjusted to FMV to reflect the appreciation; $50,000 less $50,000 = zero). Because there is no gain for book purposes, the allocation of the taxable gain cannot have economic effect (tax is unable to follow book in that situation).

Unless the partnership agreement provides that the tax gain will be allocated so as to account for the variations between the adjusted tax basis of the securities and their book value – by allocating the $30,000 of tax gain to Abe and Ben ($15,000 each), to whom the economic benefit of the appreciation “accrued” prior to Cal’s admission (tax to follow economics, as reflected in the adjusted capital accounts) – the IRS may not accept the allocation.

No Revaluation, but Special Allocation

Alternatively, assume that the capital accounts of Abe and Ben are not adjusted upon Cal’s admission to reflect the $30,000 of appreciation in the partnership securities that occurred before Cal was admitted.

Rather, the partnership agreement is amended to provide that the first $30,000 of taxable gain upon the sale of the securities is allocated equally between Abe and Ben, and that all other gain (appreciation occurring after Cal’s admission) will be allocated equally among all three partners, including Cal.

These allocations of taxable gain have economic effect; tax will follow book. Moreover, the capital accounts of Abe and Ben will in effect be adjusted upon the sale (by $15,000 each, to $25,000 each) to reflect the appreciation inherent in the securities immediately prior to Cal’s admission.

No Revaluation, no Special Allocation – Gift?

If the capital accounts of Abe and Ben are not adjusted upon Cal’s admission, and the partnership agreement provides for all taxable gain (including the $30,000 attributable to the appreciation in the securities that occurred prior to Cal’s admission to the partnership) to be allocated equally among Abe, Ben and Cal ($10,000 each), the allocation will have economic effect (tax will follow book). In that case, Abe and Ben will each have a capital account of $20,000 (instead of $25,000 as above), while Cal will have a capital account of $35,000 (instead of $25,000 as above).

However, the partners will have to consider whether, and to what extent, a gift may have been made to Cal in that his capital account is allocated one-third of the appreciation ($10,000 of the $30,000) that occurred prior to his admission.

As always, query whether this same result would have followed if Cal had not been related to Abe and Ben. After all, why would someone allow value that accrued on their investment, to inure to the benefit of another?

Let’s Be Careful Out There (from “Hillstreet Blues”)

The foregoing may not be easy to digest, but anyone who purports to provide estate and gift tax advice to the members of a family-owned business or investment vehicle that is formed as a tax partnership must realize that there is nothing simple about the taxation of such an entity.

Whether we are talking about the disguised sale rules, the shifting of liabilities, hot assets, the mixing bowl rules or, as in this post, the capital account revaluation rules, there are many pitfalls. The provisions of a partnership agreement, including the revaluation rule, that are so often described as “boilerplate” are anything but, and the partnership’s advisers must be familiar with their purpose and application.

It is imperative that the partnership agreement be reviewed periodically, especially in connection with the admission or withdrawal of a partner. In this way, the tax and economic consequences of such an event may be anticipated and, if possible, any adverse results may be addressed or avoided.