Partnership Tax Year and Limited Liability Partnerships

• The IRC restricts the choices for a partnership‘s tax year to prevent the deferral of tax. This causes most partnerships to adopt a calendar year for tax reporting. From the e-Activity, create a scenario using a fiscal tax year which allows a partnership to defer taxes that meet the requirements of Sections 706 and 444 of the IRC.

e-Activity: Go to the Tax Almanac Website, located at http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Tax_Research_Resources, or use the Internet and Strayer databases to research partnership tax years. Be prepared to discuss.

• As discussed in the text, large accounting firms and other professional firms operate as limited liability partnerships (LLPs). Contrast the LLP form of business under state laws to the LLP for tax purposes. Next, suggest the major reasons why a new entity would choose an LLP over a traditional partnership for tax purposes.