Terminating a Partnership

A partnership terminates when all its operations are discontinued and no part of any business, financial operation, or venture is continued by any of its partners in a partnership.

See Regulations section 1.708-1(b)(1) for more information on the termination of a partnership. For special rules that apply to a merger, consolidation, or division of a partnership, see Regulations sections 1.708-1(c) and 1.708-1(d).

Date of termination. The partnership’s tax year ends on the date of termination. The date of termination is the date the partnership completes the winding up of its affairs.

Short period return. If a partnership is terminated before the end of what would otherwise be its tax year, Form 1065 must be filed for the short period, which is the period from the beginning of the tax year through the date of termination. The return is due the 15 ^th day of the 3 ^rd month following the date of termination. See Partnership Return (Form 1065) , later, for information about filing Form 1065.

Conversion of partnership into LLC. The conversion of a partnership into an LLC classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes doesn’t terminate the partnership. The conversion is not a sale, exchange, or liquidation of any partnership interest; the partnership’s tax year doesn’t close; and the LLC can continue to use the partnership’s taxpayer identification number (TIN).

However, the conversion may change some of the partners’ bases in their partnership interests if the partnership has recourse liabilities that become nonrecourse liabilities. Because the partners share recourse and nonrecourse liabilities differently, their bases must be adjusted to reflect the new sharing ratios. If a decrease in a partner’s share of liabilities exceeds the partner’s basis, they must recognize gain on the excess. For more information, see Effect of Partnership Liabilities under Basis of Partner’s Interest , later.

The same rules apply if an LLC classified as a partnership is converted into a partnership.