Tax Year 2021 Directions for Partnerships Required to e-file

 

Introduction

Partnerships required to file electronically may use the following approved guidelines to prepare their income tax returns for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2021 without the need for a waiver. These directions are not all inclusive. This is a living document and it will be updated as needed. Updated sections will be identified by the date they were updated.

Partnerships should carefully review the permanent directions for electronic filing contained in Publications 4163 and 4164. Partnerships required to e-file may elect to use any or all of the following directions.

Partnerships that are e-filing may not send paper versions of any forms to be included as part of their return. Additionally, PDF may not be used for any form not listed in Section 1 below. Any deviation from these temporary directions will require a formal waiver approved by IRS. (Guidance on Waivers for Partnerships unable to Meet e-file Requirements)


TY2021 Valid XML Schemas and Business Rules for Form 1065 Modernized e-File (MeF)

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Table of Contents

Please read Sections 1 through 4 carefully.

These directions are available only to Partnerships that e-file.

Section 1: Forms Allowed as PDF

Note: If a new form is created late in the year as a result of legislative changes, and the software industry does not have time to enable the form in XML, then that particular form can be attached to the 1065/1065-B electronically filed return in PDF format.

Forms Allowed as PDF

The forms listed below may be attached to the XML portion of the electronic return as a PDF file based on the guidance listed below.

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Section 2: Information Available on Request

Transactional Data

Transactional data for the following forms may be submitted on a summary form in XML format as defined below. Partnerships that use these optional procedures are agreeing that transactional data details will be made available on request. 

Summary format can be used when the underlying transactional data contains more than 100 lines for that particular data type. The summary totals must be reported by data type, classification, or other grouping as required on the form. If there are less than 100 instances of transactions by data type, classification, or other grouping the transactions are required to be itemized.

Transactional Data Summary Formats

A Transactional Data Summary format can only be used when the underlying transactional data includes more than 100 lines for that particular data type by form part (i.e. Schedule D short-term or long-term, Form 4797, Part 1 or Part 2, etc.).

  • Form TPDF
  • Form 4562PDF
  • Form 4797PDF
  • Schedule DPDF
  • Form 8824PDF
  • Form 8873PDF
    • If 5.c.(1)(a) - Aggregate of Form 8873 is selected as the basis for reporting, complete all of the applicable Forms 8873 in XML.
    • Otherwise, a separate summary Form 8873 should be filed for each of the three Extraterritorial Income Exclusion pricing methods described in section 941(a)(1)(A) through (C), if applicable, completing only line 54 for the total amount of the Extraterritorial Income Exclusion and details will be available on request.

Summary format CANNOT be used to net gain and loss transactions. If a partnership chooses to use the summary format to report transactional data, gains and losses MUST be summarized and reported separately within each form part.

For example, if a partnership had 500 short term gain transactional items and 2000 short term loss transactional items, use of the Summary Format would require the partnership to report 2 separate totals on Part 1 of the Schedule D of Form 4797 under Short Term Gains and Losses, one for the total of the short term gain items and one for the total of the short term loss items.

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Section 3: International Forms PDF or Paper Options

All of the international forms (Form 5471, Form 5713, Form 8858, Form 8865, and their associated schedules) are required to be submitted in XML.

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Section 4: Form Not Required to be Filed with the Income Tax Return

IRS form instructions do not require partnerships to attach the following form to their income tax return and should not include this form as part of the electronic return. This form is only provided as a reminder and applies to all partnership filers.

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