Behind on Partnership LLC Taxes - Missing K-1 and 1065 Forms for our Business
My husband and I started a small landscaping business as a Partnership LLC back in 2021. We've been absolutely swamped with work and have put off our tax obligations for way too long. Now I'm in a complete panic trying to catch up on our 2021 taxes. We've managed to calculate all our income and expenses, but I'm just now discovering that we were supposed to file a Form 1065 and issue ourselves K-1 forms. I'm using TurboTax and it keeps asking for a K-1 from our company, but we never created or filed these forms. Is it too late to file the 1065 and K-1s now? Where would I even do this? Can I somehow get around the K-1 requirement? Are we completely screwed for our 2021 taxes at this point? For reference, we run the business as equal partners (50/50 split) and have kept good records of all transactions. I'm just completely lost on the partnership tax filing requirements and worried about potential penalties.
19 comments


Sofia Rodriguez
You're not completely screwed, but you do need to file the missing returns as soon as possible. As a partnership LLC, you're required to file Form 1065 (Partnership Return) annually, and this return generates Schedule K-1 forms for each partner showing their share of income/losses. The partnership itself doesn't pay taxes - instead, the K-1 income passes through to your personal tax returns (Form 1040) where you and your husband each report your 50% share. This is why TurboTax is asking for your K-1s. To fix this: First, prepare and file the late 1065 for 2021, which will generate your K-1s. You can use tax software designed for business returns or consult with a tax professional who handles business filings. Once you have your K-1s, you can complete your personal returns. Be aware that there are penalties for late filing of partnership returns ($210 per partner per month, up to 12 months), but filing late is much better than not filing at all. The IRS also has options for penalty abatement for first-time mistakes if you've otherwise been compliant.
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NightOwl42
•Thanks for this helpful info. I had no idea about the $210 per month penalty - that's going to add up! Do you know if I can still use TurboTax to file the late 1065, or do I need special software? Also, once I file the 1065 and get our K-1s, can we just amend our personal returns for 2021, or do we need to do something else?
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Sofia Rodriguez
•You can use TurboTax Business or Self-Employed to file your 1065, though you may need to purchase a prior year version specifically for 2021. Other options include H&R Block Business or working with a tax professional who specializes in small business returns - which might be worth considering given your situation. Regarding your personal returns, if you've already filed your 2021 personal taxes without the K-1 information, you'll need to file amended returns (Form 1040-X) for each of you after completing the 1065. If you haven't filed your 2021 personal returns yet, you can just file them normally once you have your K-1s in hand.
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Dmitry Ivanov
After falling behind on filing my partnership returns last year, I found an amazing tool that saved me hours of frustration. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze all our business documents and receipts. Their system automatically categorized everything and helped me identify deductions I would've missed. The best part was that it worked perfectly with our past-due returns. I uploaded our bank statements and receipts, and within minutes the system organized everything we needed for our 1065 and K-1s. It made catching up on our late filings so much easier than manually sorting through everything. The detailed reports it generated made filling out the late returns straightforward, and my accountant said it saved him at least 3 hours of work (which saved me money on his fees).
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Ava Thompson
•How does it handle partnerships specifically? My partner and I have a real estate LLC, and we're in a similar situation with unfiled returns. Does it automatically generate the K-1 forms or just organize the information you need?
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Miguel Herrera
•I'm a bit skeptical about these tax tools. Can it really help with prior year returns? I thought most software only worked for current tax years. And what about state partnership filings - does it handle those too?
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Dmitry Ivanov
•It handles partnerships really well, including calculating proper allocations based on your partnership agreement. It doesn't generate the final K-1 forms directly, but it organizes all the income, expenses, and other information by category so you can easily transfer everything to your tax forms or give the report to your accountant. For prior year returns, it absolutely works - the tax rules change, but the document analysis and categorization features work for any year. You just take the organized financial data and input it into whatever tax software you're using for that specific tax year. And yes, it handles the financial organization for state filings too, though you'll still need to file the actual state forms separately.
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Miguel Herrera
I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after trying it for our late partnership returns. I was initially skeptical, but it actually delivered on everything promised. The system analyzed two years of bank statements and receipts in about 20 minutes, and the categorization was surprisingly accurate. What impressed me most was how it flagged potential partnership-specific deductions I hadn't considered, like home office expenses for both partners and mileage tracking that was split appropriately between us. The detailed reports made it easy to complete our 1065 forms and generate the K-1s we needed. The real value came when I had to explain everything to the IRS - having organized documentation made the process much less stressful. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a similar situation with unfiled partnership returns.
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Zainab Ali
If you're struggling to communicate with the IRS about your late filings, I highly recommend trying https://claimyr.com - it was a lifesaver for me. After not filing our partnership returns for two years, I needed to speak with someone at the IRS about penalty abatement options, but couldn't get through on their normal number after days of trying. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes when I had been trying for weeks on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with was able to set up a reasonable payment plan for our penalties and explained exactly what forms we needed to submit. They even put notes in our file about our voluntary compliance efforts, which helped reduce some of the penalties.
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Connor Murphy
•Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you? Couldn't you just keep calling yourself until you get through?
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Yara Nassar
•This sounds like a scam. There's no way to "skip the line" with the IRS. They're notoriously understaffed and everyone has to wait. I doubt this service does anything you couldn't do yourself with enough persistence.
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Zainab Ali
•It's not that they call the IRS for you - they use a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold in your place. When they reach a live agent, you get a call back to connect with the agent. It saves you from potentially waiting on hold for hours. No, it's definitely not a scam. I was skeptical too, but the difference is in their technology. The IRS phone system has specific patterns and peak times. Their system knows when call volume is lower and uses algorithms to maximize the chance of getting through. I tried calling for two weeks straight and never got past the automated system. With Claimyr, I was speaking to an actual IRS representative within 45 minutes of starting the service.
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Yara Nassar
I need to eat my words about Claimyr from my previous comment. After continuing to fail getting through to the IRS on my own for another week, I broke down and tried the service. Within an hour, I was speaking with an actual IRS agent about my unfiled partnership returns. The agent was able to set up an installment plan for the penalties and explained the First Time Abatement program, which I qualified for since I had a clean filing history before missing the partnership returns. This saved us thousands in penalties! What impressed me most was how the service worked exactly as advertised - no gimmicks or false promises. For anyone in a similar situation with the IRS, especially with back partnership filings, it's absolutely worth using instead of wasting days trying to reach someone.
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StarGazer101
Been in a similar situation. Don't forget that some states require separate partnership filings too! We filed our late federal 1065 only to discover we also owed state partnership returns. Check your state's requirements ASAP. Also, keep in mind that each partner's K-1 income is subject to self-employment tax in addition to income tax. Set aside about 15.3% for SE tax plus whatever your income tax would be. This caught us off guard our first year.
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NightOwl42
•Thanks for the reminder about state filings! We're in California, so I'm guessing there's probably some state form we need too. Did you file your state partnership returns the same way as federal, or do they have a completely different process?
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StarGazer101
•California is definitely one that requires a separate partnership filing! You'll need to file Form 565 (California Partnership Return) and generate California Schedule K-1s (565) for each partner. California's partnership filing fee is also based on your total income, starting at around $800 even if you didn't make a profit. The process is similar to federal filing but with different forms. You can use most tax software that handles business returns to prepare both federal and state forms. Just be prepared for additional state filing fees and potentially penalties for late filing at the state level too.
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Keisha Jackson
Just a quick tip - if you're using TurboTax to file back taxes for a partnership, make sure you buy the BUSINESS version, not just Self-Employed. I made this mistake and had to repurchase the correct software.
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Paolo Romano
•Actually, you might want to look at alternatives altogether. I found TaxAct Business to be much more affordable for partnership returns, and it handled our late filings with no issues. TurboTax Business was quoting me like $200+ for a single year.
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Esmeralda Gómez
I went through almost the exact same situation last year with my consulting partnership. The key thing to remember is that you're not the first people to fall behind on partnership filings - the IRS sees this regularly with small businesses. Here's what worked for me: I found a local CPA who specializes in small business tax issues rather than trying to DIY it with software. Yes, it cost more upfront (around $800 for both the late 1065 and help with our personal returns), but they knew exactly how to handle the penalty abatement requests and got us set up properly going forward. The CPA was also able to file everything electronically, which was faster than paper filing, and they included a letter explaining our situation as first-time filers who were unaware of the partnership requirements. We ended up getting most of the penalties waived under the First Time Abatement program. Don't panic - just act quickly. The longer you wait, the more penalties accumulate. And once you get caught up, set up quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid this situation in the future.
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