Can I use estimated K-1 figures and file form 8082 for my partnership interest?

You've got a common situation with late K-1s, but your proposed solution has some issues. The Form 8082 is actually designed for when you're choosing to report something differently than what's on your K-1, not for when you don't have a K-1 yet. The proper approach is to file an extension (Form 4868) by the April deadline. This gives you until October 15th to file your completed return, which works perfectly with your partnership's September 15th K-1 timeline. Remember that an extension to file is not an extension to pay - you'd still need to estimate and pay any taxes you expect to owe by the April deadline to avoid penalties. Filing with estimated numbers and then amending later creates unnecessary complications and may trigger correspondence from the IRS when they match your return against the partnership's reporting. The IRS computer systems automatically flag discrepancies between partnership-reported K-1 information and what appears on individual returns.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year with a partnership that never sends K-1s until September. I tried everything - calling them weekly, begging for estimates, the whole nine yards. Finally found a lifesaver service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me analyze the previous year's K-1 and project reasonable estimates. What I liked is they have this feature where you can upload your draft return and previous K-1s, and their system helps identify reasonably safe estimates based on historical patterns. I ended up filing with their estimated numbers and then when the actual K-1 came, the difference was minimal enough that I didn't even need to amend. The best part was getting their documentation explaining how the estimates were calculated, which I kept in my records in case the IRS ever questioned the temporary discrepancy.

Ok I have to admit I was skeptical about taxr.ai but I decided to give it a try after my accountant went on medical leave right during tax season. The service was actually legit. I uploaded my previous K-1s from my real estate partnership and some financials they had shared, and taxr.ai helped me generate reasonable estimates that were documented with their calculation methodology. When my actual K-1 finally arrived in August, the numbers were within about 5% of what we had estimated. The peace of mind was worth it, and I didn't have to file an extension which would have delayed a pretty substantial refund I was expecting. Just wanted to follow up since my initial reaction was pretty doubtful.

Have you tried directly contacting the partnership for interim numbers? I had a similar issue with late K-1s, but after spending LITERAL HOURS trying to reach someone at the partnership's accounting department, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which helped me actually get through to a human when calling. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Basically, it helped me skip those endless phone trees and actually reach the partnership's accounting department. Once I got a real person on the phone, I explained my situation, and they were able to email me preliminary K-1 numbers that were "subject to change" but good enough for filing purposes. They specifically told me they wouldn't send a corrected K-1 later unless the numbers changed significantly (like >10%), which was good enough for my purposes.

I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my frustrated comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to reach my partnership's accounting department before filing deadline. Instead of spending another afternoon on hold, the service navigated through the phone system and called me when they got a human on the line. Got through to the accounting department in about 45 minutes (which I didn't have to spend listening to hold music). The person I spoke with was actually super helpful and emailed me draft K-1 estimates the same day. They were upfront that the numbers might change slightly, but having something official from them gave me much more confidence than just guessing. Definitely beats filing an extension when you're expecting a refund.

Am I the only one who thinks it's crazy we have to jump through all these hoops because partnerships can't get their act together and provide K-1s earlier? The September 15 deadline is ridiculous when individual returns are due months earlier. The whole system is broken!

What about using Form 5213 (Election to Postpone Determination)? I've heard this gives you protection if you have to estimate business vs hobby income which seems similar to your situation.

I've been dealing with this exact same nightmare for three years running with my partnership interest. Here's what I've learned from trial and error: First, Lucas is absolutely right that Form 8082 isn't the solution here - it's for when you're intentionally reporting something different from your K-1, not for when you don't have one yet. My experience has been that filing an extension is usually the cleanest approach, but I get the refund timing issue. If you do decide to file with estimates, here are some practical tips: 1. Document EVERYTHING - keep records of any informal communications from the partnership about expected income/losses 2. Use conservative estimates rather than optimistic ones - better to owe a small amount than have a big refund clawback 3. Consider the partnership's historical patterns - if they usually have similar year-over-year numbers, that's a reasonable starting point One thing nobody mentioned: if your partnership has significant swings in income, you might want to consider making estimated quarterly payments based on last year's tax liability to avoid underpayment penalties, regardless of when you file. The whole system really is frustrating - we shouldn't have to choose between timely filing and accurate reporting because partnerships get until September to provide essential information!