Getting a K1 Form from Business Co-Owner Who's Refusing to Provide It

7 This is unfortunately a common issue with business co-ownership, especially with former spouses. Your fiancée has a few options here: First, she can file Form 4868 for an automatic six-month extension. This gives her until October to file the actual return, though any taxes owed are still due by April 18th. The extension gives her more time to either receive the K1 or pursue other options. She should document all attempts to obtain the K1 - save emails, text messages, certified mail receipts, etc. This creates a paper trail showing she made good faith efforts to comply with tax requirements. If she knows approximately what her share of business income/losses should be based on previous years' K1s, she could estimate and file, then amend later when she receives the actual K1. She should indicate on her return that the K1 was not provided despite multiple requests. Finally, she might consider consulting with a business attorney about her rights as a co-owner. The operating agreement for the LLC likely includes provisions about financial transparency and information sharing that her ex may be violating.

12 After dealing with nearly this exact situation last year (silent partner in my brother's construction LLC), I found a solution through taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). I uploaded my operating agreement and previous year's K1s, and their system helped me create a substitute K1 with supporting documentation that satisfied the IRS requirements. They have tax professionals who specialize in partnership disputes and missing documentation. What I appreciated most was that they provided a formal letter explaining the situation that I attached to my return, which helped prevent any automatic flags in the IRS system. Their document analysis identified exactly what I needed to demonstrate my ownership rights were being obstructed.

3 Just wanted to update everyone - I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. Honestly, I was skeptical but desperate since my ex-business partner was completely stonewalling me. I uploaded our operating agreement, last year's K1, and our email exchanges showing my attempts to get the current K1. Within 48 hours, they prepared a substitute information return with all the supporting documentation I needed. Their tax expert even got on a quick call to explain exactly how to file with the substitute information. Filed my taxes yesterday and even got confirmation that it was accepted! Such a relief to have this handled properly instead of just guessing at the numbers.

15 If you're still struggling to communicate with your ex about the K1, I had success using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to the IRS Partnership Department for advice on my similar situation. Had been trying to reach them for weeks on my own with no luck - just endless hold times and disconnects. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS representative in about 20 minutes who walked me through the process for reporting partnership income when a K1 is being withheld. The agent explained exactly what documentation I needed to establish reasonable cause. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - totally changed my perspective on dealing with the IRS.

6 I was completely wrong about Claimyr and need to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I was so frustrated with my own tax situation (partner refusing to provide documentation for our joint-owned rental property) that I figured I had nothing to lose. Got connected to an IRS partnership specialist in 22 minutes who was actually HELPFUL. She explained that under IRC §6031(b) and §6031(c), I have legal right to that information and outlined the exact steps to take. She even sent me follow-up information about filing Form 8082. Calling the IRS directly = 3 days of frustration and hold music. Using their service = problem solved in under an hour. Sometimes admitting you were wrong feels pretty good.

8 One important thing to consider that hasn't been mentioned yet - your fiancée should review the LLC's operating agreement. Most agreements have specific language about financial disclosures and member rights to information. She should send a formal written request (certified mail) citing the specific clauses in the operating agreement that entitle her to this information. If the operating agreement has an arbitration clause, she could also initiate that process. This creates a legal paper trail showing she's attempting to fulfill her tax obligations.

22 Has your fiancée contacted the IRS directly about this? I went through something similar and filed Form 8082 (Notice of Inconsistent Treatment) with my return. Basically telling the IRS "hey, I'm part owner of this business but they won't give me the K1, so I'm reporting what I think is correct based on last year." You definitely want to file something rather than nothing. The penalties for non-filing are way worse than filing with incomplete info.

This is such a frustrating situation, but you're definitely not alone in dealing with this. As someone who's been through similar partnership disputes, I'd strongly recommend documenting everything right now - save all those unanswered emails and voicemails as proof of your good faith efforts. The extension route mentioned earlier is probably your safest bet given the timeline. Form 4868 buys you six months to sort this out properly, and the penalties for underpaying estimated taxes are usually much smaller than the penalties for not filing at all. One thing I'd add - if your fiancée has bank records showing any distributions or payments from the LLC during the tax year, those can help support whatever estimates she makes. The IRS understands that sometimes partners don't cooperate, but they want to see you made reasonable efforts to comply. Has she tried reaching out to any other business contacts who might know the LLC's accountant? Sometimes going through a mutual connection can break the ice when direct communication isn't working.

This situation is unfortunately more common than you'd think, especially with dissolved partnerships. Your fiancée absolutely should not ignore this - the IRS will expect her to report her share of partnership income regardless of whether she receives the K-1. Here's what I'd recommend based on similar cases I've seen: 1. **File an extension immediately** - Form 4868 gives you until October 15th, but remember any taxes owed are still due April 18th. Estimate conservatively based on prior years. 2. **Create a paper trail** - Send one final certified mail request to both the ex-spouse and the LLC's registered address demanding the K-1. Reference her ownership rights and legal obligation to file taxes. Keep the receipt. 3. **Gather supporting documents** - Previous K-1s, operating agreement, bank statements showing distributions, any correspondence about the business. This establishes her ownership percentage and income pattern. 4. **Consider legal consultation** - A business attorney can send a formal demand letter which often gets faster results than personal requests. Many offer free consultations for straightforward cases like this. The key is showing the IRS she made good faith efforts to obtain required documents. Don't let her ex-spouse's non-cooperation derail her tax compliance - there are ways to handle this properly even without their cooperation.