How does Rev Proc 99-6 apply to Partnership Interest Sale with momentary sole ownership?
I'm structuring a deal with my business partners that has me a bit confused on the tax implications. Here's the situation: We have a partnership called MidTech Solutions that's owned 65% by me (Partner J) and 35% by my partner (Partner K). We've got VentureCap LLC interested in buying 40% of our partnership and converting to a new C corp called TechFusion Inc. Due to some non-compete clauses, Partner K can't sell directly to VentureCap. So we're planning this sequence: At 11:59 PM on 3/15/2025, I'll buy out Partner K's 35% interest. Then at 12:01 AM on 3/16/2025, I'll sell 40% of my interest to VentureCap, and then we'll immediately contribute/rollover our ownership into the new C Corp TechFusion. The agreement specifies that my purchase of K's interest is contingent on the sale to VentureCap happening, so they're effectively a single transaction. But technically, for about 2 minutes, I'd be the sole owner of MidTech Solutions. My question is: Does Rev Proc 99-6 apply here because the partnership briefly becomes a sole proprietorship during that 2-minute window? Or is this treated as a continuous transaction where 99-6 doesn't apply? I'm trying to understand the tax implications before we finalize this approach.
18 comments


NebulaNinja
What you're describing is an interesting situation with some nuanced tax implications. The key issue is whether that brief 2-minute window creates a taxable event under Rev Proc 99-6. Generally, when a partnership becomes a sole proprietorship (even briefly), there's a technical termination of the partnership. However, the IRS often looks at the substance of transactions rather than just their form, especially when steps are clearly part of an integrated plan. Since your purchase of Partner K's interest is explicitly contingent on the immediate sale to VentureCap, and these transactions are happening within minutes of each other as part of a prearranged plan, there's a strong argument that these should be viewed as steps in a single integrated transaction rather than separate events. The step transaction doctrine might apply here, where the intermediate steps (your momentary sole ownership) could be collapsed if the end result was always intended to be the formation of the new C corp with multiple owners.
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Giovanni Mancini
•Thanks for the response! That makes sense about the step transaction doctrine. Do you think we need to explicitly document somewhere that these are intended as integrated steps of the same transaction? And if the IRS did determine that 99-6 applies, what would be the major tax consequences we should prepare for?
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NebulaNinja
•Definitely document the integrated nature of these transactions in your agreements. Make it clear that the buyout of Partner K is conditional on the immediate sale to VentureCap and the formation of the C corp. Include language that explicitly states these are steps in a single business restructuring. If the IRS did determine that 99-6 applies, the main consequence would be that the partnership would be deemed to have distributed all its assets to you as the sole owner. This could trigger recognition of gain on appreciated partnership assets, and there could be additional tax consequences when those assets are then contributed to the new C corporation. It essentially creates an extra taxable event that wouldn't exist if the transaction was viewed as integrated.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
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Dmitry Popov
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Dmitry Popov
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Sofia Morales
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StarSailor}
One aspect that hasn't been mentioned - the formation of the new C corp adds another layer to consider. From my experience with similar transactions, if you're contributing partnership interests in exchange for stock, you'll want to ensure you meet the requirements of Section 351 for tax-free treatment of that exchange. If the partnership is deemed terminated under 99-6 during that brief window, it could potentially disrupt your Section 351 exchange. The timing and documentation become even more critical to establish that these are integrated steps of a single business restructuring transaction.
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Giovanni Mancini
•That's a really good point I hadn't considered. So we need to be careful about both the 99-6 implications AND making sure we satisfy Section 351 for the C corp formation. Does the order of operations matter here? Should we structure the documents differently to better protect the Section 351 treatment?
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StarSailor}
•The order of operations definitely matters for protecting your Section 351 treatment. I'd recommend structuring your documents to emphasize that the partnership interests are being contributed to the new C corp as part of the overall restructuring plan, not as separate transactions. You might want to consider having the agreements executed simultaneously rather than sequentially with a time gap. Even a few minutes between transactions creates risk. Another approach is to use binding agreements that explicitly reference each other and make clear that all steps are conditional on the completion of the entire plan. This strengthens your position that it's a single integrated transaction for tax purposes.
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Miguel Silva
Has anyone considered whether the partnership agreement itself might already have provisions that address this? Many partnership agreements have specific clauses about what happens in single-member scenarios. Before you restructure anything, check if your existing agreement already addresses temporary sole ownership!
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Zainab Ismail
•Good point! My LLC operating agreement specifically states that if only one member remains, the LLC continues without dissolution and automatically converts to a single-member LLC. Might be worth checking for similar language in the partnership agreement.
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