K-1 box 16 checked but no K-3 included - where's my foreign income info?

So when a partnership checks box 16 on your K-1, it means there are foreign transactions that might affect your tax return. The K-3 is a relatively new supplemental form that provides detailed information about those foreign transactions. There are a few possibilities here. First, the partnership might be sending the K-3 separately, sometimes later than the K-1 (which is frustrating but common). Second, they might have decided they don't need to issue a K-3 if the foreign transactions aren't significant enough to affect your taxes. Third, they might have made the information available electronically - check if there's any mention in the K-1 package about accessing supplemental information online. I'd recommend contacting the partnership directly to ask about the missing K-3. They're required to provide this information if it's relevant to your tax situation.

I had this exact same issue last year and it was driving me crazy. After spending hours on hold with the partnership's investor relations, I finally discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which saved me so much hassle. They analyzed my K-1 and identified what I actually needed to report even without the K-3. Their system can review partnership documents and tell you exactly what to do with foreign income reporting requirements. They even helped me determine which forms I needed to file based just on the information in my K-1.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment. Uploaded my K-1 with the checked box 16 but missing K-3 and they were actually super helpful! The system identified that I had a very small amount of foreign income that wouldn't trigger additional filing requirements beyond reporting on Schedule B. Saved me from filing unnecessary forms and from the panic of thinking I was missing something major. They even explained which boxes on which forms to use. Way less stressful than waiting for the partnership to get back to me!

I've been in this exact situation for 3 years running with a real estate partnership that constantly checks box 16 but never sends the K-3 on time. After trying to call their office for weeks with no response, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which helped me actually get through to the IRS to figure out what I should do. They have this cool service demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c that shows how they get you past the IRS hold times. The agent I spoke with confirmed I could file without the K-3 if I made a reasonable effort to get it, and explained exactly which schedules I needed based on the K-1 alone.

I owe everyone here an apology. After posting my skeptical comment about Claimyr, I decided to try it myself out of desperation (was on day 14 of trying to reach the IRS partnership hotline). It actually worked! They got me through to an IRS agent who specialized in partnership returns. The agent explained that if box 16 is checked but you don't receive a K-3, you can attach a statement to your return explaining you requested but didn't receive the K-3. Apparently this happens all the time. The IRS actually put out guidance on this because so many partnerships are late with K-3s. Sorry for doubting - sometimes things that sound too good to be true actually work!

Have you checked the partnership's investor portal? My LLC does this annoying thing where they send the K-1 by mail but only make the K-3 available through their investor website. Took me forever to figure that out the first year. The K-3 can be massive (like 20+ pages) so some partnerships don't mail it to save on printing costs.

Just a heads up - even if you don't get the K-3 in time, you can still file your return. If box 16 is checked but the amounts are minimal, you can often just report any foreign tax paid on Form 1116. I was in this situation and my accountant filed without the K-3, then amended later if needed. Better than missing the deadline.

This happened to me and it turned out the partnership had made a mistake. They checked box 16 on everyone's K-1 but there were actually no foreign transactions that year! They sent a corrected K-1 after I called them. Might be worth checking if this was just a clerical error.

I went through this exact same nightmare last year! After weeks of back-and-forth with the partnership and getting nowhere, I discovered that many partnerships are still figuring out the K-3 requirements themselves since they're relatively new. Here's what worked for me: I contacted the partnership in writing (email with read receipt) requesting the K-3 and kept a copy of that request. When I still didn't receive it after 30 days, my tax preparer filed my return with a statement attached explaining that I had requested but not received the K-3 form despite the checked box 16. The IRS actually has guidance allowing this approach when partnerships fail to provide required supplemental information. The key is documenting your reasonable efforts to obtain the form. Don't let a missing K-3 prevent you from filing on time - you can always amend later if needed once you get the information. But definitely don't just ignore a checked box 16 without taking some action!