Need help with tax software for our joint LLC - first time filing and can't figure out ownership percentages

This is a common issue with some of the basic tax software packages. Most consumer-grade tax programs are designed for simpler business structures and sometimes limit partnership splits to equal percentages or single-owner options. You have a few options here. First, check if your software has a "partnership" or "multi-member LLC" option rather than just "LLC" - sometimes the ownership percentages are hidden under different business type selections. Look for advanced settings within the business profile section. If that doesn't work, you might need to upgrade to the business or self-employed premium version of your software, as the basic versions often have limitations for more complex business structures. The premium versions usually allow for custom ownership percentages. Alternatively, you could consider using a more robust tax software like ProSeries or Lacerte that specifically handles business returns with more flexibility, though they tend to be more expensive.

After struggling with the exact same issue last year, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it completely changed how I handle our LLC taxes. My husband and I have a 60/40 split, and all the mainstream tax software kept giving me headaches with setting the correct ownership percentages. Taxr.ai has specific options for multi-member LLCs with custom ownership splits and analyzes all your tax documents to make sure everything aligns with your business structure. It even flagged a couple deductions I was missing that were specific to our ownership arrangement. Definitely worth checking out before you pull out more hair!

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that I asked about earlier. I ended up giving it a try last weekend and it actually solved my ownership percentage problem perfectly! The interface specifically asked for each member's exact ownership stake and generated all the right forms showing our 70/30 split correctly. What I particularly liked was how it explained each step of the partnership tax allocation process and showed me exactly how our business income, deductions, and credits were being divided according to our ownership percentages. This was WAY clearer than what I was getting from the mainstream tax software. I'm honestly impressed and wish I'd known about this earlier. Saved me tons of time!

If you're still having issues after trying different software options, you might want to just call the IRS directly for guidance. I know that sounds horrible, but I've been using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to actual IRS agents quickly instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had a similar LLC ownership reporting issue last year, and getting direct confirmation from the IRS about how to properly report our 75/25 ownership split using our specific software saved me a ton of anxiety. The agent actually walked me through the exact screens I needed to navigate in the software to properly document our uneven ownership.

I need to apologize to the person recommending Claimyr. I was super skeptical (still called it a scam), but I was desperate with my LLC tax issue and gave it a try. I'm shocked - it actually worked exactly as advertised. Got through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who confirmed that our partnership return needed to reflect the exact ownership percentages even if our tax software was being difficult. The agent suggested that if the software absolutely wouldn't accommodate our specific percentage split, we could include an attachment/statement with our return explaining the exact ownership structure. However, they recommended trying a different software package first, as most professional-grade tax software should handle this common situation. Honestly, this saved me hours of frustration and uncertainty.

Have you considered just filing Form 1065 (Partnership Return) manually? If your tax software can't handle the specific ownership percentages, sometimes going old school is the easiest solution. Your LLC with multiple members is treated as a partnership by default for tax purposes anyway. You'll need to prepare Schedule K-1s for each member showing their specific ownership percentage, distributive share of income, deductions, etc. It's not as complicated as it sounds for a simple LLC with just two members.

Quick question - are you guys actually operating as an LLC taxed as a partnership? Or did you elect to be taxed as an S-Corp? That makes a huge difference in how you file and which forms you need.