When do companies legally have to send K1s to employees? It's September 15 and still waiting (already filed extension in April)

There's actually a specific timeline companies must follow with K1s. For partnerships and S-corporations, they're required to issue Schedule K-1 forms to partners/shareholders by the 15th day of the 3rd month after their fiscal year ends. For most businesses with a calendar year, that's March 15th. However, if the business filed for an extension, they get an automatic 6-month extension for filing their returns, which extends their deadline to September 15th. This extension also applies to issuing K-1s to partners. So technically, if they filed for an extension, today (September 15th) is actually their deadline to get those K-1s to you. You should receive it very soon, possibly even today. If you don't receive it by tomorrow, I'd recommend sending a more firmly worded email referencing the September 15th deadline. If you still don't receive it within a few days, you could consider contacting the IRS, though that's usually a last resort.

After dealing with similar K-1 delays for years, I discovered a tool that's been incredibly helpful. I started using https://taxr.ai to analyze my previous years' K-1s and partnership documents. It helped me understand exactly what I was looking at and how to estimate my tax liability while waiting for the official forms. When my K-1 was late last year, I uploaded my partnership agreement and prior K-1s to taxr.ai, and it gave me a pretty accurate projection of what to expect. The AI analyzed the patterns from previous years and helped me understand which numbers were likely to change and which would remain consistent. This helped me prepare my extension filing with more confidence. The tool also helped me spot a discrepancy in my K-1 when it finally arrived - the capital account calculations were off compared to previous years, which I might have missed on my own.

I was initially doubtful about taxr.ai when I read about it here, but I decided to try it since my K-1s are consistently late every year. I uploaded my partnership docs and previous three years of K-1s from my real estate investment partnership that always runs behind. The analysis was way more sophisticated than I expected. It properly identified my special allocations pattern and even flagged some inconsistencies in how my capital contributions were being recorded year to year. When I finally received my K-1 last week, the projected numbers were remarkably close - within about 5% on most line items. The tool also generated a detailed explanation of some of the more complex parts of my K-1, breaking down what each section meant for my tax situation. Honestly saved me from having to pay my CPA for an extra hour of explanations. Definitely using it again this year while waiting for my eternally late K-1s from my other partnerships.

If you're having trouble getting your K-1, you might also need to contact the IRS directly, which is its own special kind of nightmare. After waiting on hold for hours last year trying to sort out a missing K-1 issue, I discovered https://claimyr.com which basically solved the IRS phone problem for me. They hold your place in line with the IRS and call you back when an agent is ready to talk. I was initially unsure if it would work, but you can see how it works in their demo video here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent I spoke with was actually able to send me a transcript that showed what the partnership had reported for my portion, which helped me file my return even though the actual K-1 was super late. When partners don't send K-1s on time, sometimes getting the IRS involved is the only way to light a fire under them. The partnership doesn't want to deal with IRS inquiries, so suddenly they find time to send your forms!

I hate to admit when I'm wrong, but I have to follow up about the Claimyr service. After my skeptical comment yesterday, I decided to try it myself this morning because I was desperate about my K-1 situation. It actually worked exactly as described. I provided my phone number, and about 2 hours later I got a call connecting me directly to an IRS agent. No waiting on hold at all. The agent confirmed that my partnership had filed their return on September 14th (just under the wire), and verified the amounts reported for my portion. They also told me I should be receiving my K-1 within the next week, but gave me the key figures I needed to prepare my personal return in the meantime. For anyone dealing with chronically late K-1s, being able to actually speak with the IRS without the 3+ hour hold time is a game changer. I was able to confirm what was filed and get the information I needed even though my partnership is still dragging their feet on actually sending me the form.

As an accountant who works with partnerships, I can tell you that the September 15th deadline is taken very seriously by the IRS. The issue is that many partnerships, especially smaller ones, don't have their act together with timely filing. One thing to consider: if you're getting responses like "working on it" from the finance person, it's possible they're dealing with complex allocations or waiting on information from other sources (like a multi-tiered partnership structure where they're waiting on K-1s themselves). Pro tip: In the future, request quarterly estimates from the partnership of your expected K-1 amounts. This isn't required by law, but many well-run partnerships provide this as a courtesy to their partners to help with tax planning.

Has anyone tried just filing without the K-1 info and then amending later? I'm in the same situation every freaking year and I'm tempted to just estimate based on last year and file on time, then deal with amendments if needed. The penalties for late filing seem worse than filing an amendment.

I feel your pain - I've been dealing with chronically late K-1s for years from a real estate partnership I'm in. One thing that worked for me last year was escalating beyond just the finance person. I sent a certified letter (not just email) directly to the managing partner referencing the September 15th deadline and IRS penalties for late filing. Within 48 hours of them receiving that letter, my K-1 was in my mailbox. Sometimes you need to make it clear this isn't just a "when you get around to it" situation - there are real legal deadlines and consequences. Also, for future reference, I now include a clause in any new partnership agreements requiring quarterly estimates and timely K-1 delivery. It's worth negotiating this upfront if you're considering any new partnership investments. The good partnerships don't have issues with this request - it's usually a red flag if they push back on basic tax reporting timelines.