How do I enter a tiered partnership k-1 into lacerte?

[david-chau]

How do I enter a tiered partnership's K-1 into Lacerte? 

This k-1 I received is from Energy Transfer LP, and it actually includes 4 different PTPs. If each PTP needs to be entered separately into Lacerte, how do I tell Lacerte that every one of these 4 PTP is a component part of the same K-1?

[PhoebeRoberts · Accepted solution]

The issue isn't that it's tiered, it's that it's PTPs. Stupid PTPs.

You enter each one separately. Then under other current year increases / decreases to basis, you shuffle basis back and forth so that the overall basis is with ET, and ETP, USAC, and SUN all show zero basis. You keep a side schedule, because you can't zero out the AMT basis. You curse whichever legislators allowed such things to come into being. You curse whichever salesperson sold the client the worthless thing. You cry knowing that the year of sale is going to be even worse.

Also, Lacerte won't properly suspend the PTP losses for 199A purposes. I calculate the 199A income allowed and loss carried forward in Excel, and set up a dummy K-1 (all 9s works fine for the EIN; I literally name it Dummy K-1) with a slug of 199A PTP income to get the end result right.

Those suckers are a mess.

[SGIIT]

Hello PhoebeRoberts - I would love to get a copy of your template. This is the first year I am dealing with ET and associated K-1s and it is overwhelming.

[PhoebeRoberts]

For keeping track of the unified basis? I suspect it would be faster for you to build your own Excel than to figure out how mine works (and what parts don't work because they aren't relevant to that particular client). You just have a normal basis calculation for each sub-PTP and then sum across the columns.

Lacerte does the PTP 199A stuff right for years after 2018.

[SGIIT]

Thanks. I am not even sure of what needs to be pulled in to build the excel spreadsheet.

[PhoebeRoberts]

It's just a normal basis calculation, same as for any other partnership. Beginning basis, additional current year investments, current year income / loss, current year distributions, current-year change in liabilities; the total equals ending basis. If you look at the basis schedule Lacerte produces as a statement, it gives you a format to follow and everything.