Who we help
Partnership accounts where everybody knows where they stand.
Accounts and returns for the partnership, plus each partner’s own position, prepared together so the figures agree and nobody is left guessing about their share.
- Partnership accounts and SA800 returns
- Individual profit share statements
- Each partner’s Self Assessment aligned
Overview
How partnership reporting works
A partnership prepares accounts and files a partnership return reporting the result of the business and how it is divided between the partners. The partnership itself does not pay income tax. Each partner reports their share on their own Self Assessment return and pays tax on it personally.
That two-stage structure means accuracy in the allocation matters a great deal. An error in the profit share does not stay in one place, it flows through to several people’s personal tax positions.
What you get
How we support partnerships
The partnership and the partners handled as one connected piece of work.
Partnership accounts
Annual accounts prepared from the business records, including partner capital and current accounts.
Partnership tax return
The SA800 return prepared and filed, reporting the result and the allocation between partners.
Profit share statements
A clear statement for each partner showing their share, drawings and closing balance for the year.
Partner Self Assessment
Individual returns prepared so each partner’s figures tie back to the partnership accounts.
Drawings guidance
Practical help distinguishing drawings from profit share, and keeping drawings within what the business can support.
More detail
Where partnerships most often run into difficulty
Almost every problem we see in a partnership traces back to something that was never written down.
- No written partnership agreement, so the default statutory position applies whether or not it suits you
- Profit shares agreed verbally and remembered differently by different partners
- Drawings taken unevenly with no record of who has taken what
- Expenses paid personally by one partner and never reimbursed or recorded
- No agreed process for a partner joining, leaving or reducing their involvement
Changes in the partnership
Partners joining or leaving affects both the accounts and the tax position, sometimes in ways that are not obvious. Profit has to be apportioned across the period, capital accounts settled, and the incoming or outgoing partner’s own tax position considered.
Tell us before the change happens rather than afterwards. Planning the timing is much easier than unpicking it at the year end.
Questions
Common questions
If something is not covered here, ask us directly and we will give you a straight answer.
We usually do, because it keeps the figures consistent and saves the partnership having to send information to several different advisers. The quote calculator lets you include the number of Self Assessment returns needed.
An LLP has limited liability for its members and must file accounts at Companies House, which a general partnership does not. That adds a filing deadline and puts financial information on the public register.
Profit needs apportioning to the date of change, the departing partner’s capital account has to be settled and their personal tax position for the year worked out. Tell us in advance and we will set out the sequence.
One arrangement covering the partnership and the partners.
Tell us how many partners there are and see an indicative monthly figure that includes their returns.