Fill out Form 1065 online

Who uses Form 1065

• General, limited and limited liability partnerships formed in the United States
• LLCs with two or more members that are classified as partnerships for federal tax purposes
• Spouses who jointly own and run an unincorporated business, unless they qualify for and elect qualified joint venture treatment
• Foreign partnerships with income connected to a U.S. business or income from U.S. sources, unless an exception in the instructions applies
• Paid preparers who prepare and sign a partnership's return

Before you start

• The partnership's employer identification number (EIN). If it has applied but not received one by the due date, the instructions say to enter "Applied for" and the application date.
• The principal business activity and the business code from the code list near the end of the instructions
• The partnership's books for the year: gross receipts, cost of goods sold, and each type of business expense
• Balance sheet figures for the beginning and end of the tax year, if Schedules L, M-1 and M-2 must be completed
• Each partner's details and share of income, deductions and credits, for the Schedules K-1
• Unless the partnership elects out of the centralized audit regime (Schedule B, question 33): the name, U.S. address and U.S. phone number of the partnership representative, and of the designated individual if the representative is an entity

How to fill out Form 1065

1. 1

   Page 1, top: tax year and items A through K

   Enter the tax year if it is not the calendar year, then the partnership's name, address and EIN (item D). Fill in the business activity, product or service and business code (items A to C), the date the business started (E) and total assets (F). Check any boxes in item G (initial, final or amended return, name or address change), choose the accounting method in item H, and enter the number of Schedules K-1 in item I. Items J and K are check boxes for Schedules C and M-3 and for grouped or aggregated activities.

2. 2

   Page 1, lines 1a to 23: income and deductions

   Report only trade or business income and expenses here. Lines 1a to 8 cover gross receipts, cost of goods sold (attach Form 1125-A) and other business income. Lines 9 to 21 list deductions such as salaries and wages, guaranteed payments to partners, rent, taxes, interest and depreciation (attach Form 4562 if required). Line 22 is total deductions, and line 23 is ordinary business income or loss.

3. 3

   Page 1, lines 24 to 32d: tax and payment

   A partnership does not pay tax on its income, but it may owe look-back interest (lines 24 and 25, with Form 8697 or 8866), a BBA AAR imputed underpayment when it files an AAR electronically and chooses to pay it (line 26), or other payments (line 27). Line 28 is the total balance due, line 29 is the elective payment election amount from Form 3800, and line 30 is any prepayment of the amounts on lines 24 to 27. Line 31 shows any amount owed. If there is an overpayment on line 32a, enter direct deposit details on lines 32b to 32d.

4. 4

   Schedule B, pages 2 to 4: other information

   Answer questions 1 to 33 by checking a box, answering Yes or No, or entering the count or amount asked for. They cover the type of entity, ownership of 50% or more, interests in other entities, foreign accounts and partners, section 754 elections, Forms 1099, digital assets and other topics. Question 4 tells you whether the partnership may skip Schedules L, M-1 and M-2 and item F. If the answer to question 33 is Yes, Schedule B-2 must be completed; if it is No, complete the Designation of Partnership Representative at the bottom of page 4.

5. 5

   Schedule K, page 5: partners' distributive share items

   Enter the totals for all partners on lines 1 to 21. Line 1 is the ordinary business income or loss from page 1, line 23. The other lines cover rental income, guaranteed payments, interest, dividends, capital gains, deductions, self-employment earnings, credits, international items, alternative minimum tax items, distributions and other information. Each partner's own share goes on that partner's Schedule K-1.

6. 6

   Page 6: net income analysis and Schedules L, M-1 and M-2

   Complete the Analysis of Net Income (Loss) per Return, which splits net income by type of partner. Schedule L is the balance sheet for the beginning and end of the year, Schedule M-1 reconciles book income with income on the return, and Schedule M-2 shows the changes in partners' capital accounts. These schedules are optional if the answer to Schedule B, question 4, is Yes.

7. 7

   Sign Here and Paid Preparer Use Only

   A partner or LLC member signs and dates the return and checks Yes or No to say whether the IRS may discuss it with the preparer. If someone was paid to prepare the return, that person signs and completes the Paid Preparer Use Only section with a PTIN. If a partner, member or employee prepared it, leave that section blank.

After you fill it out

Attach a Schedule K-1 for each partner and any other schedules or forms the return needs, then file the return with the IRS. A domestic partnership generally files by the 15th day of the 3rd month after its tax year ends (March 15 for a calendar-year partnership), or requests more time by filing Form 7004 by that date. A partnership that must file electronically uses IRS e-file; a paper return goes to an IRS center that depends on the partnership's location, total assets and whether Schedule M-3 is filed, so check the current address on the official where-to-file page. Give each partner a copy of their Schedule K-1, and keep copies of the return with the partnership's records.

Signing: The IRS instructions say Form 1065 is not considered a return unless a partner or LLC member signs it (a receiver, trustee or assignee signs instead when acting for the partnership, and an AAR is signed by the partnership representative). Sign in the Sign Here area if you file on paper; an e-filed return is signed through the e-file process, for example with a PIN on Form 8879-PE or with Form 8453-PE.

Questions about Form 1065

Official information

• About Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income (IRS)
• Instructions for Form 1065 (IRS)
• Where to file Form 1065 (IRS)

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

Related forms

• Form SS-4Application for Employer Identification Number
• Form 8832Entity Classification Election
• Form 4562Depreciation and Amortization (Including Information on Listed Property)
• Schedule ESupplemental Income and Loss
• Form 8822-BChange of Address or Responsible Party — Business