Potential Hidden Tax Burden for MLP Holders
A recent WSJ.com article by Laura Saunders contains a cautionary tale for investors holding master limited partnerships in their IRAs. Many are receiving surprise tax bills for units of master limited partnerships they hold.
However, when this tax is due, the IRA custodian or trustee, not the individual investor, is responsible for obtaining a special tax ID number and then filing and signing an IRS Form 990-T reporting the income. The IRA owner is typically responsible for paying the tax. If the custodian or trustee doesn’t file the necessary tax forms in a timely manner or fails to secure an extension, the individual investors may also be hit with additional late-filing penalties and interest.
As a result, according to the article, many advisors warn investors against putting publicly traded partnerships into IRAs.
To learn more about Master Limited Partnerships, check out these informative AAII articles:
- Making Sense of Master Limited Partnership Tax Rules
- Master Limited Partnerships
- Master Limited Partnerships: Income From a Unique Structure and Industry
If you are not an AAII member and want to become an effective manager of your investments, simply take a risk-free 30-day Trial AAII Membership and AAII’s informative content and all of our other membership benefits will be available to you.