Do you get a K1 with a 1065?

Do You Get a K-1 With a 1065?

Yes, if you're a partner in a business that operates as a partnership, you’ll likely receive a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065). This form is used to report your share of the partnership’s income, deductions, credits, and other tax-related items. While the partnership itself doesn’t pay income taxes directly, it files Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income, with the IRS. Alongside that, each partner gets a Schedule K-1 that details their allocated portion of the business’s financial activity.

The K-1 form is essential for your personal tax return. You use it to report your share of the partnership’s earnings, even if no money was actually distributed to you. This means you could owe taxes on income you didn’t physically receive. The form includes not only ordinary income but also items like interest, dividends, capital gains, deductions, and credits—each of which may be taxed differently.

Partnerships are considered “pass-through” entities, meaning profits and losses flow through to the individual partners. That’s where the K-1 comes in—it’s the document that makes that pass-through visible to the IRS. The partnership must file a copy of each K-1 with the IRS and send a copy to the partner by the tax filing deadline, typically around March 15 for calendar-year entities.

It’s important to keep your K-1 safe and use it when preparing your Form 1040. Misplacing it or delaying your individual return could lead to penalties or delays. While the process might seem complex, the K-1 ensures transparency and fairness in how partnership income is taxed—each partner pays tax based on their rightful share, not on the business as a whole.