Types of partnership and types of partner

By Tolley

The following Owner-Managed Businesses guidance note by Tolley provides comprehensive and up to date tax information covering:

Types of partnership and types of partner
Introduction
General partnership
Limited partnerships
Limited liability partnerships
Scottish partnerships
Salaried partners
Corporate partners
Overseas partnerships

Introduction

Partnerships established in the UK are one of four types:

•general partnerships
•limited partnerships
•limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
•Scottish partnerships

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A guidance for partnerships, published by Companies House, can be accessed via the GOV.UK website , along with other information.

Those who are called ‘partners’ may thus belong to one of these partnerships. In addition, ‘salaried partners’ may not be partners at all, but employees. For tax purposes, all UK partnerships are transparent but this is not always the case overseas.

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A partner can be an individual, company, trust or charity.

Where a person is a partner in a business in his capacity as bare trustee or nominee for another person, it is the beneficiary who is treated as the partner for tax purposes. In other words, if the beneficiary of a trust is absolutely entitled to the share of partnership profits, they are treated as the partner for income and corporation tax purposes. In addition, the beneficiary is treated as a partner for the purposes of TMA 1970. The beneficiary may therefore be directly subject to measures such as notices, penalties and assessments.

ITTOIA 2005, s 848A; CTA 2009, s 1258A