What counts as a contribution for the limited partner?
February 18, 2021 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Bernd Thomas
Through contributions made, the limited partner of a limited partnership can increase the possibilities of offsetting losses and mitigate §15a EStG: How do these contributions actually work in practice?
Does the liability entry in the commercial register necessarily need to be changed and money deposited into the business account? Or could it already count as a contribution made if the limited partner regularly pays for extensive purchases for the company from his personal current account?
Dear questioner,
I am happy to answer your inquiry based on the information provided in the context of an initial consultation on frag-einen.com. The response is based on the factual information you have provided. Missing or incorrect information can affect the legal outcome.
If you make payments for the KG from your account, this will be recorded on a third-party capital account ("shareholder clearing account" or similar). These amounts do not have the character of equity.
It is precisely defined in the Income Tax Guidelines:
The capital account within the meaning of § 15a (1) sentence 1 EStG consists of the shareholder's capital account in the company's tax balance sheet and the surplus or deficit capital from any positive or negative supplementary balance of the shareholder (BFH judgment of March 30, 1993, BStBl II p. 706). In determining the capital account, the following items must be considered:
1. Contributions made; including contributions to liability and mandatory deposits, but also, for example, lost subsidies to offset losses. Mandatory deposits are also included in the capital account within the meaning of § 15a (1) sentence 1 EStG, even if they are interest-bearing regardless of the profit or loss situation.
Capital reserves shown in the balance sheet. If a KG temporarily increases its equity by external capital injection through the establishment of a capital reserve to cover any balance sheet losses, the tax equity of each limited partner is strengthened according to their participation in the capital reserve.
2. Profit reserves shown in the balance sheet. If the shareholders of a KG have formed profit reserves by retaining profits in the manner provided for in the partnership agreement, the tax equity of each limited partner is strengthened according to their participation in the profit reserve.
3. The fact that the tax equity of the KG is only temporarily strengthened by the formation of capital (see no. 2) and profit reserves, and that the liability in the external relationship is not sustainably improved, is irrelevant for the inclusion of designated capital and profit reserves in the capital account within the meaning of § 15a (1) sentence 1 EStG.
Sincerely,
Bernd Thomas
Tax advisor
Information according to DL-InfoV: Tax advisor Dipl.-Kaufmann (FH) Bernd Thomas, Tax advisor, Neustadtswall 85, 28199 Bremen, member of the Hanseatic Tax Advisors' Chamber Bremen, registration number 111705, professional liability insurance at R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG, Mittlerer Pfad 24, 70499 Stuttgart, insurance sum: 250,000 euros for each individual damage; annual maximum benefit: 1,000,000 euros (for all damages in one insurance year); the professional regulations of §§ 3, 3a, 32, 43 of the Tax Advisory Act apply (regulations can be viewed at: http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stberg)
