Schedule K-1 deadline — when K-1s are due to partners
Deadlines: the full filing calendar · the regulation library · practical guides
A fund does not file a K-1 on its own schedule. The K-1 rides on the partnership return, so the return date is the K-1 date. In the United States it is next due 15 March 2027 (prior year: 16 March 2026) for the prior tax year. Source: IRS official form page. It lands on the fund vehicle itself. An automatic six-month extension to 15 September is available on Form 7004.
What is Schedule K-1?
Schedule K-1 is the IRS statement a partnership gives each partner, showing that partner's share of the fund's income, gains, deductions and credits. It rides on Form 1065, the US partnership return. Here the partnership is the fund itself, and the partner is the investor (IRS: About Form 1065).
What is in the report
The K-1 reports each partner's opening and closing capital account, capital contributed, share of income or loss on a tax basis, and any distributions. Foreign items move to a separate Schedule K-3 (IRS: Instructions for Form 1065).
Who files, who prepares, who receives
The partnership files Form 1065 and issues a K-1 to every partner. The fund's administrator or tax preparer does the work, but the filing duty sits with the partnership. Each partner, meaning each investor, receives their own K-1, and the IRS receives the set.
When it is due
| Jurisdiction | Obligation | Due | Reporting period | Who files | Files with | Extension | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Form 1065 Partnership Return & Schedule K-1 | 15 March 2027 (prior year: 16 March 2026) | the prior tax year | the fund vehicle itself | IRS | An automatic six-month extension to 15 September is available on Form 7004. | IRS official form page · calendar |
Common mistakes
The K-1 figure is a partner's allocated taxable share, not cash paid out, so reported income can exceed the distributions actually received. A partner with foreign items also needs the Schedule K-3, which is easy to omit. And the K-1 often arrives late. A partnership can extend its return by six months, but investors cannot extend their own filing to match, so they file an extension and wait.
Questions this page answers
When are K-1s due to partners?
A K-1 is due when the partnership return is due. For the prior tax year that is 15 March 2027 (prior year: 16 March 2026). Partners receive their K-1 on that date, not on the individual April filing date.
Are K-1s due to investors, members and shareholders on the same date?
For a partnership, yes. Partners, LLC members and other holders of a partnership interest all receive their K-1 from the same Form 1065 filing, so one date covers them.
Is there an extension for Schedule K-1?
There is no separate K-1 extension. The partnership extends its own return by six months, to 15 September, and the K-1 moves with it. An investor waiting on a late K-1 normally extends their personal return instead.
Why do K-1s arrive after the investor's own tax return is due?
Because a fund of funds cannot finish its K-1 until the funds below it finish theirs. Each layer waits on the one beneath, so the K-1 reaches the end investor last.