Fund Finance · K-1 Distribution

K-1 Season Shouldn't Cost You $15K and Three Weeks

Archstone computes all 18 IRS tax line items per LP based on their ownership percentage and your fund-level tax data. Generate, review, and distribute K-1 packages to every investor in minutes — not months.

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The tax season nightmare every emerging GP knows

Every March, the same thing happens. Your fund accountant sends an invoice for $8,000-$15,000 to prepare K-1s for your twenty LPs. You wait six to eight weeks while they manually allocate ordinary income, capital gains, Section 1231 gains, foreign tax credits, and a dozen other line items across each investor based on their pro rata share. Your LPs start emailing in April asking where their K-1s are. Some need them for quarterly estimated tax payments. Some have already filed extensions because of you.

For a $10M Fund I with twenty LPs, the math is simple but the execution is brutal. Each K-1 has 18 separate tax line items that need to be allocated proportionally. When your fund holds investments across multiple jurisdictions, has both realized and unrealized gains, and LPs who joined at different closings — the spreadsheet becomes a liability, not a tool.

Archstone eliminates this entirely. Enter your fund-level tax data once. The K-1 engine computes every allocation for every LP automatically — ordinary income, short-term and long-term capital gains, qualified dividends, Section 179 deductions, foreign taxes paid, tax-exempt income, and every other IRS-required field. Review the output, finalize, and distribute K-1 packages to your entire LP base through the portal. What cost you $15K and three weeks now takes an afternoon.

Every IRS line item. Every LP. One click.

Full 18-line-item allocation

Ordinary income, net rental income, guaranteed payments, interest, dividends, qualified dividends, short-term and long-term capital gains, Section 1250, Section 1231, Section 179, credits, foreign taxes, tax-exempt income, nondeductible expenses, and distributions. Every field the IRS requires, computed automatically.

Pro rata ownership calculation

Allocations are computed based on each LP's actual ownership percentage of the fund. Archstone pulls commitment amounts and calculates pro rata shares automatically — no manual percentage entry or reconciliation needed.

Draft and finalize workflow

K-1 allocations start as drafts you can review line by line before finalizing. Catch errors before distribution, not after your LPs have filed. Make adjustments and regenerate instantly without starting from scratch.

One-click LP distribution

Once finalized, distribute K-1 packages to every LP through the investor portal or via email. LPs access their K-1 in their document center alongside capital account statements and quarterly reports — no more emailing PDFs one at a time.

Bulk filename matching

If your CPA prepares K-1 PDFs externally, upload them in bulk. Archstone matches files to LPs by name automatically, so you can distribute third-party-prepared K-1s through the portal without manual file-by-file assignment.

Multi-year tax history

K-1 data is stored per tax year, giving you and your LPs a complete history of allocations across the life of the fund. Compare year-over-year changes and quickly pull historical data for audits or LP inquiries.

What K-1 season actually costs you today

Fund Admin Route

$5,000 - $15,000 per year

Fund administrators charge per-LP K-1 preparation fees on top of their annual retainer. For a 20-LP fund, this typically runs $8K-$12K annually — and turnaround is 6-10 weeks after year-end. Your LPs wait, and you pay for the privilege.

CPA Route

$3,000 - $8,000 per year

Hiring a CPA to prepare K-1s is cheaper but slower. Most small-fund CPAs handle K-1s as a side engagement during their busiest season. Expect 8-12 week turnaround and limited availability for questions or corrections.

Archstone

Included in your plan

K-1 allocation and distribution is included in every Archstone plan. Enter fund-level tax data, review the auto-generated allocations, and distribute to LPs through the portal. Same afternoon. No additional fees. No waiting.

Frequently asked questions

Does Archstone replace my fund accountant?

Archstone handles the allocation math and LP distribution — computing each LP's share of 18 tax line items based on ownership percentage. Your CPA or tax advisor should still review the fund-level tax data you enter and validate the final K-1s before distribution. Archstone eliminates the manual spreadsheet work, not the professional review.

What if LPs joined at different closings?

Archstone allocates based on each LP's ownership percentage of the fund. If LPs joined at different closings and have different pro rata shares, those percentages are already tracked in your LP records. The K-1 engine uses the actual ownership data to compute accurate allocations.

Can I upload K-1s prepared by my CPA instead?

Yes. If your CPA prepares K-1 PDFs externally, you can upload them in bulk. Archstone matches files to LPs by filename and distributes them through the investor portal. LPs get their K-1s in their document center alongside all other fund communications.

Which tax line items are covered?

All 18 standard K-1 allocation items: ordinary income, net rental income, guaranteed payments, interest income, dividends, qualified dividends, net short-term capital gains, net long-term capital gains, unrecaptured Section 1250 gains, Section 1231 gains, other income, Section 179 deductions, other deductions, credits, foreign taxes paid, tax-exempt income, nondeductible expenses, and distributions.

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