Choosing a legal entity: Partnership

Last Updated: 26/08/2014

In a partnership, two or more individuals join together to run the business enterprise. Each of the individual partners has ownership of company assets and responsibility for liabilities, as well as authority in running the business. The authority of the partners, and the way in which profits or losses are to be shared, can be modified by the partnership agreement.

The responsibility for liabilities can also be modified by agreement among the partners, but partnership creditors typically have recourse to the personal assets of each of the partners for settlement of partnership debts.

The rights, responsibilities and obligations of partners are typically detailed in a partnership agreement. It is a good idea to have such an agreement for any partnership.

A partnership is a legal entity recognised under the law and, as such, it has rights and responsibilities in and of itself. A partnership can sign contracts, obtain trade credit and borrow money. When a partnership is small, most creditors require a personal guarantee of the general partners for credit.

A partnership is also required to file an income tax return. A partnership typically does not pay income tax; the information from the tax return is combined with the personal income of the partners to determine their overall tax liability.

This post was brought to you by Mathew Aitken at Companies Made Simple

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