Mastering Partnership Distributions: Minimizing Tax Liability (2026 Edition)

Robert S. Barnett, Founding Partner | Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld LLP

Robert S. Barnett, JD, Masters (Taxation), CPA, is the founding partner of Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld LLP. His practice centers on taxation, trusts and estates, corporate and partnership law, and charitable planning, and extends to Surrogate’s Court matters, tax dispute resolution, representation before the Tax Court, and the structuring of financial transactions and charitable gifts. He brings a practical, solutions-driven approach to estate and business planning.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Barnett earned his juris doctor cum laude from Fordham University in 1986, where he was a member of the Fordham Law Review. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting magna cum laude from Hofstra University and holds a master’s degree in taxation, earned as the recipient of the highest dean’s award. A Certified Public Accountant, he is admitted to practice law in New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Barnett received the Long Island Herald’s 2024 Top Lawyers of Long Island Award. His academic distinctions include cum laude honors at Fordham, magna cum laude honors at Hofstra, and the highest dean’s award in his graduate taxation program. A founding partner of his firm, he is an active participant on many professional and charitable boards.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Barnett serves as an adjunct professor in Hofstra University’s graduate tax program and has served on numerous professional committees. A frequent lecturer, he has presented for the New York State Society of CPAs, the AICPA, the National Business Institute, Strafford, and bar associations and estate planning councils throughout New York, and he has delivered myLawCLE webinars on trust planning and on leveraging LLCs in estate planning.

• Experience

Mr. Barnett’s work spans partnership and LLC taxation, S corporation issues, passive activity losses, estate and business succession planning, and charitable structures, with recent programs addressing partnership basis adjustments, the tax treatment of LLC liquidating distributions, and S corporation stock and debt basis. He has published extensively on tax and business law in The CPA Journal, the Journal of Taxation, the New York Law Journal, and the Journal of Accountancy.

SESSION 1 – Partnership Distributions Vs. Allocations | 1:00pm – 1:15pm

This session opens with the foundational distinction between partnership distributions and allocations, examining how each is treated for tax purposes and why confusing the two creates unintended tax liability for partners and the partnership.

SESSION 2 – Tax Implications of Partnership Distributions | 1:15pm – 1:30pm

This session covers the tax treatment of partnership distributions, including when a distribution triggers tax, what the consequences are for the receiving partner, and how the essential aspects of partnership taxation shape the outcome.

SESSION 3 – Minimizing Tax Liability Through Strategic Distribution Planning | 1:30pm – 1:45pm

This session focuses on recognizing and structuring distributions to minimize tax liabilities, walking through planning approaches that position the distribution correctly before it is made rather than repairing the damage afterward.

SESSION 4 – Impact of Partner Basis on Distributions | 1:45pm – 2:00pm

Partner basis controls whether a distribution arrives tax free or taxable. This session examines how basis is measured against the distribution and how basis considerations should inform every distribution decision.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 5 – Tax Planning Strategies Including Debt and Basis | 2:10pm – 2:30pm

This session presents advanced planning strategies built on debt and basis, showing how these techniques work together to structure distributions that minimize tax liability.

SESSION 6 – Impact of Debt Allocations on Partnership Distributions | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

Attendees examine how debt allocations affect partnership distributions, including the use of debt allocation techniques and the disguised sale rules that can recharacterize a routine distribution.

SESSION 7 – Tax Treatment of Liquidating Distributions: Advanced Issues, and Case Studies and Structure | 2:50pm – 3:10pm

The program closes with the more complex issues raised by liquidating distributions, working through advanced structuring considerations and real-world case studies that offer practical insights for tax professionals.