Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle A— Income Taxes › Chapter 1— NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES › Subchapter K— Partners and Partnerships › Part II— CONTRIBUTIONS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TRANSFERS › Subpart B— Distributions by a Partnership › § 734
When a partnership hands out property to a partner, the partnership normally does not change the tax basis of the property it still holds. There are two exceptions: the partnership has made a special election under section 754, or the distribution causes a "substantial basis reduction," meaning the downward adjustments would add up to more than $250,000. When one of those exceptions applies, the partnership adjusts the basis of its remaining property. It increases basis by any gain the partner recognized on the distribution and by any basis that was lost when the distributed property's basis dropped in the partner's hands. It decreases basis by any loss the partner recognized and by any basis the partner gained beyond what the partnership had in the property. These adjustments get spread among the partnership's properties under section 755. Securitization partnerships are never treated as having a substantial basis reduction.
Full Legal Text
Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 734
Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73