How to Sell Inventory to a Business Partner
Partners can sell their share of company inventory if they want to lower their ownership or tax liability within the company. Because inventory is a company asset, the partner buying the inventory has to notify the IRS of his increased tax liability when filing his tax return.
Calculate the total inventory available to the company and the percentage of that inventory that each partner owns. For example, if your company has 1,000 units of an item, and both you and your partner own 500 of those 1,000 units, you each own 50 percent of inventory. If you want to sell 25 percent of your inventory to your partner, you know that you will give her 250 units. Additionally, discuss whether the transfer of inventory affects your profit percentage.
Agree to a price for the inventory. The easiest method of pricing is to charge your partner for your half of the amount you both paid for the original inventory. If you oversell or undersell the inventory, your partner will have to report this as a loss or profit, respectively, on her tax returns. This could cause the IRS to audit the company if your partner's tax returns are filled out incorrectly.
Create an invoice for your partner to sign that acknowledges the transfer of inventory. The invoice should include the date, the physical amount of inventory, the price per unit and the total cost. Both you and your partner should sign the invoice to make the transfer official. Make copies of the invoice so both of you have proof of the document.
Fill out a Schedule K-1, Form 1065, when filing your individual tax return. The K-1 must accurately reflect your new stake in the company. For instance, the K-1 asks you to fill out the percentage of capital you own in the company. Because you transferred inventory to your partner, the percentage of capital you hold within the company has decreased. If your profit percentage also decreased as a result of the transfer, you must note this on the K-1.