8804 Schedule A Instructions for Form 8804 Schedule A

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2021

Instructions for Schedule A
(Form 8804)

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

DRAFT AS OF
September 21, 2021
Penalty for Underpayment of Estimated Section 1446 Tax for Partnerships
Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about
developments related to Schedule A
(Form 8804) and its instructions, such
as legislation enacted after they were
published, go to IRS.gov/AboutSchedule-A-Form-8804.

General Instructions
Purpose of Form

Partnerships that have effectively
connected taxable income (ECTI)
allocable to foreign partners use
Schedule A (Form 8804) to
determine:
• Whether they are subject to the
penalty for underpayment of
estimated tax and, if so,
• The amount of the underpayment
penalty.

Who Must File

Generally, the partnership doesn’t
have to file this schedule because the
IRS will figure the amount of the
penalty and notify the partnership of
any amount due. However, even if the
partnership doesn’t owe a penalty,
complete and attach this schedule to
the partnership's Form 8804 if the Part
II, line 1, amount on page 1 is $500 or
more and any of the following apply.
1. The adjusted seasonal
installment method is used.
2. The annualized income
installment method is used.

Who Must Pay the
Underpayment Penalty

Generally, a partnership is subject to
the penalty if it didn’t timely pay in
installments at least the smaller of:
1. The tax shown on line 5f of its
2021 Form 8804; or
2. The total section 1446 tax that
would have been due for 2020,
without regard to reductions for
Aug 13, 2021

certified foreign partner-level items,
on the ECTI allocable to foreign
partners for 2020, provided that (1)
this amount is at least 50% of the sum
of the amounts shown on lines 4d, 4h,
4l, 4p, and 4t of its 2021 Form 8804;
and (2) the tax year was for a full 12
months. See the instructions for line 2,
later, for more details.

In these instructions, “Form 8804”
generally refers to the partnership's
original Form 8804. However, an
amended Form 8804 is considered
the original Form 8804 if the amended
Form 8804 is filed by the due date
(including extensions) of the original
Form 8804.
Also, for purposes of determining a
required installment, if an amended
Form 8804 is filed for the prior tax
year, then “prior tax year” includes the
amended Form 8804, but only if the
amended Form 8804 is filed before
the applicable installment due date.

The penalty is figured separately
for each installment due date.
Therefore, the partnership may owe a
penalty for an earlier due date even if
it paid enough tax later to make up the
underpayment. This is true even if the
partnership is due a refund when its
return is filed. However, the
partnership may be able to reduce or
eliminate the penalty by using the
annualized income installment
method or the adjusted seasonal
installment method. See the
instructions for Parts IV and V for
details.

Exception to the Penalty

A partnership won’t have to pay a
penalty if the tax shown on line 5f of
its 2021 Form 8804 is less than $500.

How To Use Schedule A

Complete this schedule as follows.

• Check one or both of the boxes in
Part I that apply. If the partnership
checks a box in Part I, attach
Schedule A (Form 8804) to Form
Cat. No. 36325U

8804. Be sure to check the box on
Form 8804, line 8.
• If the total section 1446 tax, shown
on Part II, line 1, is $500 or more,
complete the rest of page 1 to
determine the underpayment for any
of the installment due dates.
• If there is an underpayment on
line 12 (column (a), (b), (c), or (d)), go
to Part VII to figure the penalty.
• Complete Parts IV through VI as
appropriate if the partnership uses the
adjusted seasonal installment method
and/or the annualized income
installment method.

Specific Instructions
Part I. Reasons for Filing
Adjusted seasonal installment
method and/or annualized income
installment method. If the
partnership's income varied during the
year because, for example, it
operated its business on a seasonal
basis, it may be able to lower or
eliminate the amount of one or more
required installments by using the
adjusted seasonal installment method
and/or the annualized income
installment method.
Example 1. A ski shop, which
receives most of its income during the
winter months, may benefit from using
one or both of these methods to figure
its required installments. The
annualized income installment or
adjusted seasonal installment may be
less than the required installment
under the current year safe harbor
(increased by any reduction
recaptured under section 6655(e)(1)
(B)) for one or more due dates. Using
one or both of these methods may
reduce or eliminate the penalty for
those due dates.
Use Parts IV through VI of
Schedule A (Form 8804) to figure one
or more required installments. If Parts
IV through VI are used for any
payment due date, Parts IV through VI

must be used for all subsequent
payment due dates. To arrive at the
amount of each required installment,
Part VI uses the smallest of:
• The adjusted seasonal installment
(if applicable),
• The annualized income installment
(if applicable), or
• The current year safe harbor
(increased by any reduction
recaptured under section 6655(e)(1)
(B)).

partnership income (for example,
Form 1065) for the prior tax year.
• The amount of ECTI for the prior tax
year isn’t less than 50% of the ECTI
shown on the current year Form 8804
that is (or will be) timely filed.
If the partnership isn’t permitted to
use the prior year safe harbor method
because any of the necessary
conditions described above isn’t met,
skip line 2 and enter on line 3 the
amount from line 1.

Follow the steps below to
determine which parts of the form
have to be completed.
• If the partnership is using only the
adjusted seasonal installment
method, check the applicable box in
Part I and complete Parts IV and VI of
Schedule A (Form 8804).
• If the partnership is using only the
annualized income installment
method, check the applicable box in
Part I and complete Parts V and VI of
Schedule A (Form 8804).
• If the partnership is using both
methods, check both of the boxes in
Part I and complete all three parts
(Parts IV through VI) of Schedule A
(Form 8804).

Note. If the partnership qualifies for
and uses the exception under
Regulations section 1.1446-3(b)(3)(ii)
to switch to the standard option
annualization method during the tax
year, the partnership should include
on line 2 the total of all installment
payments that were made during the
tax year under both the prior year safe
harbor method and the standard
option annualization method. Attach a
statement that explains the
computation.

Instructions for Forms 8804, 8805,
and 8813.
• Section 1446(f)(1) tax withheld from
the partnership filing this Schedule A
(Form 8804) during the tax year for a
disposition of an interest in a
partnership engaged in the conduct of
a U.S. trade or business. See the
instructions for Form 8804, line 6d, in
the Instructions for Forms 8804, 8805,
and 8813.

DRAFT AS OF
September 21, 2021
Part II. Current Year and
Prior Year Safe Harbors
Line 2 (prior year safe harbor).
Enter the total section 1446 tax that
would have been due for 2020,
without regard to reductions for
certified foreign partner-level items on
the ECTI allocable to foreign partners
for 2020.
The partnership can generally use
the prior year safe harbor only if it paid
the required amount using that
method for each of its installment
payments of section 1446 tax during
the tax year. However, see
Regulations section 1.1446-3(b)(3)(ii)
for an exception. Also, see the Note
below. In addition, the partnership can
only use the prior year safe harbor if
all of the following apply.
• Each installment payment that was
made during the tax year, when
averaged with all prior installment
payments, must have been 25% of
the partnership's total section 1446
tax liability under the prior year safe
harbor.
• The prior tax year consisted of 12
months.
• The partnership timely files
(including extensions) a U.S. return of

Part III. Figuring the
Underpayment
Line 6. Enter the estimated tax
payments made by the partnership for
its tax year as indicated below.
Include any overpayment from line 13
of the partnership's 2020 Form 8804
that was credited to the partnership's
first installment period on its 2021
Form 8804. If an installment is due on
a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday,
payments made on the next day that
isn’t a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
holiday are considered made on the
due date to the extent the payment is
applied against that required
installment.
Also, include on line 6 any of the
following:
• Section 1446 tax paid or withheld
by another partnership in which the
partnership filing this Schedule A
(Form 8804) was a partner during the
tax year. See the instructions for Form
8804, lines 6b and 6c, in the
Instructions for Forms 8804, 8805,
and 8813.
• Section 1445(a) or 1445(e) tax
withheld from or paid by the
partnership filing this Schedule A
(Form 8804) during the tax year for a
disposition of a U.S. real property
interest. See the instructions for Form
8804, lines 6d and 6e, in the

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Column (a). Enter payments made
by the date on line 4, column (a).

Columns (b), (c), and (d). Enter
payments made on or before the date
on line 4 for that column and after the
date on line 4 of the preceding
column.
Note. A payment of estimated tax is
applied against unpaid installments in
the order in which installments are
required to be paid, regardless of the
installment to which the payment
pertains. See Example 3 under Part
VII. Figuring the Penalty, later.

Line 12. If any of the columns in
line 12 shows an underpayment,
complete Part VII to figure the penalty.

Parts IV Through VI
Extraordinary items. Generally,
under the annualized income
installment method, extraordinary
items must be taken into account after
annualizing the ECTI for the
annualization period. Similar rules
apply in determining ECTI under the
adjusted seasonal installment
method. An extraordinary item
includes:
• Any item identified in Regulations
section 1.1502-76(b)(2)(ii)(C)(1), (2),
(3), (4), (7), and (8);
• A section 481(a) adjustment; and
• Net gain or loss from the disposition
of 25% or more of the fair market
value of the partnership's business
assets during the tax year.
These extraordinary items must be
accounted for in the appropriate
annualization period. However, a
section 481(a) adjustment (unless the
partnership makes the alternative
choice under Regulations section
1.6655-2(f)(3)(ii)(C)) is treated as an
extraordinary item occurring on the
first day of the tax year in which the
item is taken into account in
determining ECTI.

Instructions for Schedule A (Form 8804) (2021)

For more information regarding
extraordinary items, see Regulations
section 1.6655-2(f)(3)(ii) and the
examples in Regulations section
1.6655-2(f)(3)(vii). Also, see
Regulations section 1.6655-3(d)(3).
De minimis rule. Extraordinary
items identified above resulting from a
particular transaction that totals less
than $1 million (other than a section
481(a) adjustment) can be annualized
using the general rules of Regulations
section 1.6655-2(f), or, if the
partnership chooses, can be taken
into account after annualizing the
ECTI for the annualization period.

period in which the partnership
normally receives the largest part of
its ECTI.
Example 2. An amusement park
with a 2021 calendar tax year
receives the largest part of its taxable
income during a 6-month period, May
through October. To figure its base
period percentage for this 6-month
period, the amusement park figures its
ECTI for each May–October period in
2018, 2019, and 2020. It then divides
the ECTI for each May–October
period by the total ECTI for that
particular tax year. The resulting
percentages are 69% (0.69) for May–
October 2018, 74% (0.74) for May–
October 2019, and 67% (0.67) for
May–October 2020. Because the
average of 69% (0.69), 74% (0.74),
and 67% (0.67) is 70% (0.70), the
base period percentage for May–
October 2021 is 70% (0.70).
Therefore, the amusement park
qualifies for the adjusted seasonal
installment method.

periods for the option listed below. For
example, if the partnership elected
Option 1, enter on line 30 the
annualization periods 2, 4, 7, and 10,
in columns (a) through (d),
respectively.
Use Option 1 or Option 2 only
if the partnership elected to do
CAUTION so by filing Form 8842,
Election To Use Different
Annualization Periods for Corporate
Estimated Tax, by the due date of the
first required installment payment.
Once made, the election is
irrevocable for the particular tax year.

DRAFT AS OF
September 21, 2021
Part IV. Adjusted Seasonal
Installment Method

Note. Part IV doesn't reflect the lower
preferential rates permitted under
Regulations section 1.1446-3(a)(2).
These were omitted because, for
most taxpayers, the income reported
in Part IV will be predominantly (or
exclusively) ordinary income. If the
partnership wishes to consider lower
preferential rates for Part IV (and if the
requirements outlined in the third
paragraph of the line 31 instructions
are met), it must attach a statement
which appropriately expands lines 15
and 22 through 25 to show the
applicable special types of income or
gain and the applicable percentages
(see, for example, lines 33 and 34 of
this schedule). Also, Part IV, lines 15
and 22 through 25, don’t provide the
separate entries for corporate and
non-corporate partners necessary to
apply the rates on lines 25a and 25b.
A partnership with corporate and
non-corporate partners completing
Part IV must attach a statement which
appropriately expands lines 15 and 22
through 25 to show the amounts
allocable to both types of partners.
The partnership can use the
adjusted seasonal installment method
only if the partnership's base period
percentage for any 6 consecutive
months of the tax year is 70% or
more. The base period percentage for
any period of 6 consecutive months is
the average of the three percentages
figured by dividing the ECTI for the
corresponding 6-consecutive-month
period in each of the 3 preceding tax
years by the ECTI for each of their
respective tax years. Figure the base
period percentage using the 6-month

Line 15. If the partnership has certain
extraordinary items, special rules
apply. Don’t include on line 15 the de
minimis extraordinary items that the
partnership chooses to include on
line 22b. See Extraordinary items,
earlier.
Line 22b. If the partnership has
certain extraordinary items of $1
million or more from a transaction, or
a section 481(a) adjustment, special
rules apply. Include these amounts on
line 22b for the appropriate period.
Also, include on line 22b the de
minimis extraordinary items that the
partnership chooses to exclude from
line 15. See Extraordinary items,
earlier.
Line 23. Enter the amount by which
line 22c is being reduced for state and
local taxes under Regulations section
1.1446-6(c)(1)(iii) and for certified
foreign partner-level items submitted
using Form 8804-C. See Reductions
for State and Local Taxes and
Certification of Deductions and
Losses in the Instructions for Forms
8804, 8805, and 8813, for additional
information.

Part V. Annualized Income
Installment Method
Line 30. Annualization periods.
Enter on line 30, columns (a) through
(d), respectively, the annualization

Instructions for Schedule A (Form 8804) (2021)

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!

1st
Installment

2nd
Installment

3rd
Installment

4th
Installment

Standard
Option

3

3

6

9

Option 1

2

4

7

10

Option 2

3

5

8

11

Line 31. Enter on lines 31a through
31e the ECTI allocable to all foreign
partners for the months entered for
each annualization period in columns
(a) through (d) on line 30.
If the partnership has certain
extraordinary items, special rules
apply. Don’t include on line 31a, 31b,
31c, 31d, or 31e the de minimis
extraordinary items that the
partnership chooses to include on
line 33a, 33e, 33i, 33m, or 33q,
respectively. See Extraordinary items,
earlier.
With respect to lines 31c, 31d, and
31e, enter the specified types of
income allocable to non-corporate
partners if (a) the partners would be
entitled to use a preferential rate on
such income or gain (see Regulations
section 1.1446-3(a)(2)), and (b) the
partnership has sufficient
documentation to meet the
requirements of Regulations section
1.1446-3(a)(2)(ii).
If the partnership has net ordinary
loss, net short-term capital loss, or net
28% rate loss, each net loss should
be netted against the appropriate
categories of income and gain to
determine the amounts of income and
gain to be entered on lines 31b, 31c,
31d, and 31e, respectively. See
section 1(h) and Notice 97-59,
1997-45 I.R.B. 7, available at
IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb97-45.pdf, for
rules for netting gains and losses.

Line 32. Annualization amounts.
Enter on line 32, columns (a) through
(d), respectively, the annualization
amounts shown in the table below for
the option used for line 30. For
example, if the partnership elected
Option 1, enter on line 32 the
annualization amounts 6, 3, 1.71429,
and 1.2, in columns (a) through (d),
respectively.

extraordinary item, and the net
amount. Also, include an explanation
of the item, including the authority
under which it is being claimed.
Lines 33b, 33f, 33j, 33n, and 33r.
Enter the reduction amounts for state
and local taxes under Regulations
section 1.1446-6(c)(1)(iii). The netting
rules under section 1(h) and Notice
97-59 must be considered in
determining the category of income
the reduction amounts offset.

figured for the period of
underpayment using the
underpayment rate determined under
section 6621(a)(2). The period of
underpayment runs from the
installment due date to the earlier of
the date the underpayment is actually
paid or the 15th day of the 3rd month
after the close of the 2021 tax year
(the 15th day of the 6th month if the
partnership keeps its books and
records outside the United States and
Puerto Rico). For information on
obtaining the interest rate on
underpayments denoted by an
asterisk, see the footnote on page 5 of
the schedule.

DRAFT AS OF
September 21, 2021
1st
Installment

2nd
Installment

3rd
Installment

4th
Installment

Standard
Option

4

Option 1

6

4

2

1.33333

3

1.71429

Option 2

4

1.2

2.4

1.5

1.09091

Lines 33a, 33e, 33i, 33m, and 33q.
If the partnership has extraordinary
items that total $1 million or more from
a particular transaction, or a section
481(a) adjustment, special rules
apply. Include these amounts on
line 33a, 33e, 33i, 33m, or 33q,
depending on the type of income
against which the item applies, for the
appropriate period. Also, include on
line 33a, 33e, 33i, 33m, or 33q the de
minimis extraordinary items that the
partnership chooses to exclude from
line 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d, or 31e,
respectively. See Extraordinary items,
earlier.
If the partnership has included on
line 33a, 33e, 33i, 33m, or 33q any of
the items referred to in the previous
paragraph, write “EI” and the dollar
amount of the item next to the affected
line. Attach a statement which shows
the income for that line before the
extraordinary item, the amount of the

Lines 33c, 33g, 33k, 33o, and 33s.
Enter the reduction amounts resulting
from certified partner-level items
received from foreign partners using
Form 8804-C. See Certification of
Deductions and Losses in the
Instructions for Forms 8804, 8805,
and 8813, for additional information.
The netting rules of section 1(h) and
Notice 97-59 must be considered in
determining the category of income
the reduction amounts offset.

Part VI. Required
Installments
Line 38. Before completing line 38 in
columns (b) through (d), complete
lines 39 through 43 in each of the
preceding columns. For example,
complete lines 39 through 43 in
column (a) before completing line 38
in column (b).
Line 43. For each installment, enter
the smaller of line 39 or line 42 on
line 43. Also, enter the result on line 5.

Part VII. Figuring the
Penalty

A payment of estimated tax is
applied against unpaid required
installments in the order in which
installments are required to be paid,
regardless of the installment to which
the payment pertains.

Example 3. A partnership
underpaid the April 15 installment by
$1,000. The June 15 installment
requires a payment of $2,500. On
June 11, the partnership pays $2,500
for its June 15 installment. However,
$1,000 of this payment is applied
against the April 15 installment. The
penalty for the April 15 installment is
figured to June 11 (57 days). The
remaining $1,500 is applied to the
June 15 installment as if it were made
on June 15.
If the partnership has made more
than one payment for a required
installment, attach a separate
computation for each payment.

Complete Part VII to determine the
amount of the penalty. The penalty is

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Instructions for Schedule A (Form 8804) (2021)