Is a Written Partnership Agreement Required for Every Partnership?

The short answer is no. There is no law that requires you to have a written partnership agreement to start operating. You may find, however, that there are certain private actors who will want to see some form of operating partnership agreement. A typical case of this would be a bank requiring the partnership agreement be submitted along with other materials in a loan application packet. Even if you do not anticipate facing such a requirement, though, it is still a good idea to make sure you have a partnership agreement.

Benefits of Having a Partnership Agreement

• General partnership liabilities are spelled out for all parties
• A record of agreed-upon responsibilities should legal mediation be necessary
• Documentation of the relevant percentages of ownership of all partners

Without the written agreement, you have only the partners’ verbal agreement. Even if every partner is doing the best job possible, there are still plenty of ways for honest misinterpretations or faulty memories to cause expectations to shift. If all you have to consult is the memory of a verbal agreement, it can be hard to know who is in the right during those disputes.

Partnership Tax Information and Paperwork

If your partnership has made any money in the last year, you’re going to need to file your taxes. GovDocFiling makes that easy by giving you a simple process for filing for an EIN for a partnership. For more information about how tax liability works for partnership businesses, check out What is a Partnership?

Once you understand how and why an employer identification number is so important to your business, the next step is to make sure you have filed all the other paperwork you need to start up your partnership business. Help with that is right around the corner, too. All you need to do is apply for a business partnership on site by filling out a simple form.