# Unitholder: What it Means, Taxation, Example

![The unitholder of a master limited partnership investment sits on their sofa and reviews their investment using a cellphone.](https://www.investopedia.com/thmb/3YfDf9NxY73XyO7W2A7ulBMOhhg=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/UnitholderWhatitMeansTaxationExampleGettyImages-1421269650-8827e4f46fa0469f9405937c71505211.jpg)

*— zoranm / Getty Images*

## What Is a Unitholder?

A unitholder is an investor who owns one or more units in an investment trust or [master limited partnership](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mlp.asp) (MLP). A unit is equivalent to a share, or piece of interest. Unitholders are afforded specific rights that are outlined in the trust declaration, which governs the trust's actions.

The most common type of [unit trust](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unittrust.asp) is an investment vehicle that pools funds from investors to purchase a portfolio of assets. These unit trusts invest in many asset classes of stocks (large-cap, small-cap, domestic, international, etc.), bonds (investment grade, high-yield, emerging market, tax-free, etc.), real estate, and other securities.

### Key Takeaways

*   A unitholder is an investor who owns units in an investment trust or master limited partnership (MLP).
*   The most common type of unit trust is an investment vehicle that pools funds from investors to purchase a portfolio of assets.
*   Unitholders may also have an interest in a master limited partnership (MLP), a tax-advantaged investment vehicle.
*   Income that unitholders receive is taxed as pass-through income.

## Understanding Unitholders

There is a whole spectrum of risk/reward choices for investors in these unit trusts. The unitholder gains exposure to a pool of securities and is free to trade units at any time, though a unit trust tends to be less liquid than, say, an [exchange-traded fund](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.asp) (ETF), and the price of the traded unit may not be equivalent to [net asset value](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nav.asp) (NAV) of the unit trust per share.

Unitholders may also have an interest in a master limited partnership (MLP), an investment vehicle that offers significant tax advantages to both general and limited partners. Most MLPs are in the energy sector. For example, pipeline companies prefer the MLP structure to offer preferential tax treatment of cash flows to partners and unitholders. What primarily attracts unitholders is the potential for high-income yields of MLPs.

One difference between unitholders and shareholders is that while unitholders may have some voting rights, those rights are often quite a bit more limited than those of corporate shareholders.

## Unitholder Taxation

For unit trusts, unitholders pay income taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains distributed to them if the units are held in a taxable account. The unit trusts send all unitholders IRS [Form 1099](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/form1099div.asp), typically 1099-INT or 1099-DIV.

In the case of master limited partnerships (MLPs), each unitholder's proportion of income, gains, deductions, losses, and credits is reported on a [Schedule K-1](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/schedule-k-1.asp). If the net amount is positive the unitholder pays tax on a pass-through basis whether or not a cash distribution was actually received; if there is a net loss, the amount can be carried forward and used against future income, but only from the same MLP.

The [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act](https://www.investopedia.com/taxes/trumps-tax-reform-plan-explained/), passed in 2017, introduced a new tax deduction for [pass-through](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/flow-through.asp) businesses, including unit investment trusts. The qualified business income deduction, or 199A deduction, allows non-corporate taxpayers to deduct up to 20% of the qualified business income from each pass-through business they own.

## Example of a Unitholder

Let's say an investor is interested in being a unitholder in a [real estate investment trust](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/reit.asp) (REIT). The investor does their due diligence and decides to purchase shares in Prologis, Inc. (PLD), the largest real estate company in the world because they like the assets in the portfolio and its potential for growth in the current market environment. All income that the unitholder receives will be taxed as pass-through income.

> **Article Sources**
>
> 1.  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "[Updated Investor Bulletin: Master Limited Partnerships – An Introduction](https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins/updated-7)." Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 2.  United States Senate: Committee on Finance. "[Written Statement of the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships submitted to the Senate Committee on Finance Tax Reform Working Group on Community Development & Infrastructure, April 15, 2015](https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NAPTP.pdf)," Pages 2-3. Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 3.  United States Senate: Committee on Finance. "[Written Statement of the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships submitted to the Senate Committee on Finance Tax Reform Working Group on Community Development & Infrastructure, April 15, 2015](https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NAPTP.pdf)," Pages 3-4. Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 4.  Internal Revenue Service. "[About Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-div)." Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 5.  Internal Revenue Service. "[About Form 1099-INT, Interest Income](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-int)." Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 6.  Energy Infrastructure Council. "[Basic Tax Principles](https://eic.energy/basic-tax-principles/)." Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 7.  Internal Revenue Service. "[Schedule K-1 (Form 1065)](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1065sk1.pdf)." Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 8.  United States Senate: Committee on Finance. "[Written Statement of the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships submitted to the Senate Committee on Finance Tax Reform Working Group on Community Development & Infrastructure, April 15, 2015](https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NAPTP.pdf)," Page 4. Accessed June 17, 2021.
>     
> 9.  Internal Revenue Service. "[Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Provision 11011 Section 199A - Qualified Business Income Deduction FAQs](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-provision-11011-section-199a-qualified-business-income-deduction-faqs)." Accessed July 4, 2021.
>     
> 10.  Prologis, Inc. "[About: History](https://www.prologis.com/about/history)." Accessed June 17, 2021.