Solo 401K - Partnership Taxes & "Employee Salary Deferral"

[tpac]

I am a member of a Partnership that has a Vanguard Individual 401(k) Plan. Are both the "Employee Salary Deferral" contribution scenarios below acceptable?

Scenario #1
(1) Partnership makes "Employee Salary Deferral" contributions to i401k directly from business account
(2) Contributions are treated like any other distribution for Partnership accounting purposes

Scenario #2
(1) Partnership makes distributions to members
(2) Members make "Employee Salary Deferral" contributions to i401k from personal accounts

[GetSmart]

I have the same situation and I use # 1.  I believe Vanguard requires deposits made directly from the business account and not a personal account, which is why I do it that way.  Not sure if #2 is possible.

[jacoavluha]

I don't get it. I'm just a novice but not sure how you can be a "partnership" but also have an individual 401k.

[terran]

I don't get it. I'm just a novice but not sure how you can be a "partnership" but also have an individual 401k.

Individual Solo 401(k) plans are allowed when all employees are either owners or owner's spouses.