Tool & guide

Delaware Statutory Trust Horror Stories: Reported-Loss Reconciliation Calculator

By Sequoia ResearchPublished Read as Markdown

Reported-Loss Reconciliation Calculator

Users enter contributions, receipts, remaining ownership value where supportable, and later recoveries. The calculator distinguishes realized cash outcomes from estimates dependent on a remaining valuation and prevents recoveries from being counted twice.

For an export, select Download in the tool, then Save file when it appears below. Your entries stay in your browser.

What Is This Article About?

This calculator helps you check a reported DST loss against the cash and ownership records you have. You enter paid-in amounts, actual receipts, later recoveries, and a supported remaining value when one is available. The tool separates cash already received from value that still depends on an estimate, and it counts a properly linked recovery only once. Its result records the amounts you entered; it does not decide a tax loss or who caused the loss.

Table of Contents

What a Reported DST Loss Can Mean

A reported loss may describe several different things. It could be a decline in estimated value, a shortfall in cash received to date, or a final result after ownership ends. Before testing the amount, check what the source means.

A cash shortfall during an active investment is not automatically the final loss. The investor may still own an interest, have a holdback due, or hold a claim with an uncertain value. On the other hand, continued ownership does not prove that enough value remains to recover the original contribution.

Private placements can be hard to sell. Their reports may leave gaps. The SEC warns that investors can lose most or all of their investment. That risk makes careful records useful; it does not establish that a particular reported loss is correct. SEC private-placement bulletin

The calculator starts with cash you can identify. It then shows what changes when a supported remaining value is added. It does not decide fault, fraud, or a legal claim. It does not decide what you may deduct on a tax return. Those questions require different facts and standards.

Choose One Ownership Record and Cutoff

Use one defined interest and one ownership period. Enter the issuer and class or other details needed to distinguish the investment. Avoid private account numbers or other information you do not want in a downloaded file.

The review cutoff sets the last date for actual cash in this record. It cannot follow the current UTC date. UTC can differ from the date on your local clock near midnight. This tool uses calendar dates without exchange deadlines, time-of-day rules, or business-day adjustments.

Choose an ownership status. Open or continuing means some ownership, unpaid right, or related liability remains. Closed with no remaining rights is for a record that has ended. Unknown leaves that question unresolved.

For a closed result, check what remains. You must confirm that there is no ownership, holdback, unpaid claim, or liability. Do not check the box merely because the property sold. A later payment or unresolved cost may mean that the record is still open.

You must also state whether the cash history is complete. This is your confirmation, not an audit by the software. If you only have recent bank statements, leave it unchecked. First fill the gap in the earlier records. The tool can still total the entered cash while withholding a complete outcome.

Enter Contributions, Costs, and Actual Receipts

The tool accepts one to 40 rows. Each has a stable row ID, type, actual date, positive USD amount, reference, and source note. Each amount is limited to $1 billion and may have up to two decimal places. Enter amounts without commas or dollar signs.

Use Paid in or separate cost for money the investor actually paid within the stated scope. That may include an original contribution and a separate cost paid later. Explain the cost scope so another reader knows whether personal taxes or account fees are excluded.

Use Ordinary receipt for actual money received. It can include a consolidated payment containing several components. The tool does not assign a tax label or decide whether that receipt came from operations, a sale, or invested capital.

Use Recovery for an amount described as a recovery. The next section explains whether it adds new cash or is already part of another receipt. Expected proceeds and unpaid settlement amounts do not belong in actual cash rows.

Count each paid cost once. If a receipt is already net of a charge, entering that same charge as a separate payment would reduce the result twice. If you have gross proceeds and a separately paid charge, show the two actual cash movements and explain them.

FINRA's private-placement guidance distinguishes distribution sources and notes the role of estimates when unsold holdings enter a return measure. The calculator does not infer investment profit from a payment label. FINRA Regulatory Notice 20-21

Keep Recoveries From Being Counted Twice

Choose Additional cash when the recovery is a separate actual receipt that is not already in another row. It adds to total cash received. Give that payment its own reference and evidence.

Choose Already included in receipt when you want to identify a recovery component inside an Ordinary receipt row. Enter the target row ID, such as C3. The recovery note adds no new cash because the target receipt already contains it.

Three checks apply to an included recovery. The target must be an Ordinary receipt. The actual receipt dates must match. The linked recovery parts cannot add up to more than the target receipt. If the target is removed, its linked notes remain visible and block calculation until repaired or removed.

Suppose an Ordinary receipt is $30,000 and contains a $7,000 recovery. Linking a $7,000 recovery note to it leaves total cash at $30,000. Entering that recovery as additional cash would raise the total to $37,000 and overstate receipts if there was only one payment.

Every counted cash payment needs a unique reference. The tool compares references after trimming extra spaces and ignoring letter case. Reusing the same counted payment reference blocks calculation. An included recovery note can share the target receipt's reference because it is not counted as another payment.

Two counted payments with the same date, amount, and direction but different references trigger a warning. Both remain in the sum because they might be separate payments. Check the records before relying on the result. Software cannot detect a hidden overlap when two different references describe the same money, or when you select the wrong recovery treatment.

Treat Remaining Value as a Separate Estimate

Only Open or continuing status accepts a remaining value. It must be a net value for this ownership record at the same cutoff as the cash review. Record the source and limits, including how unpaid liabilities were handled.

A blank value means unknown. An explicit zero means you have entered zero as the supported estimate. Do not use zero simply to make the calculator produce a result. The tool cannot fill a missing value from the contribution or the last payment.

A negative net value is allowed when supported remaining liabilities exceed supported assets or rights. This is still an estimate of what remains. It is not an additional cash payment that has already occurred.

Before using a value, confirm that you have support for the amount and date. Also confirm that it excludes all cash already received, including recoveries. If a right has been paid, its related estimate must leave the remaining-value figure. Keeping the paid amount and the old estimate would count the same value twice.

The tool checks those fields and confirmations. It does not verify an appraisal, estimate the value of a claim, or decide whether a quoted price is available to you. A legal demand amount is not automatically the value of an unpaid right.

The SEC's performance guidance emphasizes methods, included costs, and the limits of historical claims. A number that includes a remaining estimate needs that qualification beside it. SEC performance-claims bulletin

Work Through the Fictional Reconciliation

The example uses an invented Willow DST ownership record. Every amount and source note is fictional. The investor paid $250,000 initially and a separate $2,000 cost. Total paid in is therefore $252,000.

Row Entered Item Amount Cash Treatment
C1 Original contribution $250,000 Paid out
C2 Separate paid cost $2,000 Paid out
C3 Ordinary receipt $60,000 Received once
C4 Recovery already inside C3 $10,000 Adds no new cash
C5 Later separate recovery $15,000 Adds new cash
C6 Another ordinary receipt $5,000 Adds new cash

Ordinary receipts total $65,000. Recovery amounts recorded total $25,000, but $10,000 of that is already inside C3. Only the separate $15,000 adds to receipts. Total cash received is $80,000.

Before the additional recovery, ordinary receipts minus paid in equal negative $187,000. After adding the separate recovery, the cash deficit is $172,000. This comparison shows the effect of the added cash. It is not a saved review from an earlier date.

Cash receipts equal about 31.75% of the $252,000 paid in. That is a recovery-of-cash measure. It does not say that the remaining ownership is worthless or that the final investment return is known.

The example also enters an $80,000 supported net remaining value at the cutoff. Cash plus that estimate totals $160,000. Against $252,000 paid in, the estimated deficit is $92,000, or about 36.51%. The output labels it as an estimated outcome including net remaining value.

Now consider a separate revision to the example. If remaining net value were negative $5,000, the estimated deficit would be $177,000. If the value were unknown, the calculator would show the $172,000 cash deficit but would not calculate a complete outcome.

If the record truly closed with no remaining rights or liabilities, clear the value fields, change the status, and confirm the closed facts. With the same paid cash and a complete history, the completed cash deficit would be $172,000. The software does not establish that those closure facts are true.

Read the Outcome Labels and Missing-Data Messages

The cash totals always describe the valid rows entered. Their scope can still be incomplete. Keep that distinction in view when a negative cash number looks like a final loss.

A Completed cash outcome under entered scope requires a complete cash history, positive paid-in cash, closed status, and the no-remaining-rights confirmation. It compares all counted receipts with all entered paid-in amounts and separate costs.

An Estimated outcome including net remaining value requires a complete history, positive paid-in cash, open status, and a supported net value. It combines the cash result with that estimate. It is not fully realized cash.

If any required piece is missing, the tool says Complete outcome not calculated and lists the reasons. Unknown ownership status is one such reason. A record containing receipts but no positive paid-in amount is another; the calculator cannot form a meaningful percentage against a zero denominator.

Percentages use all entered paid-in cash, including separate paid costs. They round to the nearest 0.01 percentage point. Exact ties round away from zero. Cash arithmetic uses exact cents. There is no annual return, interest calculation, or adjustment for how long the money was invested.

Check the Source Records Before Drawing a Conclusion

Match each cash row to evidence of the same payment, ownership scope, amount, and date. A payment notice and a bank receipt may describe the same cash movement. They are two sources for one row, not two receipts.

For recoveries, check the amount actually received and any charge already deducted. A settlement headline may describe a gross amount across several people or interests. It does not establish the net amount paid to this investor.

For remaining value, identify what is still owned or owed. Keep a unit holding, a cash holdback, and an unpaid claim distinct in the supporting explanation. If the sources cannot support a combined net figure at the cutoff, leave the value unknown.

The SEC explains that fees can reduce returns and encourages investors to read disclosures and statements. The cost-scope field helps you record which charges entered this reconciliation, but it cannot discover missing fees. SEC fees-and-expenses bulletin

Save and Recheck the Complete Record

Changes clear the previous result and disable exports until you reconcile again. A rejected calculation preserves the entries so you can repair the specific issue. Clearing the form, loading the example, and deleting a row use on-page confirmation.

JSON and text exports retain all rows, linked recovery notes, sources, value fields, totals, warnings, and missing-outcome reasons. The entered record is limited to 120,000 UTF-8 bytes; each export is limited to 1,048,576 bytes. Some characters use more than one byte.

There is no import, automatic storage, account connection, or revision history. Export before closing the page if you need a copy. After a later payment or new valuation, build a new dated review and keep the earlier file separately so the change can be explained.

FAQ

Does a Negative Cash Result Prove I Lost That Amount?

It shows that entered receipts are below entered paid-in amounts. If ownership or unpaid rights remain, that is not automatically the final loss. A complete cash result needs the closed-record facts and full history. An open record needs a supported remaining value for an estimated outcome.

How Does the Calculator Prevent Duplicate Recoveries?

An included recovery links to an Ordinary receipt and adds zero cash. Counted payment references must be unique, and linked recovery amounts cannot exceed the target receipt. These checks depend on correct entries. The tool cannot detect an overlap hidden behind different references or an incorrectly chosen treatment.

Can I Enter a Recovery That Has Been Promised but Not Paid?

Do not enter it as received cash. If it is part of a supported remaining net value, explain its scope and uncertainty there. The tool cannot value a promise or claim for you. If that value is not supportable, leave it unknown.

Why Can Remaining Value Be Negative?

A supported net estimate may include liabilities that exceed remaining assets or rights. Negative value records that estimate without pretending the liability has already been paid. Do not also enter the same unpaid amount as an actual cash cost. Update both sides when payment occurs.

No. It does not work out tax basis, tax deductions, damages, interest, fault, or a right to recover money. It organizes cash and value evidence under your stated scope. Those other questions need the applicable records and professional analysis.

Can I Use the Tool Without a Complete History?

Yes. It will show valid entered cash totals while withholding a complete outcome. Leave the history confirmation unchecked and keep missing periods visible in the cost-scope or source notes. Partial evidence can help locate gaps, but it should not be labeled a final investor result.

About Sequoia Research

Sequoia Research, LLC provides independent research on DSTs and other real estate investment offerings. This educational library helps readers examine source records, understand financial measures, and keep uncertainty visible.

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