Taxes on sponsor cash flow

[Evan Hyde]

Question for the RE CPA's: 

If I have a deal where I am the sponsor and invest no equity, while my investors invest 100% of the equity, and we agree to split cash flows (let's say 50/50). 

Our first cash distribution comes out and I receive 50% of the cash. How is this characterized on my K1? One scenario where I pay no tax because I get a share of the depreciation, in which case my basis in the deal goes from zero to negative. This seems like the aggressive approach. Is this a legitimate way to complete a K1 under this structure?

Another scenario is that I get a distribution in excess of basis (which stays at zero because 100% of depreciation loss flows to the equity), in which case I believe I would owe ordinary income rate on my cash distribution. 

Under the second scenario, is there an interpretation where the IRS could say I have now "earned" 50% of the initial equity basis (thus triggering a big tax bill)? I would not expect this to happen, because I would argue that the initial basis is still at risk, and if the deal sells for a loss, the first priority would be to pay back the investors actual cash investment.  

How to the CPA's out there like to characterize this cash flow?