Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I keep track of barter transactions to the penny. OK I admit it. I can be a little uptight and “Type
A.” Personally I blame my mother. I remember borrowing money from my parents when I was
little. I little paper IOU was posted on the fridge and it was slowly reduced penny by penny until
it was paid back in full. Not a single cent was ever forgiven. And I’m not complaining about
that. It just helps explain who I am.
Another reason that good bookkeeping is important for barter is to keep the IRS happy.
Although I heartily encourage everyone to conduct tax planning and legally avoid as much tax
as they can, barter is NOT a tax dodge. Remember to report all barter income on your 1040
exactly the same way you would your cash income.
I have found that keeping good records as an active trader is challenging. My two secret
weapons in this area are: 1) A good book-keeper who understands barter (tough to find by the
way) and 2) A barter exchange that will do a lot of the book-keeping for me.