Barter sales are taxable and your company must report them to the IRS just as though were cash. This is also true of trade purchases. When you spend trade dollars to purchase services or products through a barter exchange they are taxable as though they were cash.

Barter Income and the IRS
IRS rules concerning barter are now well established. The U.S. government considers barter exchanges to be legal third-party record keepers, similar to banks, brokerages and other firms that deal with taxpayer records. Barter exchanges are required to complete and submit Form 1099-B, "Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions," for each of their members and the IRS. In order for the exchange to complete this form, you'll need to give JRTE your taxpayer identification number.

The IRS considers barter to be the same as cash, dollar for dollar. There are no special tax benefits - or penalties - when participating in a barter exchange. This same-as-cash standard also applies to barter purchases: If a barter purchase is business-related, you can deduct it from your taxes, but if it's for personal use you cannot deduct it.

Treat barter just as you would any other business activity. Keep good records, consult a qualified CPA, and if you have any questions there are numerous online links that can provide additional information.

Below you will find some useful tax information relating to barter provided by the IRS.

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc420.html

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=113437,00.html

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=188095,00.html

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=187920,00.html