Need help with trading services

[Breezy]

A friend of mine is going to watch my kids for the ball. Which I am thinking from about 6pm or so until 10am. So that would be 14hours of sitting but maybe only 7 hours of the kids being awake.
In return she wants engagement pics done. She wants "some" prints (not sure how many) and then a CD. I think the CD is a bit much for the exchange considering I don't offer CDs.
So what would you do? How would you come up with something so that noone gets screwed?

Also how does the trading or bartering work come tax time?

[bondarnes]

What would you normally have to pay a sitter in this situation? Let's say it would be $100.00. I would probably give them $125.00 credit towards their order off of my regular price list. That would cover a session and one 5X7. Seems more than fair.

Technically you owe taxes on this, but unless you do quite a bit of bartering, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Breezy]

Thanks Don
that is the problem we haven't had to "pay" a sitter for anything like this.
In Va the child care was on base as was the ball.
Here the childcare is on base but the ball is downtown which is a good 30 minutes from the base.
My mother flew in and watched the kids last year and the year before that it was a sitter but she only watched from like 6 until 1 and we gave her 50 bucks.
Thanks I will see what she says about the deal and go from there.

[adirty1]

sounds about right.
I just did some commercial work on trade and by far they got the better end of that deal. I thought i could trade their software with some of my video buddies but that's a NO go. Next trade I do I am going dollar for dollar invoice per invoice.

[picasso]

Do as your friend suggests and maybe try and get them to with draw the CD option and tell them your reasons. Give each other a receipt and any difference you feel you are owed add that to the amount and write it off at the end of the year. You can only write of the difference between what he would have paid and what you gave him in trade. Does that make sense?

If you want to do it under the table just do as he asks minus what you are not comfortable with and its all a wash.

Paul

Paul

[Breezy]

Ok Paul you lost me lol.
Would I just count of the cost of the prints as a "gift" or say that she actually paid me X amount (what ever amount we agree upon) and say that I was paid that? Cause then I owe the taxes on it right?
Gosh this is crazy.
What I was thinking was offering her my beach session since that is what she is wanting any way. That gives her 3 hours the cost is $200 So she would owe me $75 (If I give her 125 for babysitting) and then I can pay for her prints with that. (I know this is low and I was/am raising them but she knows my packages already. With this $100 She gets a print credit of $100 but that is not available for a package it is on sheets only.
HTHs explain a little more lol.
Thank all 3 of you for helping me.

[picasso]

I was probably confusing. Figure out what you are doing for her is worth and what she is doing for you is worth. It sounds like what you are doing for her is worth more than what she is doing for you. So, whatever the difference is write that off on your side at the end of the year. If you don't want to be out the cash for the prints then just charge for the prints or give them to her or your cost. Whatever you decide but write the difference of what you would normally charge off. You could probably write it all off as charity. The tax man doesn't know why you are doing it. I am doing Sr. pictures for a girl that can't afford them and I will write my normal price off at the end of the year.

Paul

[Breezy]

Ok apparently she doesn't want to watch them overnight now, even though for 2 months she had said that was fine. So basically she wants us to come home after the ball, and since I refuse to drink and drive, I am not sure what we will do. She still wants me to do the engagement pics though. I asked if she could watch them at the hotel as that would work for us to not have to drive but she doesn't want to do that either. Cause if we wanted to drink and drive the base will watch the kids for the price of a $5 McDonalds meal. Man nothing seems to be going right for me lately lol

[Breezy]

Ok I getcha now Paul thanks.
So OPLOVE sessions would be the same way? Asking cause I am sending out my first Album tomorrow YAY. Pretty proud of it lol, far from perfect but pretty good considering I was being pushed and shoved by people running to their loved ones and I had no clue what he looked like lol.

[loana0320]

dang girly.. I am sorry :( I wish I was close to you I would do it at no charge..... when I watch my friends kids I do not charge or exchange services like that and when they watch mine they don't charge me either... as friends we just help eachother.... :(

[Breezy]

Thanks Loana that is how a friend of mine and I were in VA. But this girl I guess is more of an aquantance, we have spoken off and on for the 2.5 years I have been here. She is from here so our views are a little different too lol.
And the fact that she isn't married and doesn't have kids makes a difference.

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by picasso

I was probably confusing. Figure out what you are doing for her is worth and what she is doing for you is worth. It sounds like what you are doing for her is worth more than what she is doing for you. So, whatever the difference is write that off on your side at the end of the year. If you don't want to be out the cash for the prints then just charge for the prints or give them to her or your cost. Whatever you decide but write the difference of what you would normally charge off. You could probably write it all off as charity. The tax man doesn't know why you are doing it. I am doing Sr. pictures for a girl that can't afford them and I will write my normal price off at the end of the year.

Paul

I'm sorry Paul, but I think you need to run this by a CPA. Mine tells me that for anything I do that I don't charge for such as charity events, gift certificates to auctions, and work I do that I don't charge for (like your senior) I can only deduct my actual costs. As an example if I give a charity auction a gift certificate for a session and an 11X14 print valued at $250.00 I can only deduct the costs of producing that print i.e. film, processing, proofing, and the cost of the final print. Even if they order additional prints I can only deduct actual expenses. If it worked as you suggest I would give every charity ten gift certificates and write off $2500.00 knowing that only two or three would use them and my actual expenses even if all ten were redeemed would be less than $250.00.

[Breezy]

OK Don, so I am on the right track. I kept the receipts from printing the photos, the receipt for the album and then shipping. My questions now are how do you come up with a "cost" to proof the images? Oh and I also have my actual mileage documented too.
And do I pay taxes on these items since I won't actually be collecting taxes? I did just to be on the safe side. :D

[adirty1]

you cant write off time. just like you cant deduct a donation of time. It must be a physical object like Prints, paper, frames, and such. IE if I normally sell a fine art print for 500 dollars and I donate this print to an auction I cant deduct or write off the 500. I can only write off the price of the frame, print, and mat.

I tried this same idea with a wedding I wanted to do for two models getting married. I thought what a better show wedding for an album than using two models and a wedding party full of models. Asked the CPA about this and was told just i could only deduct the physical cost of the wedding. At that time it was film and processing, prints, and album.

[Breezy]

ok thanks Austin. That is what I thought but when I red Dons response it made me wonder.