Barter collaborations, also known as bartering, occur regularly between businesses. But what many entrepreneurs don't know is that you are required to invoice even when bartering. How about that? Together with accountant Marcel Huting, we give tips for (sustainable) entrepreneurs.
Shall we barter? All about bartending
In cooperation with Huting Tax Advice & Administration
In a barter arrangement, a service or product is provided in exchange for something other than money. Those nice and handy things you can fix with barter have a fair market value and VAT must be paid on them and later income tax. If you do not do this and the tax authorities find out, you risk a hefty fine of up to EUR 5,514. This fine obviously applies to the party that fails to declare it to the tax authorities. We would like to show you, using an example, how to get charter partnerships properly recorded in the books.
Calculation example charter cooperation
Suppose a content creator is offered a nice overnight stay by a hotel in exchange for a photo shoot or a blog. To get this closed-source collaboration properly on the books, the following needs to happen: The hotel draws up an invoice for the package offered and shares this with the content creator, say 250 euros + the applicable VAT rate (for holidays it is 9%). The content creator also draws up an invoice for the services to be provided to the hotel and shares this with the hotel. Since it is a barter arrangement (and the desire is to do the collaboration with closed exchange), both amounts should be equal.
In the case of this example, as a content creator you draw up an invoice of 250 euros + the VAT rate (for content creation it is 21% ). Because the amounts ex. VAT are the same, there are no income tax consequences for either party (net profit is 0 euros). Both parties pay VAT neatly to the Tax Authorities, and the VAT they pay to each other can be offset again on the VAT return.
This practice applies to all forms of barter.
Counterparty wants charter collaboration but not invoicing
‘Will the other party not provide an invoice? That's annoying. Then at least make sure you create an invoice in your accounting system for your services rendered. Do not issue this invoice to your customer, but do process it in your accounting system. That way, the tax authorities won't miss anything from you and you keep to the rules,’ says Marcel. Read more about invoicing in this article, because there is much more to tell about this.
Need more accounting tips and help?
Maybe you have been doing business for a while, or maybe your initiative is still in its infancy. Either way, with the guide for starting entrepreneurs, we would like to help you on your way with the administrative side, so you can do what you do best: make your idea a success! Because say it yourself, it's a nice idea when the administrative basics are all in order. With the help of this guide, you will have everything you need to organise your company's bookkeeping properly, learn good habits and, as a bonus, we will also share with you how you can do business a little more consciously. We got you!
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About Marcel Huting
Marcel does administration and bookkeeping for a variety of companies and individuals throughout the Netherlands. He can help you get started or take over the entire bookkeeping process from you. Find out more about Huting Tax Advice & Administration.
Photo credits main image: rpnickson (Pexels).
