Читать книгу Managing Finances: Guidelines for Practice Success - American Dental Association - Страница 12

Some dentists opt to participate in formal or informal barter transactions that involve trading their knowledge, expertise and skill for a service or tangible good offered by someone else.

The idea of trading a few hours of your professional expertise for someone else’s talents can be very appealing, especially when you know and trust the patient. But even if that patient is your best friend, it’s important to consider whether to agree to the deal since bartering can involve certain tax and insurance implications. Keep in mind that any “income” realized through a barter transaction should be accounted for as taxable income and make sure the expense associated with the income is recognized.

Participation in bartered transactions is not always a smooth process and it’s possible that the tax implications could wipe out any perceived savings. If you do decide to trade your services for someone else’s, be sure you have a written agreement that details what each party will deliver and any cash costs. Be especially careful about deals in which the patient asks you to discount your fee or charge less than your usual fee for service just so you can match the fee for the service being provided by the patient. That type of equation is rarely a “win-win” scenario.

Participation in bartered transactions is not always a smooth process and it’s possible that the tax implications could wipe out any perceived savings.

For instance: one of your patients, who runs a business that provides small- to mid-sized companies with computer tech support, needs dental treatment valued at $6,000. The two of you agree to trade your services; no money is exchanged and you perform the necessary treatment and the patient agrees to maintain your computer network for a certain period of time.

The transaction should be detailed in your books and records through a notation for “fee income” (sales) of $6,000, less computer expenses of $6,000. It’s possible that there may be no tax implication in the transaction. The accounting records for the patient’s computer company should include a notation for fee income (sales) of $6,000 with no expenses to offset. That means the computer expert has accrued $6,000 in taxable income, which would be addressed by sending the computer company an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1099 Misc. If the deal is structured through a barter exchange, the barter company is required to file Form 1099-B with the IRS.

If you receive income from bartering, you may be required to make estimated tax payments. The IRS has more information regarding tax considerations and possible implications for bartered transactions; a link to one of those resources, which includes forms and other details, is available below.