If you barter or swap seeds or plants for labor or carpet there has been no money to change hands. I swap plants with other gardeners all the time and have never claimed any income from it becuase nothing was bought or sold. There are no taxes due. Anyway that's the way I view it. Besides I am already in the highest tax bracket, if Uncle Sam wanted to tax my plant swaps I'd be in big trouble. Cheryl

A great site that might interest you is freecycle. It's where people post things that are still in good to fair condition(garden pots,trellis,tools,furniture,ect)and you can do the same. I've found amazing things, even plants! It keeps good things from ending up in landfills, try it, you may not need to set up barters, just post your wants and haves and see what happens!!

This is a new site to me that has all items for free. It includes all the states so everyone can use it.

Here you go: www.freenapkin.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl that will get you to a blue page with squares on it with pictures in go to top right and register then click on state you want to see...newest items are at the bottom then goes up to shortest amount of time.
Everything on this site is free! So maybe you will find things you can use.

You need to see a tax accountant. you seem confused about what needs to be declared for tax purposes. Not that we are criminals, it is just that somethings just do not go on our tax forms. Like if I had a garage sale once or twice a year, and made several hundred dollars from it. Uncle Sam would not get a penny. If I did some chores for you and a few neighbors too during the year and you and them paid me cash, Uncle Sam would not get a cut. Now, if I did this on a regular basis, then I would be doing a business and then I would file and report it as income. I will sell maybe $50 worth of T&P'er plants this spring. I will keep all the money cause if I reported it I would find that after expenses it would end up costing me money and I would have to deduct it as a business loss, then it would get confusing.

This make sense?

I don't think you have to declare it. There's no money, and, by way of further reassurance, there's most likely no record of any of it anyway, so it would be incredibly unlikely that you'd ever have a problem. You might also try the craigslist.org barter section.

Just food for thought. Im not saying this for anything other then just FYI. Getting paid is exactly the same as bartering. In exchange for goods I give you this money. In exchange for goods I will do this for you. Everything has a dollar value. If the IRS had their way and all laws were upheld yes even bartering should be assigned a dollar value and taxes pais on such. ODes it even happen???? welll we all know that answer.

Im a resident of a state that I am supposed to pay use yaxes at a rate of 7% value on anything I buy in another state and bring home. I live right on the border and do al of my shopping in the other state. So eveything I buy should be taxed double according the law. Do you think anyone always pays those taxes? no way!

Anyway I dont think immigration or the IRs would even blink an eye at what you are trying to do. If they did this country has hit an all time low. We cant even get illegals that are rapists, murders and armed robbers to get deported.

You fine keep on keepin on ;)

When it comes to bartering, I agree that you should double-check with a tax accountant, but if gardening is not your profession, and you aren't "making" more than $600 per year (the current cutoff for requiring 1099's, which is a report of income from one source) in like-valued bartered goods, then you shouldn't have any problems. If you don't call it "bartering," you will definitely have a better go of it; you simply have "extra" beans that you don't want, and are thinking that someone might want some of them. Freecycle is a great way to clear out stuff that you don't want, and then occasionally post for the items that you do want. You may or may not get what you want, but for those items that you do get, it's one less thing that you will need to actually pay for.

BTW, welcome to the 'States! I hope you will enjoy your gardening experience while you're here--having hit on the Garden Web forums, you will have much advice for growing your plants, be they beans, tomatoes, or hollyhocks! Do pay attention to your growing zone and climate, and see if you can locate some locals to help advise you on techniques that work well. Love your frugal tip, but egg cartons just don't work for me where I live--humidity is regularly less than 20%, and my little seeds will be dried out by the end of the day. Great minds think alike, but unfortunately, it just doesn't work for me in my area--I bet it will for others, though!

My favorite frugal tip? INFORMATION!! There's so much of it out there, and much of it is free. I just checked out a book on lasagna gardening yesterday from my local library, and let's not forget the years and years of gardening experience to be found on the internet, especially in forums such as on Garden Web! If a penny saved is a penny earned, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, then a garden properly planned and planted is one not lost to needless ignorance.

Good luck with your beans--I wish I was where I could snag some of your extras!

Here is a link that might be useful: Find other gardeners near you

I agree that if you are just trading a few items of small value, you probably have nothing to worry about with taxes.

If you're trading hundreds of dollars in goods, particularly if it's related to how you make a living, then it would probably be wise to consult a tax attorney for advice on how to report it correctly.

And mayberrygardener--the cardboard egg carton might work for you if you set it in a tray of water. :)

Welcome to the US Heather, and I hope you enjoy gardening here.

Dawn

Thanks everyone the advice has been great, I am only talking about a few plants 50 at most! and I was group e-mailed from the local new comers club this week about donating plants and/or surplus veg if I get any! to the care and share and that appeals to me. I realised reading this that the stuff I lack I will probably find just by being cheeky! and asking friends and neighbours for their trash! "one man's rubbish, is another man's treasure" I realised that if someone asked me if I had old towel I didn't need, my response would be one of 3 things, oh no I don't have any, sorry (which I don't having brought new on moving!) or I'll have a look, or oh yer there is a load of them how many do you need? (which I was just before I moved the wedding present towels 10 years old and looking 100 bless them!, on the egg boxes, here's what I did I got 2 trays the type that veggies or meat are packed in they are very shallow, and I placed a smaller one upside down in a larger one (cleaned them, bleached them and then cleaned again before hand! nurse and paranoid!) place a piece of old towel (that's why I want them)cut to the size that covered the top tray and dangeled into the lower tray, fill the lower tray with water and used the towel as a wick, placed egg box on top of towel, it stays moist for a few days this way, and doesn't (well I suppose it cann't) over water? but stays lovely and moist, hope you understand my instructions? that said my humidity isn't only 20% thats something else I will have to learn...I miss the old gulf stream, didn't realise what a kind country I lived in weatherwise, again thank you

I wouldnt sweat the small stuff. Now if your like a dentist and swap your services for a new room addition, you bet its taxable.

Its called barter income heres from the IRS page I found:

Bartering is the trading of one product or service for another. Usually there is no exchange of cash. It is the most ancient form of commerce. Any business owner or professional who has a product or service to offer can barter.

While our ancestors may have exchanged eggs for corn, today you can barter computer services for auto repair. Another example of a one-on-one, non-barter exchange transaction is a plumber doing repair work for a dentist in exchange for dental services. The fair market value of the goods and services exchanged must be reported as income by both parties.

Barter may take place on an informal one-on-one basis between individuals and businesses, or it can take place on a third party basis through a modern barter exchange company.

Here is a link that might be useful: IRS Barter exchanges