I have a similar but slightly different situation. I am retired and receive ample income from social security, pension and investments. I do not "need" any kind of part-time job or self-employment income. As a pastime, I fill out surveys on a fairly regular basis and every now and then one of them results in a paid interview. On average I do perhaps 5 or 6 paid interviews a month, which I do over Zoom from a private room in my home. I do these for fun because I enjoy sharing my thoughts on various topics, but I do earn money from them.
In 2022 I received a 1099-NEC for approximately $1400 in income from these interviews. This was the first year I received a 1099 for this pasttime. Although the income was reported on a 1099-NEC, and although I do this activity on something more than a sporadic basis, I consider this hobby rather than business income for the following reasons:
1) I do not have a business plan, a website, business cards, etc or do any kind of marketing for this. I do not hold myself out as a consultant or anything similar. I simply fill out surveys and do interviews when requested.
2) I do not keep detailed records of the calls or any kind of bookkeeping as would be associated with a business. My only real records are the email notifcations I receive when I have been chosen for an interview.
3) I do not depend on this activity for a living as I am retired and receive ample income from my normal retirement income.
4) I have no previous experience with any kind of self-employment or part-time activity and all previous business experience was from regular W2 employment which ended when I retired 10 years ago.
5) While I do earn money for these activities, I have never made any effort to determine whether this would be an actual profit for me since I have made no effort to calculate what my expenses would be if this were an actual business. For example, I use a laptop to do the interviews which I just purchased last year. I know that if I were considering this a business, I could depreciate much or even all of the cost of that laptop, and I could also allocate a portion of my monthly internet expense, as well as perhaps a portion of the costs associated with the room in my house where I do the interviews. I have never made any attempt to calculate any of that.
So based on all of this, is it reasonable for me to consider this to be hobby income as opposed to business income? When I look at the nine factors the IRS supposedly considers in evaluating whether something is hobby income or business income, I would be hard pressed to answer any of them in the affirmative.
