For fun, I sometimes review books online. Some of the books online that I review are ones that I was given for free before they are published, called advanced review copies (ARCs). ARCs are usually close to the final published draft of a book, but have occasional typos or formatting issues and are sometimes missing final cosmetic things, like maps. Most ARCs have a note saying that they are not for resale. Additionally, even less rare, I have been sent a free digital copy of a book already published to review.
What I want to know is, does this need to be reported as “other income” on Form 1040? I have seen online that people who receive products for free in exchange for a review must put the fair market value on their taxes. I have also seen on multiple sites that if the product is less than $100 then it does not need to be reported. If this is the case, then I know that I would not need to. However, I also do not know if ARCs even have any sort of fair market value. Would the FMV just be the cost of an ebook of the published version?
I tried calling the IRS but they were not able to answer questions about hobby income. I have tried looking on the IRS website but there is nothing that address my question that I have been able to find.
