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Get your taxes done using TurboTax
No, Amazon is acting as if they are contracting you to preform reviews and the compensation that they give to you is the value of the products you get to keep.
HERE is a link with more information. These additional answers discuss the possibility of claiming the 1099 as business income and then also expenses the value of the items as business expenses. This would end up with zero income.
There are also comments about claiming additional expenses, such as mileage if you need to pick the product up from the post office lets say.
The problem with some of this thinking is that the IRS won't agree with someone claiming to test products to create a negative income. The IRS only views a business as an undertaking with the purpose of creating income. If you were to say you test products knowing that you're never going to make a living off doing that, the IRS will say, "Well then, don't do it, or just do it as a hobby."
I suggest claiming only a portion of the cost of the products as expenses, (since you only need some for testing and you keep the rest for personal use) or claiming the income more like a hobby. Hobby reporting can report a profit but cannot claim a loss in any year.
Since Amazon uses Form 1099-NEC, it must be reported on Schedule C. The IRS re-issued that form ONLY for Self-Employment income and Amazon knows that.
If you don't plan to make a profit, name the business on Schedule C something like "Online Testing HOBBY".
Claim the income reported on 1099-NEC
Claim expense on a portion of the products that you feel is reasonable.
DON'T claim a loss unless you are prepared to convince the IRS that you THOUGHT you were going to make a profit testing products, but found out you were wrong, or, that this is the start of a business of becoming a money-making influencer.
Going forward, you'll need to decide if you enjoy testing products and are willing to claim the income Amazon reports, stop testing products for Amazon, or convince Amazon to pay you an additional fee for your service
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