Generally, income from Vine is considered to be self-employment income. This is because you are given an item of value in exchange for a service (the review that you write).
Typically, taxpayers with net earnings from self-employment that exceeds $400 must file a tax return and pay self-employment tax.
Vine income doesn't have a lot of opportunity to claim expenses against it, but it does have some. For example you could deduct things such as:
- A prorated portion of internet bills used to write reviews
- Subscriptions to things like Grammarly, to the extent that they are used for your reviews
- Miles driven to pick up items if you have to get them from a post office or other pickup location
It's difficult to justify calling this income hobby income, except in a few cases, such as someone who collects items and never actually writes a review (but we know this person doesn't get to continue in the program.)
If you report the full amount as self-employment income, you will owe tax of around $90.
Only you can really decide if it is hobby income for you, but for most Viners, this activity meets the definition of self-employment activity. If you decide you want to report it as hobby income, and that is your only income for the year, you don't have a filing obligation. Here's a bit more about hobby income: 4 Tax Tips for Money-Making Hobbies.
I file my own Vine income as self-employment due to the "something of value in exchange for a service" logic, if that helps to know.
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