First of all, you very definitely have taxable income. Even if it was only free product, that is still taxable income. Barter transactions are supposed to be reported as taxable income although many people can get away with it. Basically, any time you receive a payment for anything, it is assumed to be taxable income unless you can prove otherwise.
The only important question is whether this is miscellaneous “other“ income, or whether this is self-employment income. This is self-employment income if your reviews are an “ongoing and regular“ activity, performed for the purpose of earning profit or of earning those free products. It is an ongoing and regular business activity if you engage in the activity regularly and if you actively seek out new opportunities to perform the activity. Did you perform one review last year or dozens, or hundreds? Do you contact companies seeking to perform reviews in exchange for product, or are you on a list of available reviewers who will do this? Do you take action to solicit new clients?
If this is not an ongoing and regular activity, then you would report the income as taxable miscellaneous or other income. This is in the bottom section on the income page listed under “other uncommon income.“
If this is an ongoing in regular activity, the IRS will see it as a self-employed business. You should file a schedule C where you list all of your business income, subtract any legitimate business expenses, and pay income tax and self-employment tax on the net profit.
What I can’t tell you specifically because I have not used this section of the program recently, is whether you have both of these options when you enter a 1099-K. If you are on the 1099K entry screen and it only gives you the option of self-employment income, but you think this is “other“ income, then don’t enter the 1099K directly. Enter the dollar amount from the 1099K under the “other“ or miscellaneous income section. If the IRS sends a letter because they did not see the 1099K in your tax return, you can reply with a letter that points out where you reported the income. The IRS may also send you an assessment if they believe the income is self-employment and you report it as "other". In this case, you would need to reply with a letter explaining the facts and circumstances and how you determined that this was other income and not self-employment.
