Originally Posted by jsloan

Literally nobody believes that. However, if it were true, providing advice for a fee is, well, income, and would be subject not only to income tax but also to the self-employment tax.


Correct. However, a hypothetical transferrable GPU would not be personal property and therefore would not be exempt from reporting under this rule.

You need to understand the motivation of the law you're quoting. It's not a matter of trying to give people a break by allowing them to exclude these minor types of ancillary income. In fact, if you could report that income, you'd want to do so! That's because you'd be able to deduct the cost of goods sold, and actually come out ahead.