Do I need to tell the IRS about income from Cashapp if it's under $600?

Yes, technically you need to report ALL income to the IRS regardless of the amount or whether you received a tax form for it. The $600 threshold is just for when Cashapp is required to send you a 1099-K, but that doesn't change your obligation to report income you earned. The law requires reporting all income from any source unless it's specifically excluded by law. That said, for small amounts like yours, the practical risk of the IRS discovering unreported income is relatively low if no 1099 was issued. The IRS generally focuses enforcement resources on larger discrepancies. But remember, intentionally failing to report income is technically tax fraud. If you ever got audited for other reasons, they could discover this unreported income and you'd face penalties and interest.

I was in a similar situation last year with about $530 in side hustle money through various payment apps. I was totally confused about what to report, especially since I didn't get any tax forms. I used https://taxr.ai to upload my Cashapp statements and it automatically identified what was actual taxable income vs. just money transfers between friends. Saved me tons of time trying to figure out which transactions counted as income and which were just reimbursements or personal transfers. It also explained exactly what I needed to report even without having received a 1099.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread. I was honestly shocked at how easy it was to figure out what I needed to report. I had about $800 across PayPal and Cashapp from random side jobs last year, plus a bunch of personal transfers that I was confused about. The tool separated everything clearly and even showed me which expenses I could deduct against that income. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a similar situation!

If you're worried about proper reporting but have questions, you could try calling the IRS directly. I know that sounds terrible lol, but I used https://claimyr.com to get through to them without waiting on hold forever. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they wait on hold for you and call when an agent picks up. I had a similar question about app payment reporting and got an official answer straight from the IRS in like 20 minutes after submitting my callback request.

I was pretty skeptical about Claimyr (as you can see from my comment above lol) but I decided to try it because I was desperate to get an answer about some 1099 issues. It actually worked exactly as described. Got a call back in about 35 minutes and talked directly to an IRS agent who answered all my questions. Turns out I've been overpaying on some of my side hustle income for years because I didn't understand what expenses I could deduct. Definitely recommend if you need official answers from the IRS without the headache.

One thing to remember is that if you're doing side gigs, you might actually be able to deduct expenses against that income. So reporting it isn't always bad! For example if you spent gas money or bought supplies for these gigs, those can offset the income.

My tax guy told me not to stress about tiny amounts like this. He said the IRS is focused on people hiding thousands, not a few hundred bucks. Just something to consider.

I had a similar situation with Cashapp income last year! The key thing to understand is that you're legally required to report ALL income, even if it's under $600 and you didn't get a 1099-K form. The $600 threshold just determines whether Cashapp has to send you tax documents - it doesn't change your obligation to report what you earned. For your $480 in side gig income, you'll need to report it as self-employment income on Schedule C. The good news is that you can also deduct legitimate business expenses (gas, supplies, etc.) which might reduce your tax liability. Even if you don't have perfect receipts, bank statements can serve as documentation. While the IRS may not catch small unreported amounts, it's not worth the risk of penalties and interest if you're ever audited. Better to be compliant from the start, especially since you're establishing a pattern of side income that might grow in the future.