I got a reward, should I file income tax return?

I got a total of $1, 134 rewards in 2012 from AppTrailers (iPhone app). Now I don't know if I should pay taxes. I'm single, dependent, living in California. I submitted them a W-9 because they asked for it since I earned more the $600, and so I did. They said that this is a source of income, but they call it "rewards".So, should I file income tax return? If so, this would be my first time. What are the consequences if I didn't file this when I have to just in case?

I don't know what rewards are… Sounds like money to me. If so then yes you should file that as income and it will be part of your normal tax return. They are reporting the income to the IRS, so it would be audit flag if they report it and you don't have a record of claiming it as income. You may or may not get audited (an audit can be a simple letter saying that you owe $), but if it was me I would claim it and not mess with the IRS.

By the way, since you are claiming income on this there's another important thing… You can write off your work. For example you can write off the purchase of your Mac, your office chair, your desk, supplies, etc.

It does not matter what they call it.

If it is money that they paid you to do something, then you must file and you must pay "self-employment tax". If you don't file, then you will have to pay the tax, plus the penalty for not filing on time, plus interest.

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