The "gig" economy is a growing income sector in the world and a growing niche for tax professionals to harvest. Before jumping into this market, it is necessary to know some things about this area of practice.

The IRS defines gross income as "all income from whatever source derived." Therefore, unless otherwise excepted, gig economy income is taxable income. There are exceptions and we will discuss them as we go through this course.

Upon completion, the student will be able to:

• identify employment status (employee or independent contractor?)
• recognize business versus hobby activities
• identify types of gigs
• understand how to report income and expenses, including home office expenses; substantiation guidelines
• recognize the federal taxation reporting requirements
• identify taxation issues with respect to crowdfunding and charitable fundraising (not necessarily gig but treated similarly)