online surveys, earnings and taxes

No tax or legal advice for the earnings from these paid surveys will be given here, please consult an attorney. In whatever country you live in.

If you make a dime, most likely big-brother wants to know about it - period. "Render to Caesar what is Caesars!"

Some survey companies will require your Social Security Number after (repeat - AFTER) you earn $600 in a fiscal year, and rightly so if they are in good standing with the I.R.S. You should be encouraged by their compliance, not discouraged. Obviously, you should research the survey company thoroughly before handing over such a sensitive piece of information however. If it's a respected university, you're probably alright. If it's Latest-Greatest-Paid Surveys-Company.com, maybe you should do some homework. If you'd rather, using regular U.S.P.S. mail to send the company your sensitive information is perfectly acceptable. Any legitimate business entity will respect your wishes to not electronically transmit that type of data. If they object, then you don't need to do business with them.