<prompt> Human: Hi all,Some serious questions regarding the legality of what is going on and what exposure I havewhat I should be doing in this regardwhat taxes I should be paying and how all of this works.Couple years ago, I received approximately 25,000 via PayPal for the sale of virtual items in a video game in a 2-3 months period. Obviously this is against the games Terms of Service, but I managed to do it as I had amassed and resold all the things in a virtual setting that I had. At the time, I was 17, and had my own PayPal account without a verified SSN, something that I am aware broke PayPals terms of service their own loophole.PP locked my account shortly after I cleared a total transaction history of over 25k USD, and after some explanationsurprise about my situation, released it and gave me the several thousand that remained in the acc my funds several days after I turned 18. This money was never reported to the IRS as it was technically not income - I am not a self employed individual, I never was, and this was that came into my possession based entirely off of my activities on this video game. It just so happened that some people were willing to give me for these intangible, virtual items.Its been a couple of years since then, and this has recently picked back up again I am now over 18 and have received about 7,000 in the past month alone, specifically from this again, via PP.The way that this works is rather complicated. I have little to no mandatory monthly expenses, I live at home, and I used the money that I amassed to pay for my car insurance, trips, create an emergency fund, etc. My last month was like a gift I paid off some slight debt that I accumulated and this was a great thing to have happened again. I simply dont understand how this works regarding the IRS.Perhaps I dont really understand what is defined as taxable income; these things were virtual, in a video game, as something that did not technically exist and cannot be tracked, located, found, and so on. I dont really understand how it can be considered as income either as it wasnt a job, or anything that I devoted xyz amount of time to. It was simply things that I had raked together over time, similar to a college student selling their textbooks after they used them for a semester, although on a much, much larger scale.The money enters my PP account and then is transferred to my bank account. This is not a job, this is not me lending my services as an independent contractor, this is specifically me selling virtual, intangible goods, to someone who is giving me for it. Its all done via personal PP, personal bank acc, etc. Does this money need to be paid taxes upon? Is this even considered income, or just personal money? Its somewhat confusing and I dont really understand. Thanks!Happy to provide any additional info as Im sure this is a weird matter that Id personally like to shed some light on.Edit: I spoke to a CPA about this around that time that knew me fairly well and informed me that this was not necessary to report to the IRS as it was entirely separate from what income is classified as. I put it out of my mind as this all occurred over two years ago, but as its picking back up again, I thought back and wondered what the people of PF thought. Thanks.Edit2: I hope that you guys understand that I simply dont know enough about the IRS, policies, and so on, and what this all falls under. I was relatively young at the time, and the past few yearsthis happening now again has given me some more time to think about everything. If you can, please inform me and help me understand exactly what should be done, if anything, and why that is probably the biggest question I have. I dont know enough, and want to knowmake sure that I understand what is going on.Update: Huge thank you to everyone for your responses As I stated both above and below, I am not looking for an easy way out of this situationlooking for pity in what is going on. All I am asking is to understand what my options are, how this came to be, the exact reason behind why I should do abc, and exactly what shouldcan be done. Thanks.  <response>: Does this money need to be paid taxes upon?Yes. It was when you were 17, too. Is this even considered income?Yes. It was when you were 17, too. Edit: I spoke to a CPA about thisEdit: Its time to get a new CPA. 