What Is a Side Hustle? Meaning, Taxes, and How to Pick One
A side hustle is work you do for money on top of your main job or main responsibility. Merriam-Webster defines it as "work performed for income supplementary to one's primary job" and dates that sense of the phrase to 1946 (Merriam-Webster). In practice it usually means something flexible that you run in your spare hours: freelancing, delivery driving, reselling, tutoring, or a YouTube channel. So if you're asking what is a side hustle, the short answer is: extra income work that fits around the rest of your life.
What is a side hustle? The side hustle meaning in plain words
The side hustle meaning has two parts. "Side" means it isn't your main source of income or your main use of time. "Hustle" means you do it on your own initiative, often with no boss setting your hours.
That second part is why people use the word for some things and not others. A weekend shift at a store is a second job (we compare both kinds in our guide to weekend side hustles). Selling prints on Etsy, editing videos for a creator, or walking dogs through an app is what most people mean by a side hustle. The line is blurry, and nobody checks, but the tax rules (below) do treat these differently.
A side hustle can also be the main thing for someone who doesn't have a day job. A stay-at-home parent or a student earning a few hundred dollars a month from freelance work is still side hustling.
Side hustle vs second job vs small business
| Second job | Side hustle | Small business | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who sets your hours | The employer | You, mostly | You |
| How you're paid | Hourly wage | Per task, sale, or client | Revenue minus costs |
| Taxes withheld | Yes | Usually no | No |
| Typical goal | Steady extra pay | Extra income, flexibility | Replace or exceed a salary |
Many side hustles grow into small businesses. Some stay small on purpose. Both are fine.
If you're weighing a part-time job against app work or your own thing, our guide to side hustle jobs compares all three with pay data.
How common side hustles are, and what they pay
Two numbers help set expectations.
- Second jobs. In September 2026, 9.0 million Americans held more than one job, 5.5% of everyone employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 5.2 million of them had a full-time main job and a part-time second one. This count covers jobs only, not freelance or selling income, so the real number of people earning on the side is higher.
- Side hustle income. In a Bankrate survey of 2,616 U.S. adults (fieldwork June 2 to 4, 2025), 27% said they had a side hustle. They earned an average of $885 a month, but the median was $200. A small group of high earners pulls the average up, so $200 is the more realistic picture for a typical person. In the same survey, 35% of side hustlers said they use at least some of the money for regular expenses like housing and food.
The takeaway: most side hustles bring in a modest amount. A few grow large, and those usually took a long time.
Common types of side hustles
Most side hustles fall into a handful of groups:
- Selling your time through an app. Delivery, rideshare, pet sitting, and shift apps. Quick to start, paid per task, capped by your hours.
- Selling a skill. Writing, design, bookkeeping, video editing, tutoring. You find clients directly or through marketplaces. Pay depends on the skill.
- Selling things. Reselling thrift finds, handmade goods, or digital products like templates. You carry some upfront cost.
- Building something that earns later. A blog, a YouTube channel, or a newsletter. Slow to start and unpaid for months, but income can keep coming from older work.
A faceless YouTube channel sits in group four. To earn ad revenue you first need 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 qualified watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million qualified Shorts views in the past 90 days, per YouTube Help. That takes a while. Our post on starting a YouTube side hustle with no experience walks through realistic timelines.
For a longer list sorted by skill level, see side hustles ranked by experience needed.
How side hustle income is taxed
Side hustle income is taxable, whether or not anyone sends you a form. The IRS gig economy tax center says you must report gig income even if it isn't reported on a Form 1099-K, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, W-2, or other income statement.
If you'd rather make videos than read about it, VidPuff turns a title into a faceless video. No waitlist, cancel anytime.
A few basics:
- 1099 forms. Clients who pay you as a contractor may send a 1099-NEC. Payment apps and online marketplaces send a 1099-K when your payments in the year are more than $20,000 and the number of transactions is more than 200, a threshold restored by recent legislation, per the IRS. Not getting a form doesn't mean you owe nothing.
- Self-employment tax. If your net earnings from self-employment are $400 or more in a year, you file Schedule SE and pay self-employment tax of 15.3% (12.4% Social Security, 2.9% Medicare), on top of regular income tax, per the IRS self-employment tax page.
- Estimated payments. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file, the IRS generally expects quarterly estimated payments, in four payment periods across the year (IRS estimated taxes).
A simple habit: move a share of every payment into a separate savings account the day it lands. If your side hustle starts to feel more like a hobby than a business, the IRS treats those differently, which we cover in hobbies that make money. For your own situation, ask a tax professional.
How to pick a side hustle
Start from your week, not from a list of ideas. These questions narrow it down fast:
- How many hours do you have, really? Count a normal week, not your best one. Five hours a week suits a skill you can sell in small pieces. Twenty hours opens up most options. Our post on making extra money with a full-time job has plans for 5, 10, and 20 hours.
- Do you need money this month? If yes, pick app work or a skill you already have. Building a channel or blog won't pay soon.
- What do people already pay you for? A skill from your day job (spreadsheets, writing, design) usually earns more per hour than starting from zero.
- What can you afford to spend? Some hustles cost nothing to start. Reselling needs stock. Tools and software add up, so price them before you commit.
- Does your employer allow it? Check your contract and handbook for rules on outside work, competing clients, and using company equipment.
Give one choice three months before you judge it. Switching every two weeks is the most common way side hustles fail.
If YouTube is the one you pick and you don't want to be on camera, VidPuff can handle much of the production for a faceless channel. You type a title, it writes the script, generates narration, creates a visual for each scene, adds music and captions, and renders a long-form video. You review each stage and can change the script, voice, and images. Plans start at $25 a month (or pay once from $5, no plan needed), which counts as a cost you need to earn back.
How to spot side hustle scams
Side hustle ads attract scammers. The FTC's job scams guide lists warning signs:
- You're asked to pay for a starter kit, training, or a certification before you can work.
- A "new employer" sends a check to deposit and asks you to send some of the money back.
- The work is receiving packages, repackaging them, and forwarding them.
- The ad promises a lot of money in a short time for little work.
- Someone offers a federal or postal job in exchange for a fee.
A real side hustle pays you. If money has to go from you to them first, walk away.
FAQ
What is a side hustle in simple terms?
A side hustle is work you do for extra money outside your main job. It's usually flexible and self-directed, like freelancing, delivery, reselling, or running a YouTube channel.
Is a side hustle the same as a second job?
Not quite. A second job usually has an employer, set shifts, and taxes withheld. A side hustle is usually something you run yourself or do through an app as a contractor, so you handle your own taxes.
Do I have to pay taxes on a side hustle?
Yes. All side hustle income is reportable, even without a 1099. If your net self-employment earnings reach $400 in a year, self-employment tax of 15.3% applies on top of income tax, per the IRS.
How much can you make from a side hustle?
It varies a lot. In Bankrate's June 2025 survey, side hustlers earned an average of $885 a month, but the median was $200, so a typical side hustle brings in a few hundred dollars a month.
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