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Basically, it's normal income. It doesn't matter whether you worked in an online-attached environment or not ... you did work, somebody paid you for it. If they paid you through PayPal or check or direct deposit or in clams ... it doesn't matter.
In the U.S., there are typically 2 types of jobs like this: 1 where the employer is making a claim to the IRS against the money they paid to (you) and 1 where the employer is not making a claim. The first is above-board, and the second is typically not. In the U.S. by law, any exchange of goods for services needs to be included in the tax revenue system, so companies that keep these types of arrangements off of their books aren't doing what is required of them.
I've received tax forms (similar to wage statements) from most employers when I have been contracted to work for them. Usually, this means that they will be trying to write off the money they paid to me. Sometimes I don't receive any forms, which usually means they are trying to hide something from the government, or that they don't like paperwork and figure that I don't either.
Well ... after a couple of run-ins with the tax division, I am happy to report that if you treat income like income, and go about your normal business, and file your tax returns as honorably as you can, everything works out just fine. Worst-case scenario: You receive a goodly sum from an employer, you don't report it as income because you thought it was 'under-the-table', the employer does report it ... and the tax hooligans come knocking at your door looking for 5 or 10 years worth of your tax returns so they can punish you for your naughtiness.
On the U.S. tax forms, there are spaces (and extra forms) for including this type of contracted income in your filing. That's where I put this type of info, often with an attached sheet identifying the employer, as well. There may be an online 'user guide' to your Canadian tax forms that will tell you where to include this info, and what additional paperwork might be required.
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