You finish a yard-work job and receive $80. It feels like an $80 success. But you paid for supplies and transportation, and the work took longer than the time spent in the yard. There is more than one useful way to describe the result.
Start with what came out
Suppose supplies cost $12 and transportation costs $8. That leaves $60 before taxes or other costs. If the job, travel and preparation took four hours in total, that is $15 per hour on that limited basis. These numbers are illustrative, not a recommended price or a complete profit calculation.
The job may still be worthwhile. You might gain experience or a repeat customer. Seeing the costs simply helps you understand what you are choosing.
Cash does not make the tax question disappear
The IRS explains that gig income can be taxable even when work is temporary, payment is in cash or no information form arrives.1 Your filing and payment responsibilities depend on your circumstances. Keeping a record makes it easier to get accurate help.
It is easy to compare two jobs by the amount handed over. A more useful comparison notices what you must spend and how much time the work requires. An impressive payment can shrink when you see the whole transaction; a modest one can look better when costs are low.
The point is not to make every small job complicated. It is to avoid mistaking the money collected for the money available to use.
Sources & further reading
Examples are illustrative. Financial and employment references relate to the United States.