Whether it is or is not income is an interesting question.
Is it payment for services, or a gift, or support of a dependent? Support of a dependent is not normally taxable. For example, you can give your child a place to live, a fancy education, and great food, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and there are no tax consequences.
Cash gifts are treated differently, but they are taxable to the giver, not the recipient.
In any event it needs to be declared...payment for services rendered, silence, gifts etc, the taxes need to be paid period and there is no latitude. Failure to delcare this the tax fraud