From the PayPal page:
Are personal payments that I receive counted in the total that will be reported to the IRS?
No. Personal payments that are not payments for the sale of goods or services will not be counted in the total to be reported. However, all payments received for the sale of goods and services will be used to calculate the gross payment volume to be reported.
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Also, the $600 limit is a reporting requirement for the vendor. Iow, I don't have to issue you a physical 1099 if you did less than $600 worth of work for me. Now, of course, the IRS would have no idea that you did the work, but that doesn't mean you don't have to report it.
Now, what you do is your own business, I'm not making a judgment call on you.
And this is actually a HUGE issue today. If you (that's a general "you") don't report the income, then you're not paying taxes on it. Federal, state, local, SS/Medicare. And those people are looking for every freaking penny they can possibly scare up. So while in the past, some independent contractors might have lost a 1099 form or didn't report the $599 worth of work they did, the tax collecting agencies are trying to figure out how to go after them, including trying to redefine and finally enforce the distinction between a 1099 contractor and a W2 employee.
However, for your professional accountant to say that to you..........wow.