The world moves fast. Just as soon as you finish one show, there’s about five more you gotta watch. It may feel impossible to keep up, but don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. We went through the hard part and picked out everything new that’s ready to watch and is worth your time. Here, we’ve got the 10 new shows, new movies and some classic feel-good movies you should queue up this weekend.
YOUR WEEKEND BINGE
<em>A Series of Unfortunate Events</em>
Netflix: It’s fiiiiiinally here! Neil Patrick Harris plays Count Olaf in the much-needed remake of every cynic’s favorite childhood series. Relive the epic story of the Baudelaire orphans in this witty and worthy adaptation. (Photo via Netflix)
<em>The Investigator: A British Crime Story</em>
Netflix: For those who miss shows like Making a Murderer, you’ll eat up this British true crime show about a husband who was convicted of his wife’s murder, even though her body was never found. (Photo via Netflix)
<em>Miss Sharon Jones!</em>
Netflix: This uplifting documentary follows the late Sharon Jones on tour with her band as she is also battling pancreatic cancer. It’s a beautiful tribute to the woman who died shortly after the documentary was released. (Photo via Jacob Blickenstaff)
REAL-LIFE HEROES
4. Best and Most Beautiful Things on Netflix: This documentary follows Michelle Smith, who is both legally blind and has Asperger’s, as she approaches her 20th birthday. (Photo via PBS)
TV’s BIGGEST STARS
5. Sneaky Pete on Amazon: Bryan Cranston is TV royalty. And now he’s back with a new show on Amazon about a con man on the run from a gangster. If you thought he was vicious in Breaking Bad, just wait until you get a look at this one. (Photo via Amazon)
6. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Amazon: Season 12 of our favorite friend comedy is rolling out on Amazon. This season features the gang going to a waterpark, dealing with a Wolf Cola PR disaster and — for once — spending the whole day working at the bar. (Photo via FX)
TIME FOR TOM HANKS
7. Bridge of Spies on Showtime: Tom Hanks stars as a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself embroiled at the center of a Cold War scandal. (Photo via Dreamworks)
8. Cloud Atlas on HBO: And in this one, Tom Hanks stars as multiple different characters. The ultimate sci-fi movie will completely change how you think about time (and how many character Hanks can morph into within two hours). (Photo via Cloud Atlas Productions)
ULTIMATE ROM-COMS
9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall on HBO: This movie is arguably one of Jason Segel’s best, and if not, at least the most iconic. Watch it for a star-studded cast (Mila Kunis, Russell Brand and Kristen Bell) and the scene where Paul Rudd sings “Oh the weather outside is weather.” (Photo via Universal)
10. Fool’s Gold on HBO: Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson reunited for this rom-com about a couple whose relationship is threatened by a treasure hunt. (Photo via Warner Bros)
What else are you up to this weekend? Let us know @BritandCo!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures