Baby, it’s downright cold outside. With that in mind, this week’s edition of 10 Ways to Style is all about the cardigan, an essential winter staple. From tying it up around your waist to turning it into a sweet strapless top, you’re sure to find a new way to rock your cardi in this playful collection of looks.
Oh, and you can feel free to cue up Lovefool by… The Cardigans ;)
1. East Coast Prepster: This look comes straight from Nantucket on a crisp fall day. Keeps your shoulders warm and acts as an extra layer when you need it.
2. Hoodie Chic: Just because you love rocking a hoodie doesn’t mean you need to look like you rolled out of bed. Layer a cardigan over a light zip-up hoodie and you’ve got a totally chic look.
3. Be My Valentine: This one makes us wish Valentine’s Day was even closer! Tuck that cardigan into a belt for a layered look that still shows off your fab figure.
4. Strapless Sweetheart: That’s right. We turned our cardigan into a tube top with a look that reminds us of a sweetheart neckline. Put the cardigan on backwards and pull it down so that neck is around the top of your chest. Tie the sleeves around the front and you’re done.
5. Buttoned Up Mini: And now a skirt! This works really nicely with our cardigan because it has a v-neck that fits right around the waist. Tie the sleeves around your waist and tuck excess sleeve into your newly made waistband and you’re set.
6. Patriotic Party Dress: We think Michelle Obama would approve of this rather patriotic look. We simply tied our cardigan up over a dress to give it a playful look, while still keeping things formal enough for cocktail hour.
7. Hipster Librarian: Wait a minute, isn’t “hipster librarian” kind of an oxymoron at this point? The cardigans, the oxfords, the knit beanies? Love this look.
8. Stripes + Shrug: If you’re wearing a long summer dress, warm it up by turning a cardigan into a shrug. Simply unbutton the cardigan, pull the sides around to the back and pin up.
9. Skirt It Up: Another skirt! For this one we went more high-waisted and tucked everything in with a belt. Digging this bomber jacket.
10. Cozy Cowl: And finally, rock your cardigan as a cowl!
And if you’re lucky, you can get one of your charming coworkers to pose with you too!
Such a perfect look for Valentine’s Day!
How do you rock a cardigan in unusual ways? Got any other clothing hacks we should know about? Or any items you want to see styled 10 ways? Talk to us in the comments below.
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