
Celebrities may get a bad name for bringing out products just to make a quick buck, but if we’re being honest…. some of their swag isn’t actually half bad. But instead of last season’s celebrity perfumes and clothing lines, the current go-to celebrity products are going mobile. From emoji keyboards to shamelessly addicting mobile games, here are 11 celebrity apps that we actually kind of love.
1. Chelsea Handler: Gotta Go!: From bad dates to over-crowded parties, Chelsea Handler’s latest app has you covered when you need an excuse to leave an awkward event. Just choose an excuse, set a timer and the app will actually text and call you with an excuse from a newly created contact.
DL It: Free on iOS
2. Britney Spears: American Dream: If you’ve ever wanted to live like everyone’s fave 2000’s heartthrob, here’s your chance. In this addicting game, users make hit songs and climb the music charts like Brit. Just be sure you have WiFi, as the game requires a network connection to play.
3. Katy Perry Pop: Another winner by celebrity app designers Glu Games, Katy Perry’s interactive game app is all about making it big. From building your music career to developing your pop star persona, this game will turn you into an unforgettable California girl in no time.
4. Psych!: After the crazy success of her first game, Ellen DeGeneres is back again with a new party game that might just rival Cards Against Humanity. The concept is simple: Players join a specific game IRL via a connection code and have to make up fake answers to real trivia questions to stump their friends. It’s time to get creative, folks!
5. Snoop Dogg’s Snoopify Mobile Photo App!: When Snapchat filters aren’t quite cutting it anymore, check out this awesome cheesy photo editing app by Snoop Dogg. Although the editing features are basic at best, the sheer amount of Snoop Dogg-related stickers available are insane (and yes, there’s a lot of marijuana, FYI).
6. Kimoji: Controversial, opinionated, hella in-shape… no matter what you think about Kim Kardashian, she does know how to create a good emoji. I mean, is there ever a bad time to use Kim’s ugly crying face? We think not.
7. Demi Lovato: Path to Fame: With two successful seasons under her belt, Demi Lovato’s newest addition to her mega popular game is amazing. A choose-your-own-adventure story where you are in charge of your own career, it’s equal parts #girlboss inspiration and drama-packed fun.
8. Kylie Jenner Official App: Following in her sister’s app mogul footsteps, Kylie Jenner’s new namesake app is anything but ordinary. Although on the surface it looks like any other boring superstar app (AKA a bio and a few pics), Kylie’s interactive platform includes behind-the-scenes photo galleries, videos, personal blogs, beauty tutorials and live streams.
9. Tidal: Coming in and out of the news every time Kanye goes on a Twitter rampage, Jay Z’s Tidal is actually kind of awesome… if you’re willing to pay the $12.99 or $25.99 per month premium fees. Made and curated by music journalists, artists and experts, it’s an all-encompassing music experience that celebrities like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Madonna are standing behind.
10. Sheenoji: Charlie Sheen Keyboard: This app is WINNING! For anyone who’s ever wanted a little more Charlie Sheen in their life, this emoji keyboard is everything you could ever dream of.
DL It: $0.99 on iOS
11. Bonk! Presented by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Take your lame unfiltered selfies to the next level with this cool photo editing app courtesy of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. We don’t know what’s better… the fact that you can turn your friends into crazy sub-human creatures or how the app brands itself as having “a state of the art facial squish technology.”
DL It: Free on iOS
Do you have any celebrity apps on your phone? Tweet us which ones by mentioning @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