
You might have your costume, makeup and hair all set for Halloween, but here at Brit + Co we believe your look isn’t complete without one truly spooky mani. We’ve selected fifteen of our faves that are the perfect combo of scary, chic and holiday appropriate. We think you’re going to love rocking these designs for a hauntingly good time come October 31st.
1. Half-Moon Cobweb: We had no idea that cobwebs could be so chic. We’re obsessed with the contrast of the black spider web design against a beautiful metallic background. (via Cosmopolitan)
2. Snakebite Nail Art: Okay, technically these have a little bit of red on them. But we think you’ll forgive us and our favorite nail artist SF Party Nail aka Taylor Watson… (via Brit + Co)
3. Marble Nails: We’d be up for rocking these marble nails any day of the year, not just All Hallows’ Eve. (via Meliney)
4. Spooky Eyeballs: Spooky or sweet? No need to choose with these totally adorable nails. (via Totally the Bomb)
5. Sneaky Cat Nails: We are loving these black tips with a bit of an unexpected feline twist. Pair ’em with a kitty costume for the ultimate wow factor. (via @thepolishedpinkie)
6. Jack Skellington: Can’t get enough of The Nightmare Before Christmas? Bring Jack Skellington with you everywhere you go with this nail design inspired by the famous Tim Burton character. (via cutepolish)
7. Bone Nails: Simple and sophisticated with a seriously spooky edge. All the boxes are checked with these nails! (via @greatbigcrunch)
8. Mummy Nails: We can’t get over how amazing these mummy nails look. And surprisingly, they’re not too hard to DIY. (via Peace Love Polish)
9. Skeleton Nails: These nails feature all kinds of classic Halloween motifs. We especially love the extra long skeleton that takes up two whole nails. (via @ehly0524)
10. The Nightmare Before Christmas Nails: Tim Burton would be proud of this creepily adorable tribute to his Halloween classic. (via @sohairobsessed)
11. Spiderweb: We wouldn’t mind getting caught in this web. This design is a truly cool option to get into the holiday spirit. (via @nailtastic_sisi)
12. 3D Ghosts: These might be the scariest nails we’ve ever come across, and yet we can’t look away. Who knew a manicure could be so spooky? (via PiggieLuv)
13. Cobweb Nails: Go for a more matte look with this spiderweb design. Unfortunately the amazing spider ring is not included, but to make it up to you we have plenty of other spooky accessories we suspect you’ll love. (via Syl and Sam)
14. Black Cat French Nails: Cat accessories are all the rage right now, so why not accessorize your nails with a bit of feline flavor? These black cat nails are purr-fect. (via Lulu’s)
15. A Halloween Medley: For those that don’t want to stick to just one theme, you’ll love this tutorial. These nails have a little bit of everything, from bones and cobwebs to minimalist stripes. (via Pretty Woman)
Do you think you’ll be rocking any of these nail designs to celebrate the Halloween season? Let us know which is your favorite 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