
One of the chicest looks of the moment has to be a blunt cut. It’s dramatic yet simple, and there’s a shape to work with every face. We’ve seen celebs rocking a variety of blunt bobs all year long, but something about the blunt look is edgy and cool. We’ve assembled some gorgeous blunt bobs, along with other blunt hair ideas as rocked by some of our fave celebs for you to ooh and ahh over — and to print out and take to the stylist for your next hair makeover.
1. Keira Knightley: Keira’s inverted bob perfectly plays off her strong bone structure and dramatic makeup. We love those couple of long pieces at the front — so effortlessly cool. (via No Glitter No Glory)
2. Julianne Hough: While we adored Julianne’s long waves, when she went blunt, she achieved icon-hair status. Her stylist told Elle that she cuts her hair dry to make sure she’s getting the right texture and blunt ends. (via HuffPo)
3. Hannah Simone: If you’re really attached to your long hair, you can opt for a blunt bang instead. Hannah’s bangs provide a perfect frame for big eyes and rosy cheeks. (via The Mash)
4. Marion Cotillard: If the French are rocking it, you know it’s haute couture. Marion’s asymmetrical bob and deep side part give interest to a simple style without overpowering her face or glitzy necklace. (via Harper’s Bazaar)
5. Kristen Connolly: A blunt ‘do is a great way to show off your hair color. It really pops with a simple cut. (via Beauty Editor)
6. Rosamund Pike: Rosamund proves blunt doesn’t have to be super sleek. Most of us dread the awkward in-between-chin-and-shoulders stage of growing our hair out, but with Ros’s undone bob it really works. (via Trend 911)
7. Olivia Palermo: Olivia style inspo 5eva. Olivia’s sombre is much more apparent against her sleek, center-parted hair. (via Beauty Editor)
8. Tamara Taylor: The pageboy is the cut we all had as kids and hated. But Tamara slims it down and adds a piecey bang for a cute update. (via Lipstick Alley)
9. Kirsten Dunst: This is a welcome departure from the ordinary for Kirsten, who usually opts for something a little less structured. This sleek take on her normally tousled hair really ups her glam factor. (via Glamour)
10. Kerry Washington: Kerry’s rocking a double blunt with this style — a blunt bang and mid-length cut. Her killer root drop is is also extra apparent because of how sleek and dark her hair is at the top. (via Napoleon Perdis)
12. Camilla Belle: Camilla manages to combine volume and sleekness, a combo we all strive for. (via Maurice Meade)
13. Lily Collins: We love everything about Lily in this pic — her subtly flipped-out blunt cut, her bold brows, her vampy lip. It’s everything we’re aiming for this fall, style-wise. (via Daily Mail)
14. Christina Hendricks: Christina’s rounded lob looks elegant and professional, but she spices it up with a red lip against her red hair. (via Pop Sugar)
15. Emily Blunt: Excuse the pun, but we really do love Emily’s blunt cut with face-framing pieces. It’s natural and gorgeous. (via Style Bistro)
16. Charlize Theron: Charlize proves bobs don’t have all the fun. Her long hair harkens back to our high school obsession with our flat irons, but in the best way. As in, why did ours never look that good? (via Glamour)
17. Emma Stone: Emma easily channels a ’20s flapper, but we’re loving the softness in this style, too. (via Harper’s Bazaar)
18. Krysten Ritter: Krysten rocked the Cleopatra-blunt cut before it was cool. It’s pretty much her signature look and works for anyone with an oval face. If you want to go for it, but have a different facial shape, just be willing to get bang trims often and spend a lot of time with the flat iron. (via Style Noted)
19. Brittany Snow: Brit gives her blunt cut a rocker edge with an asymmetric slant, smokey eyes and an embellished blazer. We dig it. (via Style Bistro)
Are you into a rocking a blunt bob this season? What’s inspiring you Fall style-wise?
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