
On top of designing a dreamy line of bridesmaids dresses, running one of our fave blogs and basically being an all-around enviable human, Lauren Conrad and fiancé William Tell just showed off their real estate savvy, buying a to-die-for house in her hometown of Laguna Beach. They dropped $8.5 mil on this 2,900 square foot, three-bedroom beaut’ with its own staircase leading down to the beach. Sounds like a perfect home to raise a fam in, don’t you think ;) In honor of LC’s new digs, we rounded up celebs’ most drool-worthy oceanside homes — it may be fall out there, but it’s summer below.
1. Lauren’s New Laguna Mansion: She may be downsizing from the house her parents owned on The Real OC, but we’d say instant ocean access is worth it. This character-filled home is right up the style maven’s alley. (via Parade)
2. Johnny Depp’s Private Island: Forget oceanside, this crib is ocean-surrounded. On top of his own private Caribbean island (how relaxing would that vacay be?!), Depp chills in a gorgeous villa in the south of France. (via Private Island Mag)
3. Celine Dion’s Jupiter Island, Florida Mansion: Celine’s Florida home is basically a mansion inside a waterpark. Not only is it on the ocean, it has pools at the front and back of the house, connected by a lazy river. Say what?! (via Parade)
4. Rosie O’Donnell’s Sarasota, Florida House: Though modest by celeb standards, Rosie’s house is nothing to shake your head at. On top of being oceanside, it has a pool, spa and outdoor kitchen and she’s neighbors with Stephen King. (via Front Door)
5. Katharine Hepburn’s Connecticut Estate: Unlike the other celebs on this list, the Golden Age golden girl inherited this house from her fam, and it was her retreat all her life. She loved swimming in the Sound so much, she’d even take a dip when there was snow on the ground. (via Forbes)
6. Oscar de la Renta’s Tortuga Bay Villa: Oscar has designed some of our all-time favorite gowns, so we’re not surprised his vacation house is just as inspiring. The Dominican villa is decorated in sunny yellows that blend seamlessly into its surroundings while still being super luxurious. (via Architectural Digest)
7. Pharrell’s Miami Penthouse: After that crazy Grammys hat, we expected mad style in Pharrell’s digs, and we weren’t disappointed. His apt is full of sleek design and stunning vistas… and art inspired by Family Guy. (via Forbes)
8. David Bowie’s Balinese-Inspired Villa in the Mustique: It’s Bali, in the Grenadines, inside an ’80s music video. JK on the last part, but David Bowie has created a super serene retreat in his Caribbean home. (via Architectural Digest)
9. Mariah Carey’s Bahamian Getaway: Mariah and Nick Cannon actually sold this house before heading for splitsville, so at least it was one less thing to fight over… and one more gem of an estate for some other billionaire to snap up. (via Private Island News)
10. Goldie Hawn + Kurt Russell’s Malibu House: This is a home worthy of such an iconic Hollywood power couple. The Malibu home and guest house feature an oceanfront patio, outdoor living room and fireplace and a spa in the master suite. (via HuffPo)
11. Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island Mansion: We try not to judge, but buying a mansion super close to your at-the-time BF, Conor Kennedy’s house when you haven’t been dating very long isn’t something we’d do. But we guess if the relationship had to end, at least T Swifty had eight bedrooms and 10.5 baths to cry it out in. (via WKRN)
12. Nicolas Cage’s Newport Beach Estate: Ridiculous Internet memes and questionable role choices aside, we’d love to chill in Nic Cage’s Newport home. (via House Hunt)
13. Ellen DeGeneres’s Malibu Home: Forget how gorgeous the house and oceanfront are, Ellen and Portia bought this house from Brad and Angelina. It’s gotta be worth billions just in leftover star power. (via Front Door)
14. Jim Carrey’s Malibu Beach House: Clearly Jim’s a funny man and a real estate genius. We can totally picture ourselves taking a morning run on the beach, then sipping our coffee on that porch. (via Front Door)
15. Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island: What’s the point of owning a private Caribbean island if you can’t make a profit off it? We’re assuming those were Branson’s thoughts when he converted Necker Island into a private resort. (via Necker Island)
16. Lil Wayne’s Miami Beach House: Lil Wayne’s ultra-contemporary digs are any modern design junkie’s dream come true. Glass walls give stunning views of the city and ocean, while its locale on La Gorce Island offers privacy. (via Front Door)
17. Billy Joel’s Hamptons Home: This traditional New England bungalow has a secret up its sleeve: It’s got an inverted floor plan, which means the bedrooms are on the ground floor with the living spaces above. This quirk is meant to maximize the stunning ocean views, and if we had 150 feet of private beach in the Hamptons, we have to admit: We might do the same. (via Curbed + Haute Residence)
18. Khloé + Kourtney Kardashian’s Miami Palace: The Kardashian sisters tend to go big in every aspect of their lives, so the pad Kourt and Khloé crashed at in Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami had to live up to their standards. The 23,000 square foot Palazzo di Mare certainly did. (via Pricey Pads)
What do you think: Drool-worthy digs or straight ridiculous? Would you want to live in one of these super mansions?
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