
We all love calligraphy. It’s that envious skill that looks so pretty as you scroll through your Instagram feed. We’re constantly admiring the work of all the awesome calligraphers out there. Just check out the Instagram accounts of Lauren Essl or Jessica Peddicord for inspiration. And you’d love to have those creative skills too, right? Well, you can! You can start by taking our beginner Calligraphy 101 online class today.
BUT if you’re not quite ready to jump in and buy all the calligraphy supplies, a great way to start is with fauxligraphy. So *what’s* fauxligraphy, you say? Basically, it’s calligraphy using just a pen or Sharpie. No ink or nibs needed! The art of fauxligraphy also mimics calligraphy by using double-lined letters that you fill in, giving the impression of thick downstrokes that you find in all lettering. You gotta fake it until you make it, am I right?
And lucky you, we have a new fauxligraphy class taught by Alyssa Thiel of Parris Chic. If you haven’t already admired her boutique, make sure to do so. And when your heart is fluttering with ideas on how to use pretty handwritten quotes in home decor, come back and spring for her Fauxligraphy: Pen Calligraphy Online Class. Because Alyssa will teach you exactly how she does it, and you’ll walk away with a cute hand-designed coffee mug while you’re at it. Score!
In Alyssa’s fun calligraphy course, you’ll learn how to:
- Turn your everyday handwriting into a calligraphy style unique to you
- Use basic strokes and movements to connect letters and make words
- Mimic the calligraphy alphabet using a fauxligraphy hack
- Transfer your finished designs onto various surfaces (like a mug!) to make fancy gifts
GET THE CLASS SUPPLIES:
After taking this class, you can follow in Alyssa’s footsteps and make home decor designs of your own. You’ll have the creative skills to create unique throw pillows, wall art, wine carriers and more. The possibilities are endless!
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for Fauxligraphy: Pen Calligraphy online class today. You’ll get access to an exclusive nine-page downloadable workbook that includes a practice alphabet print out, a stroke guide, a grid print out and more!
Want a sweet deal? Scoop up our Lettering Lover Bundle. You’ll save 30 percent on three of our best-selling lettering classes, including Calligraphy 101, Intro To Chalk Lettering, and Fauxligraphy: Pen Calligraphy.
Do you have an awesome creative skill that you want to share? Apply to be a Brit + Co teacher today and join our creative community.
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