When we say ridiculously awesome, we mean ridiculous, awesome, and ridiculously awesome. Who knew that floats came in the shape of alligators and watermelons? But why, oh why, does an ice cream float float not exist yet? Now, we just need to find a pool…!
1. Joust ($30): We’ll kick things off with a little American Gladiator action. We are not convinced that the folks modeling this are in a real pool, but these look like a good part of a DIY summer Olympics.
2. Giant Pillow Floats ($250): Miss the trend of waterbeds? Okay, we don’t either but these look super comfy for a lazy summer day.
3. Corn Hole Pool Edition ($40): If you haven’t played corn hole (also known as bags and baggo), it’s time to get on it. It’s a great lawn game, and is easy to play with a beer in hand. And, because games are obviously more fun when they float, we’re all over this option.
5. Floating Poker (contact for pricing): We particularly love the noodle chairs featured in this poker scene.
6. Port O Pong ($50): Yep, this is real and it is a must for summer parties. Beer pong that floats!
7. Floating Fridge ($65): Of course, how can you properly play pool games without refreshments? This fridge’ll store all the bevvies you need.
Watermelon
Pretzel, and Donut Floats ($28-$40): Though we’d rather eat a piece of watermelon, a soft pretzel, and a donut (yes, all at once), we dig these whimsical floats.
9. Floating Jungle Gym ($2,000): That price tag is for real, and it comes from none other than our friends at Hammacher Schlemmer!
10. Bean Bag Float ($170): Now this is bean bag we can get behind.
11. Floating Pool Pong Table ($75): Ping pong is awesome, whether floating or on land. We love the idea of playing this right next to floating beer pong.
12. Multi-Game Gameboard ($50): On the more random side, this float lets you play checkers and backgammon while submerged.
13. Water Hammock Chair Float ($80): Though we love making a floating chair out of two noodles, this is a serious upgrade.
14. Gigantic Water Slide ($9,000): Another zinger from Hammacher Schlemmer. This is like a slip n slide on major steroids. We have no idea who is in the market for this, but we really want to find that person, become their best friend, and hang out on their floating water slide.
15. Giant Ring Toss Pool Game ($50): Again, what is the deal with Urban Outfitters’ fake pool backdrop? But… this does look really fun.
16. Cooler Couch ($80): The description of this includes the following sentence: “No more trips from the pool to the fridge!” While it looks more like a pool lazy boy than a couch, this would make for some serious relaxation.
17. Aqua Floating Table ($400): Chairs, a table, and a cooler in the middle? Just make sure you get up and out of the pool when nature calls.
18. Bolo Ball Ladder Game ($30): We’ve never head of bolo ball, but we’re all for playing obscure games in the pool :)
19. T-Rex Float ($37): True story: One Brit + Co. staffer does a killer T-Rex impression. We just want to see her do it on a T-Rex float!
20. Relaxation Station ($100): Mellow out on the lake, on the pool, or even in your backyard with this inflatable living room.
21. Blue Lagoon Floating Island ($246): Okay, we take that back. THIS is an inflatable living room and even has two separate rooms.
22. Inflatable Alligator ($25): At 5 feet tall, this alligator is the same height as the author of this article!
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