
If there is one thing every homebody loves about spring, it’s TV show premiere season. This week alone, we’re getting a ton of season and series premieres. We’ve narrowed down the list to a few must-sees — plus a few movies, because you can never have enough new movies. You’ll thank us on Monday when everybody is gabbing about these shows (and your Game of Thrones party) around the water cooler.
1. Game of Thrones: Cue epic theme music. Game of Thrones is coming back. If you somehow missed the first five seasons, you have until Sunday to watch the entire thing. Winter is here. (Image via HBO)
2. Silicon Valley: The new American dream is founding a startup and getting courted by a major Silicon Valley developer. The parody features a ragtag gang of computer nerds and a constant stream of blink-and-you-miss-it jokes. It’s a solid comedy for everybody — inside AND outside of the Bay Area. (Image via HBO)
3. Veep: The campaign slogan “maybe” rings frighteningly close to home this year. Julia Louis Dreyfus’s hilarious turn as Selina Meyer has the possibility of becoming the most talked-about show this election season. (Image via HBO)
4. Inside Amy Schumer: As Comedy Central says in the tagline for the new season: “Amy’s back and she’s learned nothing.” We can only hope. Season four looks to be as raunchy, hysterical and intelligent as the first three. Brace yourself. (Image via Comedy Central)
5. Deadbeat: The show is about a “deadbeat” guy with no money and no real future, but he can talk to ghosts. (Deadbeat…get it?) If you like laughs infused with a little paranormal activity, the premiere of season three will provide nothing but delight. (Image via Hulu)
6. How to Get Away With Murder: Our collective obsession with TV shows about murder doesn’t look like it will fade away soon. For everybody without a TV: Season two of HTGAWM has landed on Netflix. Cancel weekend plans: You’re going to be too busy being completely strung into a Shonda Rimes series — again. (Image via ABC)
YOUR NEW OBSESSIONS
7. The Night Manager: Starring the somehow-always-charming-even-when-villainous Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie, the British mini-series sensation has crossed the pond. Get ready to be instantly obsessed with the captivating story of an Egyptian hotel owner who becomes entangled in an international arms trade network. (Image via BBC)
8. Containment: The newest show from the CW is a post-apocalyptic drama. Surprising touches of humanity peep through in this fictional, quarantined Atlanta after a violent epidemic. It’s the perfect fix for anybody still morning the death of The Walking Dead. (Image via CW)
MOVIE NIGHT
9. Girl on the Edge: A young girl who suffered abuse from a cyber predator is sent away to an alternative therapy camp. The emotional film was based on true experiences, and made waves at film festivals all around the world when it debuted last year. (Image via Girl on the Edge)
10. Hard Candy: Hardy Candy is about a 14-year-old girl who goes head-to-head with a man she suspects to be a pedophile, whom she met in a chat room. It will take you back in time to Ellen Page just before the release of Juno. (Image via Vulcan Productions)
What show are you most excited to watch this weekend? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Featured image via Getty)
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