
Do you have someone in your life that always seems to be having a perfect hair day? You know the one — the guy or gal whose ‘do looks fab no matter what the weather, where they are or what time of day. We’ll let you in on a little secret: Chances are they have the perfect hair tools to keep their coifs looking so flawless.
GIFT IDEAS TO BRUSH THROUGH TANGLES
1. Sonia Kashuk Hair Brush ($16): Long-haired gals will love this brush that uses cruelty-free bristles made to stand up to the hottest styling tools while helping maintain a healthier mane.
2. Ibiza Hair G4 Swirled Extended Cork Round Brush ($42): Thick-haired ladies will flip for this hard-working brush, which employs a whole bunch o’ bristles to give coarse hair control and shine.
3. The Wet Brush Bamboo Brush ($30): Eco-friendly gals would love to unwrap this cruelty-free brush, designed specifically to detangle wet hair. Even better, a portion of the sale goes to charity.
GIFT IDEAS TO DRY IT
4. Harry Josh Pro Tools Pro Dryer 2000 ($300): Alright, $300 for a hair dryer seems a bit insane, but just hear us out. This particular tool was created by Harry Josh, the stylist behind Blake Lively’s infamous locks, which gives us a lot of faith in this state-of-the-art dryer.
5. YS Park Small Metal Mesh Diffuser ($50): The hot air from blow dryers can cause a whole lot of frizz, making these mesh diffusers an absolute must-have.
6. Hubalou Wrap Hair Towel ($24): If air drying is more her style, this eco-friendly hair wrap is just the ticket. Made from sustainable bamboo fibers, this towel not only cuts down on drying time but also prevents breakage and frizz. Can you say perfect hair day?
7. BaByliss Pro Porcelain Ceramic Hair Dryer ($80): The perfect hair day usually starts with a good blow dry, and this ceramic dryer is one of the best out there. Not only will it get the job done quickly, but the six heat/speed settings will also have your loved one feeling like their very own stylist.
GIFT IDEAS TO CURL IT
8. T3 Whirl Trio Interchangeable Tourmaline Styling Wand Set ($270): Waves? Tight curls? With this interchangeable styling wand, there’s no need to change tools to fit the type of style you’re looking for. It comes with three different barrels, allowing you to create a countless number of looks with one device.
9. Hot Tools Deep Waver ($60): Beach waves are a style coveted by, well, just about everyone. Now this innovative tool makes it a breeze for anyone to achieve that infamous beach bum ‘do.
10. Drybar 3-Day Bender Digital Curling Iron ($135): Even the girl who has everything probably doesn’t have a rotating curling iron. Curly locks have never been easier to achieve than with this rotating clamp curling wand, featuring mineral technology that will leave hair shining and healthy.
11. John Frieda Smooth Waves Jumbo Hair Rollers ($33): Ladies with longer hair can create the smoothest waves of their lives with these high-tech, jumbo-sized hair rollers.
12. Kiss Instawave Automatic Curler ($50): This curler is about as close to hands-free as the hair industry gets. Give a glamour girl the curls she deserves with this “curls-in-an-instant” styler.
13. Eva NYC 4-Piece Interchangeable Barrel Curler ($200): Remember the days when you needed a different curling iron for every style? Well, now we have tools like this one, which offers four interchangeable barrels.
GIFT IDEAS TO STRAIGHTEN IT
14. Jet Setter Rechargeable Styling Iron ($99): For those who need to take their beauty routine on the road, this rechargeable wireless styler is the perfect fit.
15. Agave Healing Vapor Iron ($149): Give the gift of healthy hair this season with a tool that’s part styler, part treatment. The iron works in tandem with an included conditioning formula to leave hair smoother, shinier and all-around healthier looking.
16. InStyler MAX 2-Way Rotating Iron ($90): There’s almost no style that’s not achievable with this rotating curler and straightener in one. Nailed it.
17. Amika Movos Wireless Styler ($150): Frequent flyers will adore this wireless straightener, which delivers professional-looking results without any wires or plugs.
GIFT IDEAS TO STYLE IT
18. Amika Bombshell Blowout Thermal Brush ($100): Forget that trip to the local DryBar — a selfie-worthy blowout is now available at the press of a button, thanks to this nifty little tool.
19. Remington Ultimate Stylist 3-in-1 Hair Styler ($30): A three-in-one styler will impress even the stingiest of hair multi-taskers. This all-in-one straightener, curling iron and volumizing brush is the ultimate overachiever.
20. Calista Perfecter Pro Swap Top Heated Multi-Styler ($110): What could be better than giving the gift of a home salon? This little gadget comes with — count ’em — five interchangeable stylers, making the dream of a home salon a reality.
Tweet us your hair tool wishlist @britandco!
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:
You X Ventures for Unsplash
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.
Kobu Agency for Unsplash
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