The Internet has given us a lot of new holidays to celebrate: Siblings Day, National Donut Day, and the adorable National Puppy Day have all become unmissable additions to our work calendars. But there’s another trendy day joining the ranks, too, and it’s a bit more personal: the housiversary. For the homeowners among us, a housiversary is (as you might’ve guessed) the anniversary of the day you moved into or bought your home. And, yes, there are presents involved.
Laura Jennings, CEO of Knack (a company that knows a thing or two about gifting), is all about bringing the trend home. She advises that you use what you know about the home itself to make your present hit the mark. “For example, if what especially appealed to the new homeowner was the beautiful yard, then outdoor gifts like grilling sets, yard games, or birdhouses might be perfect for them,” Jennings tells Brit + Co. “But if she loved her new condo because the spacious kitchen was great for entertaining, then a bar or housewares gift might be just the ticket.”
Looking to celebrate your own housiversary soon? Or gift something special to your bestie? Here are some great gifting ideas to get the ball rolling.
Knack Golden Touch Cocktail Gift Set
The girl who couldn’t get enough of her new home’s bar setup is sure to love this gleaming gold cocktail set, which includes leather coasters in a variety of metallics that feel mid-century and mod. The best housiversary gifts are little extras that “people don’t always buy for themselves,” Jennings tells us.
Otherland Spring Collection Candle Set
Sure, candles are a classic housewarming gift, but these design-minded sets from hip company Otherland are sure to re-ignite (get it?) your passion for your home.
Graf Lantz Monstera Felt Trivet
Celebrating your housiversary with a dinner party? (You should.) These delightful natural felt trivets are ultra-Instagrammable and help you serve in style. Just make sure your dinner guests don’t “accidentally” take one home.
Tanner Goods Mazama Negroni Carafe
If your housiversary falls during Negroni season, you’re in luck. Mazama’s appealing hand-blown carafes now come in the color of the same name.
Knack We Adore S’mores Gift Set
Was it love at first sight when your bestie saw that firepit in the backyard? Then it stands to reason that a night of s’mores is the ideal housiversary gift for your outdoorsy friend. “It doesn’t need to be a big gift, because any unexpected gift goes a really long way,” explains Jennings.
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