The Conversation
Believe it or not, school is going to be back in session before you know it. Where the summer went, we have no idea. You’ve already got the kids’ BTS breakfasts planned and they have their new lunchboxes picked out (crucial), so it’s time to spend the rest of the summer wisely. Break up all the time spent poolside, and get the kids in the kitchen for some fun projects. Whether you try making dessert sushi together or experiment with homemade butter, the bonding time you’ll get from these 12 activities are priceless.
Apple Fruit Donuts
This alternative to the real deal is much healthier, and they can have fun decorating them however they want. (via Hello Wonderful)
Bread in a Bag
Nothing can teach kids (or adults) patience quite like making bread from scratch. They’ll get to learn about the process of yeast activation, and thanks to the bag, the mess will be minimal. (via Your Homebased Mom)
Candy Dots With Kool-Aid
This no-bake recipe requires only three ingredients and a few strips of parchment paper to come together. Let the kids take turns mixing the flavors and piping the dots in various sizes. (via This Grandma Is Fun)
DIY Candy Necklaces
You’ve got to love jewelry that doubles as an afternoon snack. Have the kids string Fruit Loops, alphabet pretzels, and gummy Life Savers on a string for tasty hand-eye coordination practice. (via Design Improvised)
Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Bananas
The kiddos are going to have so much fun making their own chocolate-dipped bananas. Set out a plethora of various nuts, coconut, and sprinkles, and let them go to town. (via Sugar Hero)
Homemade Butter Science Activity Make Butter in a Jar
Science experiments shouldn’t stop when school lets out for summer. Play Ms. Frizzle and teach them about fat molecules by letting them make their own butter from heavy cream. (via Little Bins for Little Hands)
Mini Jell-O Aquariums
The little ones will cherish these cute DIY Jell-O aquariums. The Nerds, blue Jell-O, and Swedish Fish make for a tasty snack, but the end result is so cute they may not want to eat them. (via Confessions of a Cookbook Queen)
Lawn Mower Rice Krispie Treats
If you’re babysitting and need to keep the kids busy for a while, these edible lawn mowers will give you a quiet afternoon. Give them instructions on how to assemble them, and then set them free to do their own version. (via In the Kids Kitchen)
Teddy Bear Jell-O Pool
If you can’t make it to the pool or beach, these adorable Jell-O pools are an entertaining indoor alternative. Each cup gets teddy bear sunbathers, gummy pool floats, and a mini umbrella for shade. (via I Heart Naptime)
Marshmallow Treat Sushi
Monkey see, monkey do. If you’re always eating sushi, the kids will love the chance to make a dessert version that they can eat with chopsticks just like you. (via Jelly Toast)
Ocean Floats
Blue punch, lemon-lime soda, and vanilla ice cream create a beautiful float when mixed together with fish candies. Make it a whole ocean day and watch Finding Nemo and Finding Dory on repeat. (via The Crafting Chicks)
Under the Sea Graham Crackers
For this artsy activity, you’ll need whole graham crackers and crumbs, Goldfish, blue frosting, white ball sprinkles, and red and green sprinkles. (via The First Year)
More From Food Adulting
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