Since the true-crime phenom podcast Serial blew up a few years ago, it seems like the days of audio-only entertainment are making a serious comeback. And it’s easy to see why. With a podcast for practically every interest — including fashion, health, and budgeting — you can easily obtain your daily dose of knowledge or LOLs, while giving your eyes a much-needed break from your screens. So, as we anxiously await the third season of Serial (which is rumored to come out early next year), here are eight more podcasts to binge on your morning commute.
S-Town
From the makers of Serial comes a podcast about small-town Alabama, and it’s definitely this week’s trendiest download. The podcast follows narrator Brian Reed as he investigates the son of a wealthy family who has *allegedly* gotten away with murder.
Missing Richard Simmons
If you’re looking for something hella controversial to listen to on your morning commute, look no further. Filmmaker Dan Taberski, a friend of Richard Simmons, combs through many odd clues that may have led to Simmons’s disappearance. Since the podcast’s release, fans have argued that the podcast violates Simmons’s rights to personal privacy — but it still hasn’t stopped it from being one of the most downloaded podcasts of the year.
Still Buffering
Bridging the gap between teenagers of the past and present, real life sisters Sydnee McElroy, Teylor Smirl, and Rileigh Smirl, ask their guests everything from how they partied in their day to hair tips that span all of their generations. It’s hilarious, informative, and definitely a great break from all the true-crime podcasts out there.
Don’t Keep Your Day Job
Showcasing the many small ways that help creative people to make a living doing what they love, host Cathy Heller interviews screenwriters, fashion designers, chefs, songwriters, and many more entrepreneurs, to learn how they actually went about turning their side hustle into a career.
Women of the Hour
Lena Denham’s popular podcast is all about discussing various topics with strong women — including Cara Delevingne, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Janet Mock. Tackling topics that range from reproductive rights to cats, you never know what you’re going to learn.
Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People
When was the last time you genuinely got to know a complete stranger? In this touching, hilarious, and sometimes controversial show, comedian Chris Gethard talks to an anonymous stranger on the phone about anything they’d like with one stipulation — he can’t hang up first.
Stuff You Should Know
If you’re looking for a podcast that’ll help you learn something cool on your way to work, this is definitely the one for you. It touches on everything from how breast implants work, to the quinoa revolution — join Josh and Chuck as they explore all the adulting things you really should know.
Reveal
Produced by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, this podcast uncovers the truth behind some of the world’s most hidden secrets. Hosted by Al Letson, the series has well over 100 episodes and is *definitely* worthy of a download.
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