
We’re in the final stretch before The Most Important Day in October: Halloween. You know we’re right. I mean, who doesn’t love going to costume parties and eating candy? Going shopping for the perfect costume, however, can be expensive and overwhelming, so why not make your own? We’ve got about a million group costumes and couples’ costumes on the site, and plenty of pet costumes if you’re taking your dog out trick-or-treating. Today’s costume is for all you Star Wars lovers out there. We’ve got the perfect way to DIY an outfit inspired by R2D2.
Materials:
– iron-on transfer paper
– 40-inch blue ribbon
– white top
– polystyrene (or foam) ball
Tools:
– knife
– scissors
– iron
– glue gun
– black and blue Sharpies
1. First, we’re going to make R2D2’s head. Take your polystyrene ball and use your knife to cut it in half.
2. Then draw five blue shapes on the top of the ball as shown below. Keep adding details with your blue Sharpie.
3. Next, use your black Sharpie to draw the outline of the blue shapes and add a couple of black lenses as well.
4. Finally, glue this piece to the middle of your ribbon and ta-dah! You’ve got yourself an R2D2 headband.
5. Last but not least, print our template on a sheet of iron-on transfer paper, cut the excess and place it image-side down onto your shirt and iron.
6. Let everything completely cool and peel off the transfer paper. You’re done!
Let’s start with the head of the droid. Take a polystyrene ball and cut it in half. Draw the top of R2D2 on half of the ball using your blue Sharpie. Then use your black sharpie to outline the elements and add a couple of circles to make the lenses. Finally, take your blue ribbon, find the middle and glue the little piece in place. Voilà! You’re ready to wear your headband.
At this point it’s time to create the droid body. You can print your own design or download our template, but be sure to set your printer to “photo quality” for the best results. Now cut your design, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Place it onto your white top or tee and iron it image-side down. Since the template is quite big, we suggest you iron for at least two minutes, applying firm but even pressure. Check the producer’s instructions for best results. Lastly, let everything completely cool and slowly remove the paper. You’re done.
I decided to wear a blue tulle skirt to complete the look, but you can definitely choose any skirt or pants that you like.
Did you ever think a geek costume could be this cute and girly?
Which costume are you planning on wearing to your Halloween festivities this year? Let us know in the comments below.
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