It’s that time of year (and we don’t mean award show season, even though we’re pretty super stoked about all the excuses to drink cheap champagne). If you’re one of the lucky few spending the final days of January mingling on the celebrity stomping ground that is Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival, you’ve got to look your best. Break out your puffiest winter parka or trendy topper and get ready to stand out among the stars when you waltz down the slick slope of Main Street with these 10 snow bunny-approved essentials for Sundance.
1. Antler Necklace ($36): The Wasatch range is full of wildlife, and you might actually see them in the snowy fields around Park City. Blend in with the leaders of the pack with a subtle yet bold antler necklace.
2. Gold Dots Carryall Tote ($52): As great as dainty bags can be, you’ll want something with a little more bulk to pair with your puffer jacket. Exude warmth + charm with this roomy polka dot tote.
3. Druzy Drop Earrings ($48): With hats + hoods galore, you may be tempted to skip earrings altogether. Instead, pick out a pair of earthy yet refined drop earrings to peek out from the bottom of your hand-knit hat. It’ll take your winter style from boring beanie to top-notch toboggan in no time.
4. Patterned Leggings ($58): Outerwear might be your main focus while packing your suitcase, but don’t forget about sub-zero temps after the sun sets. Keep your gams toasty between screenings with an extra base layer.
5. Leather Tassel Keychain ($26): Big mittened paws means a significant loss of dexterity while digging through your bag for the key to your cabin. Get to the après-ski/pre-screening party that much faster with a giant tasseled keychain.
6. Gold Curved Bar Necklace ($36): Park City was once a mining town and was literally built on the silver industry, but that doesn’t mean you should shy away from gold. This subtle stunner will slay as soon as you take off that mega winter coat.
7. Mirrored Sunglasses ($10): Sunglasses in winter? Yep! Your eyes will thank you when you realize how bright the sun reflecting off the glittery snow can be on a bluebird day.
9. Pucker Up Lip Scrub ($9): Beyond being cold AF, the mountain air is SUPER dry. Keep your lips from cracking + flaking with a moisturizing + exfoliating sugar scrub. Be sure to fill up your checked bag with more lotion than you would typically use in a year too. Thank us later ;)
10. Peaks Necklace ($48): Welcome to the mountains, y’all! Get inspired by the gorgeous landscape with a high-altitude necklace to match.
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