
When it comes to DIY, there’s no age limit: Anyone can be a maker. This week, it was (mostly) about the next gen of creators and crafters: celebrity kids! From Milla Jovovich’s budding artist to Tori Spelling’s little soap maker, these kids have some SERIOUS skillz in the creative department, and they’re not even fully grown. Check out some of their impressive creations below!
1. Nicole “Snooki” LaValle: Nicole got creative with some ribbons and a pair of scissors, making cheer bows as her daughter Giovanna helped… well, sort of. Watch their hilarious antics here.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Milla Jovovich (@millajovovich) on
2. Milla Jovovich: Milla shared how important it was to stoke the fires of a young creative mind, writing, “Mother of a modern burgeoning artist. Inspiring my kids to find their passion is pretty much my only job as a mom. That and making sure they have impeccable manners, eat their veggies and read books. Done, done, done and done. Well… most of the time at least.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Lauren Conrad (@laurenconrad) on
3. Lauren Conrad: LC showed us how the grown-ups do DIY with her super fun (and pretty) zucchini pizza bites. Find out how to make your own here.
View this post on Instagram#ToddlerArt with grandma ❤️🎨 #Masterpiece
A post shared by Reese Witherspoon (@reesewitherspoon) on
3. Reese Witherspoon: Milla isn’t the only one with a burgeoning artist coming up! “#ToddlerArt with grandma,” Reese captioned this vid of her little painter. “#Masterpiece.”
4. Tori Spelling: The old saying “the apple doesn’t fall from the tree” rang true for Tori Spelling’s daughter Stella, as she proved this week with her handmade gem soaps in a totally crafty move. “Stella has become such a little #DIY queen!” Tori writes proudly. “Check out these gemstone soaps she made and see how you can make your own over at ToriSpelling.com.” Way to go, Stella!
5. Tia Mowry: Tia spilled the beans on her secret roasted vegetable ingredients, writing, “Brussels sprouts and broccoli with a little char! Yum! My favorite! Onion powder and garlic takes these bad boys to the next level!”
6. Piper Perabo: Notorious star Piper Perabo bid the world goodnight with her latest artwork, writing “Good night you beauties.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Molly Sims (@mollybsims) on
7. Molly Sims: Not only did Molly’s kids make these adorable finger paintings, they used homemade edible finger paints. “Did you know that finger painting is beneficial for growing minds?” Molly shared. “I’m on vacation but missing my kids and wanted to share the details and the recipe for this homemade edible finger paint.” Find the recipe here!
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Laura Prepon (@lauraprepon) on
8. Laura Prepon: Laura Prepon shares her kitchen organization hack, writing “Something that helps with my busy schedule is pre-washing lettuces and putting them in some kind of stay-fresh container. When I’m tired from work, lots of times I’ll skip lettuce because I don’t want to wash it. This trick makes it grab-ready.”
What’s your favorite kid-friendly DIY activity? Share with us over @BritandCo!
(Photo via Michael Buckner/Getty)
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