Whitney Port has been super-candid throughout her pregnancy journey, sharing all the changes happening in her life with fans as her little one continues to grow. After offering up thoughts on nutrition tips and her struggles with her body image while pregnant, the mom-to-be is now letting us in on her biggest maternity secret yet: her killer style. We’d wear most of her maternity looks whether we were pregnant or not, and in her latest blog post, the fashion designer says her enviable fashion has all been courtesy of one brand in particular.
Port is raving about Tilden, a company which caters to new mothers in all stages of their pregnancy and postpartum experience with clothes designed to flatter the body in all its changing shapes.”[Tilden] empowers women to seamlessly transition into motherhood without losing their identity along the way,” she wrote.
Whether you’re expecting but not showing much, about to “pop,” or already a few months into doing the whole mom thing, Port says they’ve got you covered. “They photograph looks on truly pregnant, pre-pregnancy, and post-pregnancy models to illustrate how a garment will change with you.” What a novel idea!
Prior to finding the brand, The Hills star echoed many of former co-star Lauren Conrad’s sentiments about troubles finding adequate — yet still stylish — maternity wear. “Lately I’ve realized that specific maternity collections just run way too big!” she wrote. “Sometimes they overcompensate with more fabric, and it is just not necessary; it ends up making you look bigger than you are!”
It’s not ideal for the 32-year-old, who wants to be able to reuse her picks once the baby is born. “New moms shouldn’t waste money on maternity clothing that is only relevant and flattering for a few short months of pregnancy,” she says. “Nor should they waste time and lose confidence by dressing and undressing multiple times a day based on feeding schedules, work, and home life.” Hear, hear!
While some of her favorite styles have since sold out, you can get still get your hands on plenty of her adorable picks, all of which she’s offering 20 percent off on at checkout when you use the code WHITNEY. Check out some of the highlights below!
Enza Costa V-Neck Caftan
Boho babes will love the tie-dye print of this chic number, which hits just above the knee with side slits besides. Dress it up with heels for a night out or pair it with flats for your next vacay: The choice is yours!
Amanda Uprichard Janis Shirt Dress
People will be none the wiser to your pregnancy status in this roomy shirtdress, which can be worn in any season (just add leggings!) and features side vents for hot summer days.
ALC Ethan Coat
This one’s definitely an investment piece at nearly $700, but it’s also one you’ll be able to rock for seasons to come once you’d had your baby, thanks to its versatile adjustable tie waist. In fact, you can even order your regular pre-pregnancy size, which Tilden says should fit just fine, bump and all.
Diane von Furstenberg Madera Tunic
This simple neutral shift dress just needs a necklace to make for a complete ensemble. With its oversized fit, you can wear your regular size before, during, AND after your pregnancy. Bless!
J. Brand Mama J Super Skinny Jeans
These fade-resistant jeans have stretchy side panels that will give throughout your pregnancy for a chic look that won’t make you feel stuffed into a too-tight pair of pants.
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:
You X Ventures for Unsplash
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.
Kobu Agency for Unsplash
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