Children and the Family Business
Have you heard the ad on the radio? You know, the one with the kid talking with the cute lisp about her Dad’s used car lot? Or how about the yellow page ad, the one with the picture of the dentist and his family? Do the used car salesman and the dentist think that using their children in their ads will help bring in business? Or maybe the reason they have their children in their ad is because they have a shrewd tax adviser?
One of the benefits of running a small business, and especially a family business, is the ability to hire your children. Children under the age of 18, working in their parent’s unincorporated business, are not subject to the same rules as other employees. As such, there can be considerable tax and business advantages to hiring your children.
Unlike other employees, when parents hire their children, they do not need to pay payroll taxes such as Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes on their child’s income. Worker’s Compensation insurance is usually not required. Thanks to the standard deduction, in 2008, children can earn up to $5,450 completely tax free, and any income over that will be taxed at the child’s tax rate, not the parent’s. (It is only on unearned income, such as dividends and interest, that children are taxed at their parent’s tax rate.) If you have your child contribute to their own traditional IRA, they can earn an additional $5,000 tax free.
If your child does not need that extra $5,000 deduction, consider contributing to your child’s Roth IRA. A Roth IRA can be a great way for children to save for college and for a first time home purchase. Because Roth IRA contributions are not tax deductable, you can withdraw them at any time without penalty. Earnings can also be withdrawn penalty free for IRS approved expenses such as college and for a first time home purchase. (Please check with your tax adviser regarding your personal situation.)
Having your children work in your business can provide large tax breaks, however, be aware that the IRS looks at these arrangements closely. It is very important that you treat your child just like any other employee. This means they should have a regular work schedule, they should keep track of their hours, and they should be paid on a regular schedule. Be sure to write an actual check to your child and deposit the check into the child’s bank account. You must also pay your children at the same rate as you would pay a non family member. It is not reasonable to pay your 7 year old $1,000 per month to take out the trash!
Keep excellent records when you have your children work for you. In addition to the regular payroll records that you keep for all employees, keep a record of the actual work that your child does. This will come in handy if the IRS ever questions the validity of your child’s employment.
What kinds of work can you have your children do? Young teens can do cleaning and basic office work such as filing and data entry. Older teens can greet customers, answer phones and schedule appointments. But what about the younger kids? Remember our car salesman and dentist? Children and even babies can be hired as models for your print ads and as talent for your radio ads. Not only can you pay them for the time spent in creating the ad, you can pay them a royalty every time the ad is played or printed.
So consider hiring your children to work in the family business. You’ll give them valuable life skills while creating tax benefits for yourself, and retirement savings for them.
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Tax Freedom Day
This year Tax Freedom Day arrived on Wednesday, April 23, 2008. What is tax freedom day? That is the day that Americans stop working for the government, and start working for themselves. Just think about it, all the money that you have earned up until last Wednesday, went to pay taxes. Not just federal income taxes, but state income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes, sales taxes and property taxes.
Every year The Tax Foundation calculates Tax Freedom Day. They ask “What price is the nation paying for government?” The answer is shocking. Americans pay more for taxes than for food, clothing and housing combined. About 33% of all income goes towards maintaining the government.
Different states have different Tax Freedom Days, depending on the overall income of the State residents, and the State and City tax rates. Residents of Alaska have the earliest tax freedom day. They started working for themselves on March 29. They are followed by Mississippi (April 7), Montana (April 8), West Virginia (April 8), and Alabama (April 9).
Residents of Connecticut will have to wait the longest. Tax Freedom Day doesn’t come for them until May 8! They are followed by New Jersey (May 7), New York (May 5), California (April 30) and Washington (April 29).
For more information on Tax Freedom Day, and to find the date you quit working for the government, check out The Tax Foundation’s Website.
What do you think? Are Americans paying too much in taxes?
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Net Fool’s Blog Contest
Tax Season is finally over and to celebrate I am going off topic today. The Net Fool is having a contest and I signed up as a sponsor! I am only one of many, this contest has so many prizes offered that everyone who enters should win something! Prizes include cash, blog reviews, advertising and much more. In fact, there is over $4,500 being offered in cash and prizes! For a complete list of prizes keep reading. To enter the contest click on the banner above and read the post at The Net Fool.
I’m going to run my own little side contest here in conjunction with the Net Fool Contest. Leave a comment on this post and I will give 10 random commentors 10 Entrecredits each! Make sure I know your Entrecard ID!
Now for the prize list…it’s huge!
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Last Minute Tax Tips
Here are some last minute tax tips straight from the IRS.
If you’re trying to beat the tax deadline, there are several options for last-minute help:
• Receive a six-month extension of time to file using Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
• Payment options are available to taxpayers having trouble paying their tax bill.
• Download forms and publications at IRS.gov.
Filing an extension will give you extra time to get the paperwork to the IRS and avoids the late-filing penalty, but it does not extend the time you have to pay any tax due. You must estimate your tax liability when you apply for an extension.
You will owe interest on any amounts not paid by the April deadline, and you also will be charged a penalty for late payment unless at least 90 percent of your tax liability is paid by the regular due date of your tax return.
You can also e-file an extension request using tax preparation software on your own computer or by going to a tax preparer.
If your return is completed but you are unable to pay the tax due, do not request an extension. File your return on time and pay as much as you can. The IRS will send you a bill or notice for the balance due and will charge interest and penalties only on the unpaid balance.
If you cannot pay the full amount due with your return, you can ask to make monthly installment payments for the full or a partial amount. You can apply for an IRS installment agreement using our Web-based Online Payment Agreement application on IRS.gov. The Web-based application allows eligible taxpayers or their authorized representatives to self-qualify, apply for, and receive immediate notification of approval. You can also request an installment agreement by submitting a completed Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, either when you file the return or when you later get a bill from the IRS.
For more information regarding extensions of time to file or installment agreements, including options for requesting an installment agreement online, visit the IRS Web site at IRS.gov and click on 1040 Central.
Remember that for the genuine IRS Web site be sure to use .gov. Don’t be confused by internet sites that end in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. The address of the official IRS governmental Web site is www.irs.gov.
Links:
- Form 4868, Application for Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (PDF 76K)
- Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request (PDF 100K)
Starting a Business? Free Online Classes to Get You Started on the Right Foot
Free Business Classes
There is more to starting a business than having a great idea. Just to get started you need to learn about marketing, taxes, and accounting. Then you will find you want to know more about developing a website, writing a business plan, and how to get federal grants. Hiring employees or contractors opens another can of worms! You could go to college and get your MBA which is expensive and time consuming. You could purchase countless books, and spend hours reading about moving cheese without finding what you need, or you can take advantage of a couple of resources available to anyone with an internet connection. The IRS and the SBA! Yes! Your tax dollars actually provide some useful services. Now is a good time to take advantage of these free business classes and feel like you are getting some benefit from the taxes you are paying.
The Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration is familiar to most people because of their small business loans. But they also have an excellent online education system. The Small Business Training Center is designed to “enrich, empower, and educate small businesses”. At first I thought this would be full of dry, government issued type courses, but it is not! While many of the courses are SBA courses, several are provided by private enterprises. My favorites are the mini courses provided by Trump University. Yes, you can learn from The Donald for FREE! Topics include “How to Write a Business Plan”, “How to Find Start-Up Funding” and even “How to Start a Business on a Shoestring Budget”.
Business Tax Classes at the Internal Revenue Service
Now that The Donald has filled your head with how to make money, now you need to go over to the IRS site and learn how to hold onto it! The IRS will teach you how to pay less tax. They have a number of different classes on taxation available at all levels. I recommend most business owners start with the Online Small Business Workshop. There you will learn everything you need to know about what taxes your business needs to pay and how to pay them. Then go to the Link and Learn section. This is where the IRS trains its volunteers and you have free access to the same information. There are all levels of tax instruction, plus special sections for military and overseas taxpayers.
Business Classes on TV at Small Business TV
Once the IRS has turned your brain to mush, you can watch news and information about business on SBTV. (Please note this is online TV and the audio starts right away. Be prepared to turn down your speakers!) SBTV has hundreds of videos on business how-tos, news, and business success stories. Today, April 7, 2008 they are featuring Jack Canfield on
7 Ways to Boost Your Business Just by Asking. SBTV also has a whole section on Tech Tactics, Making Technology Work For You After spending the weekend struggling with technology that is sounding like a very interesting topic to me!
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