Should You Hire Your Son or Daughter?

Being the owner of a small business is a wonderful thing because you can make your own decisions about who to hire. However, when you’re a parent, hiring decisions can sometimes get a little tricky.

You COULD hire your child to work for you, but SHOULD you? While, ultimately, you know your child better than anyone and thus are the only person who can really make that decision, there are a few good reasons that you might want to think about doing so.   

Reason to Hire #1: You’ll Teach Your Kids a Thing or Two

If you do choose to hire your child or children to work for you, you’ll (probably) be teaching the kiddos a thing or two about work ethic.

We say probably because the value of this learning opportunity really falls on you. If you give your kids special treatment and let them slide on the rules, they won’t learn anything- plus you’ll probably earn some disgruntled employees complaining of favoritism and unfair treatment to boot.

If, however, you do your part and make your kids follow the same rules as everyone else, you’ll be setting them up for a lifetime of working success and acquiring a good worker for your business as well.

Reason to Hire #2: Tax Benefits

If you hire your kids and find that they’re willing and able to do the work, you’ll enjoy an awesome tax benefit, which, in and of itself, is reason enough to hire your kin!

As long as the offspring working for you is under 18, you won’t have to withhold any payroll taxes, pay any taxes, or pay unemployment taxes. You and your child will also enjoy the standard deduction, and your kiddo can contribute to an IRA as well, taking some of the future financial burden off of you. It’s a win-win all around, as long as your child can do the work required of him or her.

However, there are always special circumstances and rules when it comes to tax law, so check with your accountant or tax advisor before applying any of these tips to paper.

Reason to Hire #3: Happiness

And you thought we were all about money. While financial matters are important, at the end of the day, the most important thing is the relationship you have with your family, especially your children.

When you keep your kiddos close- and what could be closer than having them work for you?- you’ll be involved in your kids’ lives and aware of what they’re doing.

And, yes, we do have to take it back to the financial side of things, this could prevent costly legal fees in the future, help your kid to pay for college so the burden isn’t all on you, and make your child more responsible with money all around, which also helps your future self.

So, Mom or Dad, what are you waiting for? Hire Junior and see how things work out!