Starting a small business? - Jennifer Openshaw has a nifty article on MarketWatch

Play within the rules, but use them. Hobbies are not businesses, so be careful.

It's titled "Let the tax genie out of the bottle" and she touches on a lot of things, and I'll refine on one. If you have a teenager earning his or her first few dollars, whether in the situations she describes, or in a "traditional" teenager job, think about (heck, do it!) setting up a Roth IRA for the kid. Nudge him or her to save half of the pay earned, and put it in the Roth. Since it's a Roth, and it is very long term money, you can invest it rather aggressively. One good possibility might be a good no-load growth stocks-oriented mutual fund. Don't do the load fund thing. Take a little time, look around the free content on Morningstar's site, find a high-rated fund with low initial and additional investment minimums. It could be the start of something very good for your child to have thirty or forty years from now. This is not a complete investment program, but it is a way to start.


Want to reap of more tax benefits? Start your own business - MarketWatch