Sam's Club® Asks Tax Experts: Best Tax Time Solutions for Small Businesses

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sam's Club continues to help members prepare for business success by providing solutions and savings for tax time. To help small businesses navigate the maze of laws and tax forms, as well as save on tax prep supplies, Sam's Club polled its buyers and turned to a few tax preparation experts for best practices.

"At Sam's Club, helping your business save money is our resolution," said Phil Shellhammer, senior merchandise director of office solutions, Sam's Club. "We provide the supplies small business owners and operators need for tax season at great values, and we have simple solutions from experts for filing taxes this year."

In a recent study, Sam's Club members averaged 44% savings on office supplies over traditional retailers.* Sam's Club has everyday values on some of the most purchased items for tax time, including:

• TurboTax Home & Business, $79.98
• Quicken Home and Business 2011, $64.88
• HP Notebook 15.6", $799
• Toshiba 8G USB Drive, $19.87
• NeatReceipts Mobile Scanner and Digital Filing System, $148.72
• HP OJ6500A Plus Office AiO Printer, $139.87
• HP 920XL Color Ink, $39.98
• GP Copy Paper, $16.88
• Royal HG120 Shredder, $49.84

"Joining Sam's Club was definitely a great business opportunity," said Donald L., a small business owner/operator and Sam's Club Member since 1999. "I'm able to get printers and additional items for my business because the prices are great."

Members and those interested in saving money can see values add up at Sam's Club by bringing invoices from other suppliers to Clubs nationwide for a free cost comparison. Sam's Club also provides simple, helpful electronics support through Tech Experts, available 24 hours per day for pre-sale consultations, help with setup and advanced troubleshooting.

For Members on the go, SamsClub.com offers a large assortment of printer ink and more than 8,000 office products with shipping included and next-day delivery on most items.

"We want to be a source for products you need and a resource for solutions at tax time," Shellhammer said.

Here are a few pointers from the experts.

Work with a professional

Abraham Schneier, a tax expert with the American Institute of CPAs, says a CPA can help take advantage of newer provisions, such as the HIRE tax credit and Small Business Health Care tax credits for health insurance provided for employees.

"And there is some good news this year, because the rules have been lifted as far as documentation for cell phones and PDAs that small businesses provide for their employees," said Schneier. "It helps when you don't have to keep a lot of that kind of documentation."

Schneier also advises that small businesses need to be sure to collect all the information the IRS needs from any independent contractors employed.

Benefit from new laws

The National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) points out there may be several benefits for small businesses in new tax laws.

According to NATP, business owners should be aware of changes to what can be written off as business expenses, for example. In addition, NATP points out that there are tax credits available for paying employees' health insurance premiums.

And finally, businesses are no longer allowed to deposit federal taxes at the local bank using a paper deposit coupon. Instead, all deposits of federal tax must be made electronically through the IRS's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), NATP advises.

Find free help online

Many websites offer tax advice and resources online for small business, including information on irs.gov, called "Small Business and Self-Employed Filing Season Central."

The Small Business Administration offers "Fact Sheet: Tax Breaks for Small Businesses" at www.sba.gov.

"Tax time can be nerve-wracking, so it's good to tap into all the available resources," Shellhammer said.

Start getting ready for next year

To make next year's filing even easier, experts advise establishing a filing and storage system, with backup, for all important documents during the year. In addition, members can sign up for the IRS free monthly e-newsletter for small business.

About Sam's Club

Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is the nation's eighth largest retailer and a leading membership warehouse club offering superior products and services to more than 47 million Members in Clubs across the U.S., as well as in Brazil, China and Mexico. Members save an average of 30 percent over traditional retailers. To learn more about Savings Made Simple(SM), visit SamsClub.com, and look for Sam's Club on Twitter and Facebook.

*Based on estimated annualized savings on items members purchased in select categories derived from a survey conducted in 30 U.S. markets between 10/31/10 and 11/20/10 comparing our regular unit prices of selected non-Club competitors, including but not limited to, grocery stores and mass retailers but excluding Walmart. Local savings for individual customers vary.

SOURCE Sam's Club