Telephone Tax Refund
03-04-2007, 11:17 AM
#1
Administrator
Thread Starter
Joined APC: May 2006
Position: C-172
Posts: 8,024
Telephone Tax Refund
To all filers: don't forget this one time refund. Easy beer money! 
Below is info from the IRS, excerpted:
Last updated March 1, 2007
What is the telephone tax refund?
The telephone tax refund is a one-time payment available on your 2006 federal income tax return, designed to refund previously collected federal excise taxes on long-distance or bundled service. It is available to anyone who paid such taxes on landline, wireless, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
Why is the government refunding these taxes?
Several recent federal court decisions have held that the tax does not apply to long-distance service as it is billed today. The IRS is following these decisions and refunding the portion of the tax charged on long-distance calls. The IRS is also refunding taxes collected on telephone service under plans that do not differentiate between long distance and local calls including bundled service.
The telephone tax continues to apply to local-only service, and the IRS is not refunding taxes charged on local-only service.
The IRS will refund the taxes paid on long-distance or bundled service billed to taxpayers for the period after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006. Taxpayers should request this refund when they file their 2006 tax returns.
Who is eligible to request the telephone tax refund?
In general, any individual, business or nonprofit organization that paid the tax for long distance or bundled service billed after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006, is eligible to request the refund.
What is a refund eligible bundled service?
Bundled service is local and long distance service provided under a plan that does not separately state the charge for the local telephone service. Bundled service includes plans that provide both local and long distance service for either a flat monthly fee or a charge that varies with the elapsed transmission time for which the service is used. Telecommunications companies provide bundled service for both landline and wireless (cellular) service. If Voice over Internet Protocol service (VoIP) provides both local and long distance service and the charges are not separately stated, such service is bundled service.
The method of sending or receiving a call, such as on a landline telephone, wireless (cellular), or some other method, does not affect whether a service is local-only or bundled.
How do I get the telephone tax refund?
In general, anyone who paid the telephone tax on their long-distance or bundled service during the refund period (after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006) is eligible to request the refund on their 2006 federal income tax return. This includes individuals, businesses and nonprofit or tax exempt organizations. The 2006 return is usually filed during 2007.
Taxpayers can base their refund requests on the actual amount of tax paid. To do this, they must fill out Form 8913, Credit for Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid. This form is then attached to their regular 2006 income-tax returns.
But many people don’t want to dig through up to 41 months of old phone bills or lack the records they need to figure the actual amount of tax paid. For that reason, the government created a standard amount, ranging from $30 to $60 that individuals can use to request their refund.
Taxpayers who request the standard amount will only need to fill out one additional line on their tax returns. The standard amount is based on actual telephone usage data and the amount applicable to a family or other household reflects the taxes paid on long-distance or bundled phone service by similarly sized families or households.
What is the standard amount?
Individual taxpayers can take a standard amount from $30 to $60 based on the number of exemptions they are eligible to claim on their 2006 tax return. For those who can claim:
One exemption, the standard refund amount is $30;
Two exemptions, the standard refund amount is $40;
Three exemptions, the standard refund amount is $50;
Four exemptions or more, the standard refund amount is $60.
The instructions to the 2006 1040 tax forms provide more information on how to determine the correct number of exemptions. (Because the term “exemptions” does not appear on Form 1040EZ, people who fill out this form should follow the instructions carefully.)
Below is info from the IRS, excerpted:
Last updated March 1, 2007
What is the telephone tax refund?
The telephone tax refund is a one-time payment available on your 2006 federal income tax return, designed to refund previously collected federal excise taxes on long-distance or bundled service. It is available to anyone who paid such taxes on landline, wireless, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
Why is the government refunding these taxes?
Several recent federal court decisions have held that the tax does not apply to long-distance service as it is billed today. The IRS is following these decisions and refunding the portion of the tax charged on long-distance calls. The IRS is also refunding taxes collected on telephone service under plans that do not differentiate between long distance and local calls including bundled service.
The telephone tax continues to apply to local-only service, and the IRS is not refunding taxes charged on local-only service.
The IRS will refund the taxes paid on long-distance or bundled service billed to taxpayers for the period after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006. Taxpayers should request this refund when they file their 2006 tax returns.
Who is eligible to request the telephone tax refund?
In general, any individual, business or nonprofit organization that paid the tax for long distance or bundled service billed after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006, is eligible to request the refund.
What is a refund eligible bundled service?
Bundled service is local and long distance service provided under a plan that does not separately state the charge for the local telephone service. Bundled service includes plans that provide both local and long distance service for either a flat monthly fee or a charge that varies with the elapsed transmission time for which the service is used. Telecommunications companies provide bundled service for both landline and wireless (cellular) service. If Voice over Internet Protocol service (VoIP) provides both local and long distance service and the charges are not separately stated, such service is bundled service.
The method of sending or receiving a call, such as on a landline telephone, wireless (cellular), or some other method, does not affect whether a service is local-only or bundled.
How do I get the telephone tax refund?
In general, anyone who paid the telephone tax on their long-distance or bundled service during the refund period (after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006) is eligible to request the refund on their 2006 federal income tax return. This includes individuals, businesses and nonprofit or tax exempt organizations. The 2006 return is usually filed during 2007.
Taxpayers can base their refund requests on the actual amount of tax paid. To do this, they must fill out Form 8913, Credit for Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid. This form is then attached to their regular 2006 income-tax returns.
But many people don’t want to dig through up to 41 months of old phone bills or lack the records they need to figure the actual amount of tax paid. For that reason, the government created a standard amount, ranging from $30 to $60 that individuals can use to request their refund.
Taxpayers who request the standard amount will only need to fill out one additional line on their tax returns. The standard amount is based on actual telephone usage data and the amount applicable to a family or other household reflects the taxes paid on long-distance or bundled phone service by similarly sized families or households.
What is the standard amount?
Individual taxpayers can take a standard amount from $30 to $60 based on the number of exemptions they are eligible to claim on their 2006 tax return. For those who can claim:
One exemption, the standard refund amount is $30;
Two exemptions, the standard refund amount is $40;
Three exemptions, the standard refund amount is $50;
Four exemptions or more, the standard refund amount is $60.
The instructions to the 2006 1040 tax forms provide more information on how to determine the correct number of exemptions. (Because the term “exemptions” does not appear on Form 1040EZ, people who fill out this form should follow the instructions carefully.)
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
