Telephone
Excise
Tax
Refund
Due
to
recent
federal
court
decisions,
the
IRS
stopped
collecting
federal
excise
taxes
on
long
distance
telephone
service
on
August
1,
2006.
Taxpayers
will
be
eligible
to
receive
a
refund
of
all
excise
taxes
billed
to
them
for
long
distance
service
on
landlines,
cell
phones,
and
Voice
Over
Internet
Protocol.
The
refund
will
be a
one-time
payment
available
on
their
2006
federal
tax
return.
The
details:
- Available for federal long distance excise taxes only.
- For amounts billed after February 28, 2003 and before August 1, 2006.
- Individuals, businesses, and nonprofits are eligible for the refund.
- Individuals can use actual billed amounts or a standard refund amount.
- The standard refund amount will be between $30 and $60, depending on the number of exemptions.
- If the standard amount is used, you only need to fill out one line of the tax return.
- It will not matter whether you itemize or use the standard deduction; you will receive the standard refund amount.
- Businesses and nonprofits must use actual amounts and file Form 8913 (new in 2006).
- Another new form, 1040EZ-T, will be used to claim the refund for taxpayers not required to file a tax return.
- Economists at the U.S. Department of the Treasury estimate the amount refundable for these long distance telephone excise taxes will total around $10 billion.
| Number of Exemptions |
Standard Refund Amount |
| 1 |
$30 |
| 2 |
$40 |
| 3 |
$50 |
| 4 or more |
$60 |
- If the standard amount is used, you only need to fill out one line of the tax return.
- It will not matter whether you itemize or use the standard deduction; you will receive the standard refund amount.
- Businesses and nonprofits must use actual amounts and file Form 8913 (new in 2006).
- Another new form, 1040EZ-T, will be used to claim the refund for taxpayers not required to file a tax return.
- Economists at the U.S. Department of the Treasury estimate the amount refundable for these long distance telephone excise taxes will total around $10 billion.
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