This information is for individuals with no filing requirement or individuals who will file a Form 1040 series return without a business schedule C, E or F, and want to know if they are eligible to request a federal telephone excise tax refund and, if so, how to request a refund.
More information can also be found on the IRS Web site at Telephone Tax Refund or in the income tax return package. The Web site is available 7 days a week.
The telephone excise tax refund is a one-time payment that eligible taxpayers can request on their 2006 federal income tax returns. The refund is a credit that gives back long-distance federal excise taxes paid in previous years.
Specifically, if you paid long-distance taxes on a land line, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol service, or bundled services, for which you received a bill for any period from March 1, 2003 through July 31, 2006, you are eligible to request a telephone excise tax refund.
Requesting your refund is easy. When you fill out your tax return, you'll see a line titled "Credit for Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid" in the payments section of the Form 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ and 1040NR. All you need to do is enter the amount of your telephone excise tax credit on this line.
If you are not required to file a regular income tax return, we have created a new Form 1040EZ-T that you can use solely for the purpose of requesting your telephone excise tax refund.
There are two options you can use to figure out how much refund to request
The first option is to use the standard amount. For many taxpayers it may be faster and easier to use the standard amounts based on the number of exemptions you are claiming. These amounts are:
- $30 if you are claiming one exemption
- $40 if you are claiming two exemptions
- $50 if you are claiming three exemptions
- $60 if you are claiming four or more exemptions
If you chose this option, there are no additional forms to complete. Simply enter your request on the "Credit for Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid" line. You will not need your old telephone bills because we will not require you to produce any documentation of the amount of federal telephone excise tax you paid when you choose a standard amount.
The second option is to request the actual amount of taxes paid. For some taxpayers, this option may be beneficial. If you choose this option, you will need Form 8913 with the instructions. The Form 8913 Instructions list all the steps required to request the refund using this option. You will need the amount of federal telephone excise tax you paid from each of your telephone bills for the 41 months from March 2003 through July 2006. You will then need to determine what portion of the tax you paid is on long distance or bundled service. If, after reviewing the instructions for Form 8913 and looking at your telephone bills, you still have questions about how to identify the federal excise tax paid on long distance or bundled service, you will have to contact your telephone service provider for assistance. Finally, you must record the tax you paid on Form 8913 and submit the form along with your income tax return. Or use the new Form 1040EZ-T if you do not need to file a regular income tax return.
Copies of forms and instructions you will need may be downloaded for printing from the IRS Website or ordered by calling 1-800-829-3676.