Communications excise tax refund requests by exempt organizations

 

Some exempt organizations are exempt from telephone excise taxes. 

Exempt payors include the following organizations:

  • Nonprofit hospitals, for services furnished to such organizations
  • Nonprofit educational organizations, for services furnished to such organizations
  • State and local governments and their instrumentalities, on excise tax exemptions that may apply when goods or services are purchased for the use of state and local governments

A claim for refund of telephone excise tax by an exempt payor should be requested on Form 8849, Claim for Refund of Excise TaxesPDF.

Nonprofit hospitals

For purposes of this exemption, a nonprofit hospital means a hospital referred to in section 170(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the Internal Revenue Code which is exempt from income tax under section 501(a).  See Publication 557PDF for more information.

Nonprofit educational organization

A nonprofit educational organization is one that satisfies all of the following requirements:

  • It normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum.
  • It normally has a regularly enrolled body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on.
  • It is exempt from tax under section 501(a).

A school operated by a section 501(c)(3) exempt organization that meets the above requirements is a nonprofit educational organization.

For any of these exemptions to apply, purchase of the services or facilities must be for the use of the exempt payor.  Thus, for example, a college’s purchase of communications services for use by students residing in dormitories would not be exempt.

Additional information