Telephone Excise Tax Refund

On 2006 income tax returns, the IRS is offering a one-time credit to refund excise taxes paid on long distance telephone charges from February 28, 2003 to August 1, 2006. This is being done because a federal court ruled last year that the IRS was improperly imposing the tax on most long distance telephone services.

Individuals have two options for claiming the refund:
1) You may request a standard amount of $30-$60 (based on the number of exemptions you claim) on your 2006 individual income tax return, or
2) You may go through your phone bills for the 41-month covered period and request a refund of the actual amount of excise tax improperly paid using IRS Form 8913.

Businesses also have two options for claiming the refund:
1) Businesses may go through phone bills for the 41-month covered period and request a refund of the actual amount of excise tax improperly using IRS Form 8913, or
2) Businesses may use a special formula developed by the IRS to estimate their refund amount.