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Article added or updated:
03/30/2008 |
IRS Announces Standard Amounts for Telephone Tax
Refunds
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IR-2006-137, Aug. 31, 2006
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the standard
amounts that most long-distance customers can use to figure their
telephone tax refund. These amounts, which range from $30 to $60, will
enable millions of individual taxpayers to request the telephone tax
refund without having to dig through old phone bills.
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In general, anyone who paid the long-distance telephone tax will get the
refund on their 2006 federal income tax return. This includes
individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The 2006 return is
usually filed during 2007.
The standard amounts are based on the total number of exemptions claimed
on the 2006 federal income tax return. The standard amounts are $30 for
a person filing a return with one exemption, $40 for two exemptions, $50
for three exemptions and $60 for four or more exemptions. For example, a
married couple filing a joint return with two dependent children (for a
total of four exemptions) will be eligible for the maximum standard
amount of $60.
“The easiest way for eligible taxpayers to get their money back is to
use the standard amounts,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “These
amounts save taxpayers from locating 41 months of old phone bills and
analyzing these bills to determine the taxes paid. We believe the
standard amounts are both reasonable and fair.”
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To get the standard amount,
eligible taxpayers only need to fill out one additional line on their
regular 2006 return. The IRS is creating a special short form (Form
1040EZ-T) for those who don’t need to file a regular return.
The standard amounts are based on actual telephone usage data, and the
standard amount applicable to a family or other household reflects the
long-distance phone tax paid by similarly sized families or households.
Those who paid the long-distance tax on service billed after Feb. 28,
2003 and before Aug. 1, 2006 are eligible for a refund.
Only individuals can use the standard amounts. Alternatively, individual
taxpayers can choose to figure their refund using the actual amount of
tax paid.
Details on requesting the telephone tax refund will be included in all
2006 tax return materials and on irs.gov.
Though businesses and nonprofits must base their telephone tax refund on
the actual amount of tax paid, the IRS is looking for ways to make the
refund process easier for these taxpayers. The IRS is considering an
estimation method businesses and nonprofits may use for figuring the tax
paid.
"Businesses and nonprofits generally have more varied usage patterns
than individuals do," Everson said. "We've met with a number of
business
and nonprofit groups to understand their concerns, and we plan to
continue to work with them to come up with a reasonable method for
estimating telephone excise tax refund amounts."
Comments and suggestions for simplifying the refund process for
businesses and nonprofits should be e-mailed to Telephone.Tax@irs.gov.
The deadline for these comments is Sept. 15, 2006.
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prior to acting on any advice found here. We do NOT dispense advice on
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