Phone Bills Too High? A Tax Refund Will Help Ease The Pain.
January 8, 2007
This is the one time that a big phone bill may work out to your advantage. The IRS is granting a tax refund to give back money collected for federal excise taxes on long-distance phone calls since 2003. It allows a standard refund you can claim on your tax return. According to an article in the Arizona Republic the standard amounts are based on the number of exemptions you take, listed below:
1 exemption - $30 refund
2 exemptions - $40 refund
3 exemptions - $50 refund
4+ exemptions - $60 refund
However, the federal excise tax is charged as a percentage of your phone bill. So if you run up high bills every month, you may be better off filing a refund for the amount of the tax you actually paid between Feb. 28, 2003, and Aug. 1, 2006.
Of course this means that you have to go through all those long-distance phone bills and add up the total; but the higher your bills the wiser it may be. One thing to note is that you have to file Form 8913 with the IRS if you calculate your actual taxes paid instead of taking the standard refund. See the IRS website for more information.
[…] Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully you enjoyed the tax tips. As your prepare your 2006 tax returns don’t forget to put more money in your pocket by taking advantage of the refund for the federal excise tax. Some phone providers are making it easier by offering access to your past phone bills back to February 2003. If you found these tips helpful then subscribe to my feed for daily updates! […]
[…] How is federal excise tax listed on phone bills? Don’t miss out on this tax refun. Get back some of the fees you’ve been paying unnecessarily. […]