January 2, 2009, Newsletter Issue #149: One Time Only 2006 Deduction

Tip of the Week


If you used telephone long distance or bundled services from February 28, 2003 to July 31, 2006, you may qualify for a one-time only refund of any federal excise tax paid you paid when using these services. This refund is available only for the 2006 income tax year. You can request a refund using either the actual amount or a standard deduction amount.

Actual amount: To claim a refund for the actual amount you paid for the federal excise tax applicable to you, you need to: 1) Find all your bills from that time period (42 months worth, to be exact). 2) Calculate the refund amount on Form 8913. 3) Put the calculated figure on the proper line of your 2006 Form 1040. a. Form 1040 – Line 71 b. Form 1040A – Line 42 c. Form 1040EZ – Line 9 4) Attach Form 8913 to your 2006 Form 1040. 5) Submit to IRS.

Standard Amount: Here is the breakdown for the standard amount you can take: If you claimed one exemption, the standard refund amount is $30. If you claimed two exemptions, it is $40. For three exemptions, it is $50. And, For four or more exemptions, the refund amount is $60. This is the maximum amount you can receive for this one-time only refund. The above information is applicable to individual taxpayers only. If you own a business, other procedures are involved in claiming your refund. You need to check the IRS website for more information.

Nonfilers: If you find that you do not need to file a regular 2006 income tax return, you still may request this one-time telephone refund. You simply need to use the new IRS Form 1040EZ-T to do this – if you want the standard refund amount. You can pick up paper copies of Form 1040EZ-T the same way you would all the other IRS forms – online (IRS.gov), by phone, or at local locations. You can file this form via paper or electronically. If you want the actual refund amount, you need fill out and attach Form 8913 to Form 1040EZ-T.

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