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February 06, 2007
Don't forget about that $30 tax credit
I already posted about the money the U.S. Treasury Dept wrongfully took from you if you've paid your phone bill anytime in the last 100 years. The details are here. Now the IRS is helping you get some of that money back but it seems that a lot of people aren't claiming the money.
Almost on the bottom of Form 1040, line 71, is something called "Credit for federal telephone excise tax paid." I just did my taxes this weekend, and even though I knew about this credit, I still almost missed it. A spokesman for the IRS, Eric Smith, said this week that, "A little more than one-in-three returns are omitting the telephone tax refund."
The refund is only available this year. If you've paid long-distance between March 2003 and July 2006 you can either claim the credit or add up all the excise tax you paid and claim that. (Does anyone really keep their phone bills for four years? I shred mine as soon as I finish paying the bill online).
Here's what to claim: If you have one exemption, claim a $30 refund; two exemptions, $40; three exemptions, $50; and four exemptions, $60.
Posted by brian at February 6, 2007 03:59 PM