Quick Facts

• If you paid long distance charges on a land line, cell phone, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, for which you received a bill at any time after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006, you most likely paid the telephone excise tax and are eligible to request a refund.
• The refund applies to taxes paid on any long-distance telephone service, including landline, cell phone or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.
• More than 159 million businesses and individuals are eligible to request the telephone tax refund on their 2006 federal income tax returns. Millions of these long-distance customers are not required to file regular income tax returns but are still eligible for the refund.
• Individuals who are not normally required to file a regular federal income tax form may request a refund using Form 1040EZ-T.
• Long-distance customers who find it is more advantageous to request a refund using the actual amount of tax paid may do so by filling out Form 8913 and attaching it to their federal income tax returns or to Form 1040EZ-T.
• Eligible individuals can request a standard refund amount between $30 and $60 based on the number of exemptions they claim. This may be easiest way for people to get their refunds and avoid gathering 41 months of old phone bills.
• Individuals may opt to base their refund requests on the actual amount of taxes on long-distance service billed after  Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006, using Form 8913. Federal access charges and state and local taxes charged are not included in the refund.
• An estimated $10 billion will be refunded to individual taxpayers through the telephone excise tax refund.
• Taxpayers who are filing a regular income tax return will not receive a separate check — the refund will either reduce the amount owed on their 2006 federal income tax returns, or increase their overall refunds.