Many people are leaving off an easy 30 to 60 dollar refund when they file their income tax this year. I-R-S officials say already, 250-thousand people in North Carolina missed the one line on their tax form for the one-time only telephone tax refund. Spokesman Mark Hanson says in a news release that amounts to more than 7-and-a-half million dollars in credits people are eligible for, but haven't taken.



Here's how it works: Anyone who paid long-distance excise taxes on land-line, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), or bundled service that was billed for the period after Feb 28, 2003 and before Aug 1, 2006 is eligible for this refund. That's most of us.



You can request a refund of the actual federal excise tax you paid based upon your telephone bills for this period. Or you can request the standard refund amount ranging from $30-$60 based upon the number of exemptions you claim on your individual income tax return.



Choosing the standard amount is optional. Using this option is the easiest way to get your refund and avoid gathering 41 months of old phone records. By choosing the standard amount you will only need to fill out one line on your tax return. The standard amount is based on actual telephone usage data and reflects the long-distance phone tax paid by similarly sized families or households.

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