Telephone Excise Tax Refund

Telecommunication Audit

Telephone Excise Tax Refund

Updated Jan. 29, 2008 The Telephone Excise Tax Refund (TETR) was a one-time payment available on your tax year 2006 federal income tax return. It was designed to refund excise taxes previously collected on long distance telephone services billed after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006. Most phone customers, including most cell-phone users, qualified for the refund. More than 70 percent of individuals who were eligible to request the refund did so last year on their tax year 2006 tax returns.  If you did not request the refund on your tax year 2006 tax return, you can file an amended tax return for 2006. You cannot request a refund of telephone excise taxes on your tax year 2007 tax return. A request for a refund of the actual amount of taxes paid should not exceed 3 percent of your total phone bill for long distance or bundled service billed after Feb. 28, 2003 and before Aug. 1, 2006. Avoid tax return preparers who falsely claim that many, if not most, phone customers can get hundreds of dollars or more back under this program. Tips for Requesting the Refund Individuals and businesses who did not claim the refund last year can find out how to claim it this year by amending their tax year 2006 tax return.   Questions? We've got answers. This refund will be the most wide-reaching in IRS history — more than 160 million filers may request it. That's a lot of questions. Qs and As for Individuals Qs and As for Businesses Qs and As for Government Entities Qs and As for Indian Tribal Governments If you don't find your answer, follow the instructions at the bottom of the Qs and As for contacting the IRS for assistance. Related Items IR-2007-144, Phone Customers Can Still Request Excise Tax Refund, IRS Says Justice Department news release, Miami Return Preparer Sentenced for Telephone Excise Tax Fraud Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and its instructions (PDF) Form 8913 and its instructions (PDF) Notice 2007-11, Communications Excise Tax; Toll Telephone Service (PDF) IR-2007-40, 10 Million Taxpayers Miss Out on Telephone Tax Refunds; IRS Urges People to Check before Filing IR-2007-36, IRS Moves to Stop Abusive Telephone Tax Refund Requests; Search Warrants Target Tax Preparers in Seven Cities Nationwide IR-2007-27, IRS Moves to Prevent Telephone Tax Refund Abuse; Help Taxpayers Make Accurate Requests IR-2007-26, IRS Begins Processing Returns Claiming Extender Deductions; Urges Taxpayers to File Electronically, Check on Phone Tax Refund IR-2007-21, Mistakes Abound on Telephone-Tax Refund Requests; IRS Offers Tips for Getting a Speedy Refund IR-2007-16, Some Telephone Tax Refund Requests May Be Too High; IRS Will Deny Improper Requests FS-2007-12, Tax Return Preparer Fraud IR-2006-179, Businesses and Tax-Exempts Can Use Formula for Telephone Tax Refund IR-2006-137, IRS Announces Standard Amounts for Telephone Tax Refunds IR-2006-82, Government to Stop Collecting Long-Distance Telephone Tax Treasury Department news release, Treasury Announces End to Long-Distance Telephone Excise Tax Notice 2006-50, Communications Excise Tax; Toll Telephone Service (PDF) Internal Revenue Bulletin 2006-25, June 19, 2006 (PDF)