Special One time tax credit on 2006 tax return

http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/excise.asp

When it comes time to prepare and file your 2006 tax return, make sure you
don't overlook the "federal excise tax refund credit." You claim the credit
on line 71 of your form 1040. A similar line will be available if you file
the short form 1040A. If you have family or friends who no longer file a tax
return AND they have their own land phone in their home and have been paying
a phone bill for years, make sure they know about this form 1040EZ-T.

What is this all about? Well the federal excise tax has been charged to you
on your phone bill for years. It is an old tax that was assessed on your
toll calls based on how far the call was being made and how much time you
talked on that call. When phone companies began to offer flat fee phone
service, challenges to the excise tax ended up in federal courts in several
districts of the country. The challenges pointed out that flat fee/rate
phone service had nothing to do with the distance and the length of the
phone call. Therefore, the excise tax should/could not be assessed.

The IRS has now conceded this argument. Phone companies have been given
notice to stop assessing the federal excise tax as of Aug 30, 2006. You will
most likely see the tax on your September cutoff statement, but it should
NOT be on your October bill.

But the challengers of the old law also demanded restitution. So the IRS has
announced that a one time credit will be available when you and I file our
2006 tax return as I explained above. However, the IRS also established
limits on how BIG a credit you can get Here's how it works.

If you file your return as a single person with just you as a dependent, you
get to claim a $30 credit on line 71 of your 1040.

If you file with a child or a parent as your dependent, you claim $40.

If you file your return as a married couple with no children ,you claim $40.

If you file as married with children, you claim $50 if one child, $60 if two
children.

In all cases, the most you get to claim is $60 - UNLESS you have all your
phone bills starting AFTER Feb 28, 2003 through July 31, 2006 (do not use
any bills starting Aug 1, 2006.), then you can add up the ACTUAL TAX AS IT
APPEARS ON YOUR BILLS AND CLAIM THAT FOR A CREDIT.

Now if you have your actual phone bills and come up with an ACTUAL TAX
AMOUNT, you cannot use line 71 on your tax return. You have to complete a
special form number 8913 and attach it to your tax return.

Individuals using the special from 1040EZ-T will have to attach this form
8913 also.

One final point - this credit is a refundable credit. That means you get
this money, no matter how your tax return works out. If you would end up
owing the IRS a balance, the refund will reduce that balance you owe. If you
end up getting a refund, the credit will be added and you get a bigger
refund by that $30 to $60, depending on how many dependents are on your
return.