US Taxes: Telephone Excise Tax Refund question + EITC!
Hi folks! This is my first post. I'm so glad this community exists.
My TAX TIME!! question is about the Federal Telephone Excise Tax... this is a $30-60+ refund anyone who paid the excise tax on their on their "long-distance or bundled phone service between Feb. 28, 2003, and Aug. 1, 2006" is entitled to.
This refund comes in this year's taxes only, so take advantage of it y'all!
It looks like, unless you try to get more than the "standard refund amount" (which is an averaged refund calculation based simply on the number of exemptions you claim), you don't have to provide ANY paperwork to prove that you paid the tax on your long-distance bill. In other words they seem to be handing it out kind of willy-nilly.
So, I've been working on my taxes online, and the program somehow added this refund ($30!) automatically into its calculation of my refund. But i'm not technically eligible because I've never paid for any long-distance service, or any phone line at all for that matter.
Supposing I can't figure out how to make the online program take that phone tax refund out ... should I take the refund anyway?
I.E. could I possibly get in trouble for taking this one-time refund which I'm not technically eligible for?
Also I wanted to spread the good word about the federal Earned Income Tax Credit which could give a lot of people here a bunch of extra money (it bolstered my federal refund by at least $200!).
From what I understand, the basic rules for being eligible for the EITC are
1) you were 25 or older at the end of 2006 (age limit only if you're childless),
2) your income was under $12,120 [or $14,120 if married filing jointly] (the income limit is higher if you have kids)
3) you're not claimed as a dependent of anyone else on their taxes.
More details on the IRS site.
Thanks everyone! And good luck with your government-milking this spring.
My TAX TIME!! question is about the Federal Telephone Excise Tax... this is a $30-60+ refund anyone who paid the excise tax on their on their "long-distance or bundled phone service between Feb. 28, 2003, and Aug. 1, 2006" is entitled to.
This refund comes in this year's taxes only, so take advantage of it y'all!
It looks like, unless you try to get more than the "standard refund amount" (which is an averaged refund calculation based simply on the number of exemptions you claim), you don't have to provide ANY paperwork to prove that you paid the tax on your long-distance bill. In other words they seem to be handing it out kind of willy-nilly.
So, I've been working on my taxes online, and the program somehow added this refund ($30!) automatically into its calculation of my refund. But i'm not technically eligible because I've never paid for any long-distance service, or any phone line at all for that matter.
Supposing I can't figure out how to make the online program take that phone tax refund out ... should I take the refund anyway?
I.E. could I possibly get in trouble for taking this one-time refund which I'm not technically eligible for?
Also I wanted to spread the good word about the federal Earned Income Tax Credit which could give a lot of people here a bunch of extra money (it bolstered my federal refund by at least $200!).
From what I understand, the basic rules for being eligible for the EITC are
1) you were 25 or older at the end of 2006 (age limit only if you're childless),
2) your income was under $12,120 [or $14,120 if married filing jointly] (the income limit is higher if you have kids)
3) you're not claimed as a dependent of anyone else on their taxes.
More details on the IRS site.
Thanks everyone! And good luck with your government-milking this spring.