Taxpayers overlook easy refund

[stock guru]

Millions of taxpayers fail to claim easy phone-tax refund, IRS says

Posted 2/23/2007 3:01 PM ET
By Sandra Block, USA TODAY

More than 10 million taxpayers who have filed their federal tax returns so far this year failed to claim the telephone excise tax refund, a one-time refund that's worth up to $60, the IRS said Friday. And about half of those returns were filed by a tax preparer, the IRS said.

Last year, Treasury announced it would stop collecting the tax on long-distance service and would refund taxes billed from Feb. 28, 2003, to Aug. 1, 2006. The government decided to issue refunds after federal courts ruled the telephone excise tax was illegally applied to long-distance service.

Taxpayers who paid excise taxes on long-distance or "bundled" service have the option of claiming a standard amount, based on the number of personal exemptions on their tax returns, or the actual amount of taxes paid.

To claim the standard amount — which ranges from $30 to $60 — all taxpayers have to do is check a box on their tax return. But as of Feb. 16, about 30% of taxpayers who had filed didn't claim the refund, the IRS says.

And IRS Commissioner Mark Everson says the IRS was surprised that many tax preparers failed to request the refund for their clients. "We want all taxpayers

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http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2007-02-23-phone-refund_x.htm