• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money

Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money

Family, Marriage, Finances & Life

  • Toolkit
  • Contact
  • Lunch
  • Save A Ton Of Money
  • About Clever Dude
  • Our Editorial Commitment

Finances & Money

Cell phones qualify for telephone excise phone tax refund

March 19, 2007
By Cleverdude
- Leave a Comment

From the IRS:

You may be one of the nearly 160 million phone customers who can request a refund of the 3% federal excise tax paid on long-distance and bundled phone service billed after Feb. 28, 2003 and before Aug. 1, 2006. Federal long-distance excise taxes paid on cell phone, land line, fax, Internet phone service and bundled service all qualify for the refund. Phone plans that provide both local and long-distance service for either a flat monthly fee (the charge for local service is not separately stated) or a charge that varies with the time for which the service is used are considered bundled services.

You can request the refund in one of two ways: Calculate the actual amount of tax you paid, as shown on your phone bills and other records, or request a standard amount, ranging from $30 to $60, based on the number of personal exemptions you claim.

Related Posts

  • men’s wardrobe mistakes
    7 Signs a Man's Wardrobe is Screaming For Help

    You can tell a lot about a man by his wardrobe, and sometimes, it’s not…

  • dogs
    15 Cities With More Dogs Than Children

    You're not alone if you’ve ever strolled through a city park and noticed more wagging…

  • punctuality
    Always Early? Psychology Reveals What That Habit Says About Your Personality

    If you're like me, you probably think, "If you're on time, you're late." I'm someone…

  • Thanksgiving
    8 Fall Habits That Leave Men Exhausted by Thanksgiving

    As the leaves turn and the days grow shorter, many men find themselves running on…

  • mechanic
    Why Are Mechanics Refusing to Work on Certain Car Brands in 2025?

    Car owners in 2025 are facing a new problem: more mechanics are turning away certain…

  • Third Tesla Model S Fire In 5 Weeks
    Third Tesla Model S Fire In 5 Weeks

    Hi All, I don't know if you're following the news, but the Tesla Model S…

Avatar photo

About Cleverdude

Mike founded CleverDude.com in June 2006 while working as a technical analyst in the Washington, D.C. area. A Penn State graduate, he built the site as a side project alongside a white-collar career that included earning a master’s degree and multiple promotions.

In five years he wrote nearly 1,300 articles on personal finance and life lessons drawn from his own experience. The blog grew from a hobby into a recognized early voice in the personal-finance community and generated meaningful revenue. He sold the site in 2010, continued as a guest contributor through 2015, and returned in 2023 after further career advances, paying off his home, and extensive travel.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robert Irizarry says

    March 19, 2007 at 5:16 pm

    It’s not a tremendous amount of money but every bit counts. My accountant factored this one right in and I’ll take it.

    Reply
  2. Yosef Rabinowitz says

    March 20, 2007 at 7:17 am

    Don’t settle for just $30-$60. The refund, with interest, is almost 1.5 times your average monthly pre-tax long distance and wireless usage. If you’re on a $79.99/month plan, you’ll get back almost $120. And for cell phones, you don’t necessarily need to have your bills handy. Check out http://www.PhoneTaxRefundCalculator.com and read the FAQ’s for more insight.

    Reply
  3. Jonathan Gorham says

    March 27, 2007 at 2:42 pm

    Hi,

    I read your recent article on the telephone excise tax and would like
    to point you to a website that may be of interest to your readers…

    http://www.refundsforgood.org

    The website explains, in great detail, the phone excise tax. There is
    an interactive timeline where you can learn about the tax and how it
    came to become part of American history in 1898.

    There are step-by-step instructions on how to get your full phone tax
    refund amount back as well (via the full-audit method).

    Businesses and non-profits can calculate their precise returns on the “Tell Your Boss” section of the web site. They can even download the forms, fill in the proper amounts, then print off the actual IRS 8913 form and file for a refund. Depending on phone usage, this could be tens of thousands of dollars.

    http://www.refundsforgood.org/business_refund.php

    All of this information is provided for free. Our hope is that some
    people, who are able to, will contribute their phone excise tax to
    one of the worthwhile non-profits on the portal.

    We have celebrity endorsements on the site such as Martin Sheen,
    Larry Hagman (“JR”), Ed Begley Jr. and Nate Corddry (from the Daily
    Show) — along with 13 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates from the Dalai
    Lama to Bishop Tutu.

    For a PDF version of a recent Press Release that describes the launch of this public service web site please go to:

    http://www.refundsforgood.org/downloads/PressRelease_031807.pdf

    If you’d like to learn more — please feel free to contact me
    directly at 203.387.7625 or email jon@refundsforgood.org

    Kind Regards,

    Jonathan Gorham
    Refunds for Good
    Managing Partner

    Reply
  4. top home theater receivers 2014 says

    November 23, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    This post presents clear idea in favor of the new visitors of blogging, that actually
    how to do blogging.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Most Popular Articles

Are you feeling the call to be a Clever Dude? Then, let's get down to brass tacks and explore what it takes to be one. Get ready for an in-depth look into the anatomy of someone who exudes cleverness!

There's nothing like hearing you're clever; it always hits the spot!

Footer

  • Toolkit
  • Contact
  • Lunch
  • Save A Ton Of Money
  • About Clever Dude
  • Our Editorial Commitment

Copyright © 2006–2026 District Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us