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Nearly a year ago, The Motley Fool published an article titled "You're still paying for the Spanish-American War," which noted that, bizarre though it may be, we've all been socked on each phone bill with an excise tax that went into effect long ago to pay for the Spanish-American War.
A recent glance at a reporter's phone bill from Verizon Communications (VZ, news, msgs) confirms that the Federal Excise Tax is still there. You'll probably find it listed on your bill, too.
If your monthly bill amounts to around $100, at the current 3% rate for the tax (which has been as high as 25% in past years), you'll be paying $3 per month for this tax, or $36 per year. Heavy phone users might pay $100 or more per year. All to pay for the Spanish-American War?
Fortunately, once this tax started getting some press, no one could really defend it.
Even folks at AT&T (T, news, msgs), the nation's biggest telecom company, don't like this tax. Jim Cicconi, AT&T's general counsel, has said, "This is a 19th-century tax on a 21st-century technology. It makes no sense, and it ought to be repealed."
Well, sometimes our friends in Washington do something right. The tax has indeed finally come to an end, and we're even being offered refunds.
More from MSN Money and The Motley Fool
How to grab the money
The money is out there for you -- you just have to jump through a few hoops in order to get it.Here are a few things to know, courtesy of Dick Hansen at refundphonetax.com and also from the Internal Revenue Service:
- You are to claim the refund on the 2006 tax form that you file in 2007.
- You can opt for a standard refund of $30 (if you have one exemption), $40 (if you have two), $50 (if you have three) or $60 (if you have more). This option requires no documentation from you.
- If you have (or want to go through the trouble of procuring) your telephone bill statements from March 2003 to July 2006, you can get a refund based on amounts you were actually charged. In most cases, this can amount to a lot more than the standard refund -- perhaps as much as $100 to $300 for many of us. You'll need to fill out IRS Form 8913 for this.
Refunds are also available for businesses.
Video on MSN Money: Are you an AMT victim?
It's intended to ensure the rich pay their share, but this tax hits more Americans every year. Make sure you don't join those bitten by AMT's bite. Click here to play the video.
Learn more about how to get the money due to you at the IRS question-and-answer page. And, in the meantime, here's hoping we don't end up going to war against Spain again!
This article was reported and written by Selena Maranjian for The Motley Fool.
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