WEST MILFORD When it comes time to prepare and file your 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. “I would encourage everyone to take advantage of this, especially since all you have to do is fill out the line, you don’t have to have any documentation or anything,” said Bettina Biere, a West Milford CPA and tax preparer. What is this all about? The federal excise tax has been charge 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 were given notice to stop assessing the federal excise tax as of Aug. 30. But the challengers of the old law also demanded restitution. So the IRS has announced that a one time credit will be available. 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. The most you can claim is $60 unless you have all your phone bills from Feb. 28, 2003 through July 31, 2006, in which case, you can add up the actual tax as it appears on your bills. Biere doesn’t recommend that approach. The difference probably won’t be worth the work and in addition, you can’t use line 71 on your tax return. You have to complete an additional form (number 8913) and attach it to your return. And remember, this is a credit, not a deduction, so the money will be part of your refund or go toward your tax bill.