Hello and

welcome to Moneygirls Quick and Dirty Tips for a richer life.

Today's topic is a new tax credit available to everyone, the long-distance excise

tax refund. This little tip will save you a quick and clean 30 to 60 dollars on

your 2006 tax return. The IRS is refunding more

than $10 billion for a federal excise tax on long-distance telephone service. The tax started all the way back in 1898

to help fund the Spanish-American War and has helped fund war since then. The tax was repealed recently after the IRS lost a series of

federal court cases that showed the tax no longer applies to long-distance

service given the way it's billed today.

Here's how the credit works.

The IRS will refund the 3% long-distance telephone excise tax you paid from March 1st, 2003 to August 1st, 2006 plus interest.

The refund applies to anyone who had long distance or bundled service, whether landlined wireless or voice over IP.

You can either go through your old telephone bills from that period and add up the tax you paid

plus interest and claim a refund for that amount or you can take the

easy path. Simply claim the standard amount set by the IRS. The standard amount

depends on the number of exemptions you claim on your 2006 return.

The more you claim, the bigger your credit.

If you take one exemption, you get a $30 credit. If you take two, you get a $30 credit.

If you take two you get $40, if you take three you get 50

and if you take four you get a $60 credit.

For the standard amount, claim your refund on line 71 of Form 1040 or Line 9 of Form

1040 EZ. If you want to tally up the actual telephone excise tax you paid plus interest, use

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