Instructions For Form 8913 - Credit For Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid

Credit or Refund Requests by Service Providers

the local telephone service. Bundled service includes plans

that provide both local and long distance service for either a

A service provider is the person responsible for paying over

flat monthly fee or a charge that varies with the elapsed

the tax to the government, generally the telecommunications

transmission time for which the service is used.

company that provides communications services to the

Telecommunications companies provide bundled service for

taxpayer. A provider cannot use Form 8913 to request a

both landlines and wireless (cellular) service. If Voice over

credit or refund for long distance or bundled service billed to

Internet Protocol service provides both local and long

customers of the provider. See the Instructions for

Form 720.

distance service and the charges are not separately stated,

such service is bundled service.

Providers may request a credit or refund on Form 8913

for long distance or bundled service billed to the provider.

The method for sending or receiving a call, such as on a

landline telephone, wireless (cellular), or some other

Recordkeeping

method, does not affect whether a service is local-only or

Do not attach any phone bills or other records to Form 8913.

bundled.

However, all taxpayers must keep records to support the

credit or refund request.

Prepaid Telephone Cards (PTC)

Service providers are not required to provide

A PTC will be treated as bundled service unless a PTC

duplicate billing records to their customers.

expressly states it is for local-only service. Generally, the

CAUTION

person responsible for collecting the tax is the carrier who

transfers the PTC to the transferee. The transferee is the

How To File

first person that is not a carrier to whom a PTC is transferred

Attach Form 8913 to your return for the tax year that

by the carrier. The transferee is the person liable for the tax

includes December 31, 2006.

and is eligible to request a credit or refund. For more

information, see Regulations section 49.4251-4.

Definitions

The holder is the person that purchases a PTC to use

and not to resell. Holders are not liable for the tax and

Local-Only Service

cannot request a credit or refund.

Local-only service means (a) access to a local telephone

system (but not private communications service) and the

Example 1. Z purchases a PTC from S. Z uses the PTC

privilege of telephonic quality communication with

to place telephone calls. Z is a holder and cannot request a

substantially all persons having telephone or radio

credit or refund.

telephone stations constituting a part of such local telephone

system, and (b) any facility or service provided in connection

Example 2. S purchased the PTC from O. O is a

with such a service.

transferee that purchased the card from R. R is a carrier. O

Local-only service includes the charges for the following

is eligible to request a credit or refund. S cannot request a

services, even though they may be connected with long

credit or refund because S did not purchase the PTC from

distance service.

the carrier.

•

Telephone amplifier.

•

Automatic call distributing equipment.

Prepaid Cellular Telephones

•

Special telephone.

Rules similar to the PTC rules above apply to prepaid

•

Subscriber line charge (or access charge if separately

cellular telephones. The transferee is the person eligible to

stated).

request the credit or refund.

A universal service fee charge is considered local-only

service if it is separately stated on the bill for local-only

Long Distance Service

service.

Long distance service is telephonic quality communication

If local and long distance service is billed to a customer

with persons whose telephones are outside the local

on a single bill, but the charges for local-only service and

telephone system of the caller.

long distance service are separately stated, then the amount

for local-only service is subject to the 3% communications

excise tax.

Additional Information

Bundled Service

For more information, see Notice 2006-50, which is

available on page 1141 of Internal Revenue Bulletin

Bundled service is local and long distance service provided

2006-25 at

under a plan that does not separately state the charge for

-2-

Instructions For Form 8913 - Credit For Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid - 2006 Page 2

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