The Oct. 15 extension deadline for filing a 2006 tax return is just around the corner.  “This year, the Internal Revenue Service has a message for more taxpayers than the estimated 200,000 Georgians who requested additional time,” said IRS Spokesman Mark Green.

• If you have a phone and your income was below the IRS filing requirements, you may have missed out on the telephone tax refund, and time is running out to request it the easy way:  electronically. 
• Or, you may be among the 29 percent of Georgians who missed out on money owed to them from the one-time telephone tax refund.  “Georgians left at least $33 million on the table by not requesting this refund on their tax return,” said Mark Green, IRS spokesperson.
  

Taxpayers who were not required to file a 2006 return can use the very simple Form 1040 EZ-T electronically through Oct. 15 to request the telephone tax refund.  After Oct. 15, e-filing programs are no longer available.  Taxpayers will still be able to request the refund, but will need to use the paper version of the 1040 EZ-T and a postage stamp.

“You’ll have a shorter wait for your refund if you e-file your 1040 EZ-T and choose direct deposit,” Green said.  The very simple 1040 EZ-T is exclusively for taxpayers whose income was below the filing requirement – often students and senior citizens – but who still qualify for the telephone tax refund.  It takes just minutes to complete.  Simply go to IRS.gov, click on the e-file logo, and use Free File to find a software provider offering the 1040 EZ-T.

Some taxpayers who filed and missed this refund may have a cell phone, but no landline, and mistakenly thought they did not qualify for the telephone tax refund.  Many do.  Qualifying taxpayers in this situation should use Form 1040X to amend their return and request the telephone tax refund. 

For taxpayers who requested an extension of time to file a 2006 return, it’s due Oct. 15, 2007.  Be sure to check on the telephone tax refund.  Nearly every household qualifies.  Returns must be postmarked or electronically filed by midnight on Oct. 15 to avoid penalties.  Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $52,000 or less generally qualify for free electronic filing of 2006 tax returns through Free File at IRS.gov.  Electronic filing is available through the Oct. 15 extension deadline. 

The telephone tax refund covers the three-percent tax paid on long-distance and bundled service from March 2003 through July 2006. It can add $30 to $60 — or even more — onto a taxpayer’s refund. So far this year, 92.1 million taxpayers (71.6 percent) have requested telephone tax refunds totaling $4 billion. 

For more information and free electronic filing options, visit IRS.gov.  Download Form 1040 EZ-T or the Form 1040X at IRS.gov, or order it from 1-800-TAX-FORM.  Still have questions?  Call 1-800-TAX-1040.