2007-11-18 10:23:09 · 5 answers · asked by George S 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
The Telephone Excise Tax Refund (TETR) is a one-time payment available on your 2006 federal income tax return. It is designed to refund previously collected long distance telephone taxes. Individuals, businesses and tax-exempt organizations are eligible to request it.
2007-11-18 10:32:34 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
According to the accountable plan rules of the IRS, you are allowed to write off any expense which you can substantiate is related to the business.. In the case of cell phone usage, you must retain records which document how much of your monthly charges were a result of business calls versus personal calls. It does not matter if your employer provided you the cell phone or not. However, it must be clear that the employer is contacting you on this number for work related purposes. As stated below, your expenses are going to be reduced by the 2% of AGI requirement.. So, if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is 100,000, you will automatically have a reduction of your cell phone expense by $2,000. Hopefully, your cell phone expenses would be greater than 2% of AGI. However, you must ensure that all of your itemized deductions must be greater than the standard deduction, otherwise you are wasting your time...
I hope that helps..
I realize you had a CPA weigh in on this matter... I disagree with his/her interpretation.
2007-11-19 01:20:25 · answer #2 · answered by MBATXguy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even if you meet the requirements, you would have to show what percentage of the phone use is personal vs. business. If you could have had a cheaper pager through the company, it won't fly.
Let's assume you can deduct $10/month. This would then become an unreimbursed employee business expense and only the amounts over 2% of your AGI would even increase your schedule A total. If you are single, your total for schedule A would have to exceed $5350 before it would make a difference to your taxes.
2007-11-18 18:40:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
that you refer to him as your boss leads me to believe that you are an employee and so the answer is no.
if your boss required you to have a cell phone as a condition of employment your case would be stronger, and the IRS would then want you to demonstrate that the cell is used only for that employment purpose.
oh
2007-11-18 18:28:34 · answer #4 · answered by Spock (rhp) 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Only if your company requires a cell and you have written proof.
It they require a phone and this is your choice, ask the IRS what is deductible.
2007-11-18 18:34:27 · answer #5 · answered by muppetkiller_2000 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋