Communications excise tax refund requests by exempt organizations

 

Some exempt organizations are exempt from telephone excise taxes. 

Exempt payors include the following organizations:

  • Nonprofit hospitals, for services furnished to such organizations
  • Nonprofit educational organizations, for services furnished to such organizations
  • State and local governments and their instrumentalities, on excise tax exemptions that may apply when goods or services are purchased for the use of state and local governments

A claim for refund of telephone excise tax by an exempt payor should be requested on Form 8849, Claim for Refund of Excise Taxes PDF.

Nonprofit hospitals

For purposes of this exemption, a nonprofit hospital means a hospital referred to in section 170(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the Internal Revenue Code which is exempt from income tax under section 501(a).  See Publication 557 PDF for more information.

Nonprofit educational organization

A nonprofit educational organization is one that satisfies all of the following requirements:

  • It normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum.
  • It normally has a regularly enrolled body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on.
  • It is exempt from tax under section 501(a).

A school operated by a section 501(c)(3) exempt organization that meets the above requirements is a nonprofit educational organization.

For any of these exemptions to apply, purchase of the services or facilities must be for the use of the exempt payor.  Thus, for example, a college’s purchase of communications services for use by students residing in dormitories would not be exempt.

Additional information