April 17th is nearly upon us, and if you haven’t started on your taxes, you might think about it.

While you scramble to organize your W-2’s, receipts and 1099’s, keep these benefits in mind:

• Telephone Excise Tax Refund: This is a one time refund of a long distance excise tax available on your 2006 returns. It applies to charges billed from March 2003 through July 2006 from your phone company. While the government offers a standard refund amount of $30 to $60, you can also calculate the actual tax paid, and get that money back. For me, it wasn’t worth the hassle of sorting through all my phone bills. Businesses and exempt organizations can also request it, so if your LLC owns a phone line, it can take advantage too.

• IRS Free File: Nearly 20 companies are offering free electronic filing to taxpayers whose 2006 adjusted gross income was $52,000 or less. The IRS estimates that 70 percent of all taxpayers, or the equivalent to 95 million individuals can take advantage of the IRS-sponsored Free File program.

• Earned Income Tax Credit: If you earned income of less than $39,000 in 2006, you may qualify to claim the earned income tax credit, which could be worth up to $4,536 when it’s all said and done. When the EITC exceeds the amount of taxes owed, it results in a tax refund to those who claim and qualify for the credit. To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if they did not earn enough money to be obligated to file a tax return. As an added benefit, an electronic special “EITC Assistant” is available to help you determine whether you are eligible.

• Free Tax Help: Tax help sites in libraries, churches, community centers and other locations are staffed by trained volunteers. If you earned less than $39,000 and have to file a return, you can call 1-800-829-1040 to locate the nearest Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program site.

• Unclaimed Refunds: Believe it or not, there are refunds totaling approximately $2.2 billion floating around out there waiting for approximately 1.8 million people who failed to file a federal income tax return for 2003 to claim them. To collect the money, you must file your return for 2003 no later than April 17, 2007. According to IRS estimates, half of those (and you evidently don’t know who you are) who could claim refunds would receive more than $611. In some cases, individuals had taxes withheld from their wages, or made payments against their taxes out of self-employed earnings, but had too little income to require filing a tax return.

Anyway, these are just a few pointers to help you get back all you can this joyous tax filing season.

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