BANGOR – As income tax returns pour in this year, the Internal Revenue Service is noticing that many people are not taking advantage of deductions and credits they may be eligible for, an IRS spokeswoman said Tuesday.

In the past year, the IRS has announced new claim opportunities for telephone long-distance costs, college tuition and fees, local and state sales taxes, home energy-efficiency installations and out-of-pocket teaching expenses, Peggy Riley, media relations specialist in the Boston IRS office, said in an interview at the Bangor Daily News.

“You have to keep good records,” Riley said. When going to a tax preparation office, “bring anything you think might qualify because you never know,” she said, referring to receipts and documents that could be used as tax write-offs.

One of the most important changes to this year’s federal tax filing is the one-time refund of telephone excise tax paid on long-distance service billed between Feb. 28, 2003, and Aug. 1, 2006, Riley said.

The U.S. Treasury announced last spring it would provide refunds to individuals, businesses and tax-exempt organizations for a federal excise “luxury” tax on long-distance service that dates back to 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War.

Filers may request the standard refund amount, which ranges from $30 to $60 and is based on the number of exemptions, or they may choose to request a refund of the actual amount they paid based upon their telephone records and available proof of payment. Cell phones are also eligible for the refund, Riley said.

The telephone excise tax refund must be requested by April 17, 2007, on line 71 of the 1040 Form. Those who do not file a regular tax return may use the new Form 1040EX-T to request the refund.

An online sales tax calculator launched last month on the IRS Web site can help taxpayers compute a state and local general sales tax deduction. The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 gave taxpayers the option to claim state and local sales taxes instead of state and local income taxes when they itemize deductions. Under the law, the option was available for 2004 and 2005 returns only, but recent legislation has extended the availability of the deduction through 2007.

Because of the late passage of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the IRS was unable to include the sales tax tables in the Form 1040 instructions, as it did last year. Instead, the IRS has posted the tables on its Web site and is sending 6 million copies of Publication 600 to taxpayers who receive Form 1040 and its instruction booklet in the mail.

There are also two new education-related tax deductions, Riley said.

Parents with children in college and self-supporting students can deduct up to $4,000 in higher-education tuition and fees on Form 1040, line 35.

And teachers and other educators, including classroom aides, counselors and principals, can deduct as much as $250 of the money they have spent out of pocket on classroom expenses in the past year. The deduction for educator expenses can be claimed on Form 1040, line 23.

Finally, for those “going green” at home, a 10 percent credit can be claimed for various energy-saving improvements made to a taxpayer’s main home. The credit is based on the cost of new energy-efficient improvements, including insulation, exterior windows, exterior doors, water heaters, heat pumps, central air conditioners, furnaces and hot-water boilers. The overall credit is limited to $500, and further dollar limits apply to some equipment.

Riley cautioned consumers to be aware of fraudulent e-mails from IRS impersonators demanding personal information.

“We don’t correspond by e-mail, so if you get an e-mail, it’s pretty clear it’s not from the IRS,” she said. The only e-mail consumers can expect from the IRS is a confirmation of receipt of tax returns filed online, Riley said.

Tax returns are due April 17 this year, as the usual filing date of April 15 falls on a Sunday and the following Monday is Patriot’s Day in Maine and Massachusetts.

For more tax information, visit www.irs.gov.