Allowable Taxes & Fees on Your Home Phone Bill

Access charges may be listed on your phone bill as "Subscriber Line Charge," "Federal Line Cost Charge," "Interstate Single Line Charge" or other similar phrases. The maximum charge is set by the FCC, but some companies choose to set a lower rate. It is not a charge or tax that goes back the government or U.S. Treasury. Sometimes there may be a state subscriber line charge.

The Universal Service Fund is set up to ensure adequate 911 and emergency services, especially for those who have a higher cost for telephone service. These include rural communities, schools and libraries. Phone companies are responsible for attributing a portion of their revenues to this fund and can charge customers a regulated amount. Sometimes this shows up on the bill as "Universal Connectivity Fee" or "Federal Universal Service Fee."

Phone companies can charge a set amount for 911 or E911 services. Local Number Portability (LNP) ensures that your phone number can locally follow you, should you switch phone companies. Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) are charges that go to the relay center for those with hearing and speech disabilities. Monthly calling plan charges may be for something like an unlimited long distance plan. Voice mail fees can be extra on your bill, but nonpayment of these cannot cause your phone to be disconnected. Other calling features that can be charged are call forwarding, call waiting and caller ID. Some long distance companies will charge a minimum fee, even if you don't use their services. "Single Bill Fees" are for combining local and long distance fees onto one bill and are not regulated by the FCC.

Directory Assistance or 411 calls are also known as Information calls. They can also be accessed by dialing (area code) 555-1212. Operator Assistance Calls are those that require an operator to connect the call, instead of the consumer directly dialing.

The Federal Excise Tax is a 3 percent tax charged to local service. It is not applied to long distance service. State and local taxes are charged on telephone bills as goods and services.