Taxes, Fees & Surcharges

You've just opened up your wireless service bill and are wondering, "What in the world are all of those taxes, fees, and surcharges I'm paying." If you think it's a lot, you're probably right.

The average wireless consumer has to pay more than 14% of their bill in taxes, fees, and surcharges. That compares to about 7% that you pay on average in general business tax for items such as clothing that you buy at the mall or maybe a shovel or rake you pick up at the hardware store. The wireless industry agrees that you're paying too much in taxes and fees, and if you'd like to learn more about what you can do to change that, check out www.mywireless.org.

Federal/State/Local Taxes
So, just what are all of those charges, anyway? Well, for starters, almost everyone pays state tax on their bill, and many consumers have to pay local taxes imposed by cities and/or counties. You used to pay a federal excise tax (FET), too, but the wireless industry led the charge to get rid of that tax that was first instituted in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War. With the help of mywireless.org, wireless consumers told policymakers what they thought of this excessive and unnecessary tax. After more than 100 years in existence, the FET was finally abolished in 2006, proving that your voice and the wireless industry really can make a difference.

Universal Service Fund
Everyone pays into the universal service fund, which is a system the federal government set-up to help subsidize telecommunications service primarily in high cost areas, low-income areas, in rural healthcare facilities, and schools and libraries. Your state might also collect money to support its own universal service fund. To learn more about USF and changes the wireless industry is proposing to make it fairer for you, click here.

Regulatory Program Costs   
These are fees collected by your carrier to help cover the costs related to funding and complying with government mandates or programs. Carriers are allowed by law to assess these fees.

An example of one such fee is Wireless Number Portability, which is the federally-mandated program that allows you to keep your old phone number when you change service providers if you want to.  More >

This section might also include a charge(s) for E-911. This is money that should go to pay for the technology emergency call centers use to find wireless callers in need of help. Some states haven't always spent the money they collected that way, and you should ask your local elected officials to make sure the money is spent for E-911 services.

Other charges that might be listed include, but aren't limited to: Federal Regulatory Fee; Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS), and Number Pooling. 


The wireless industry has always recognized the vital role it plays regarding public safety, and now you can use this powerful technology to possibly help recover an abducted child.

Wireless AMBER Alerts are free text messages available to wireless subscribers, and are the result of a partnership between the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the wireless industry,


For more information click here.