Phone Support

Phone charges can be confusing

We’re here to make it simple and just a phone call away.

If you have questions about your bill or service that are not answered in the explanation below please call 247-1250. We are happy to assist you.

Taxes and surcharges on Your Bill

Because taxes may differ by state and each person may select different features; you might find some variation of the following taxes on your bill.

Additional State Taxes

Each state has the power to levy Additional State Taxes based upon Public Utility Commission (PUC) Guidance. If you have a question about a charge on your bill that appears to be state initiated, contact your state PUC for explanation of the charge and why it was instituted. In many cases, these charges are similar to those levied at the interstate level.

Emergency Service Fee for 911

The 911 Emergency Service Fee is a fee to cover the costs of local jurisdictions providing 911 emergency response services to its citizens. The fee is generally either an amount per telephone access line or a percentage of revenue. State law mandates the fee. Verizon is collecting this fee as a billing agent on behalf of the appropriate 911 jurisdictions within the state. A few states authorized Verizon to collect the fees as a cost recovery where the state designates Verizon as the provider of the 911 emergency phone service.

Federal Excise Tax

A federal tax levied on all long distance calls and some services and features.

Interstate Access Charge

The FCC has mandated an access charge (known as the FCC Line Charge) to partially reimburse telephone service providers for the cost of routing long distance calls made by local customers. This charge is applied to all customers who have telephone lines in their home or business, whether they make long distance calls or not.

This is also known as the Federal Subscriber Line Charge and the Federal Line Cost Charge.

Intrastate Access Charge

State assessed surcharges to partially reimburse telephone service providers for the cost of routing long distance calls made by local customers. This charge is applied to all customers who have telephone lines in their home or business, whether they make long distance charges or not.

Federal Universal Service Fund (USF) charge

A monthly, per-line surcharge paid by the customer to recover local companies’ contribution to the Federal Universal Service Fund. This fund supports telecommunications and information services in schools, public libraries, and rural health-care facilities. The fund also subsidizes local service to high-cost areas and low-income customers. The FCC regulates this charge.

The Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF)rate is reviewed quarterly. This fee helps to keep local telephone rates affordable for all customers and gives a discount to schools, libraries and low-income families. This charge will not be applied to Lifeline customers. Please visit the Lifeline web site to find out if you are eligible, or contact us at the toll-free number on your bill.

State Sales Tax

A State tax levied in all long distance calls and some services and features.

State Transaction Privilege Tax

Generally, there is little difference from a sales tax.

State Utility Gross Receipts Tax

Telephone companies must pay tax on total revenue. This funds the Public Utility Commissions and other state services. This tax is usually a liability of the company (levied on the company’s receipts). Generally, we must pay this tax without regard to whether or not we recover it from customers.

State Universal Service Fees

Some states assess State Universal Service Fees for providing universal service for schools, libraries, and rural healthcare facilities. This fee is calculated as a percentage of your total monthly long distance charges.

Telecommunication Relay Service/Hearing Impaired/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

The Telecommunications Relay Service/Hearing impaired/Telecommunications devices for the Deaf surcharge is a fee for providing special needs equipment, facilities and services to the hearing impaired in order for the hearing impaired to use the telecommunications network. This includes special phones, hearing devices, Braille pads, necessary network switching equipment and operation of a service center that the customer utilizes for specialized services. The requirements for collecting and remittance of the fees are state specific and established by state law, public utility commission rule or tariff filings.

Telecomm Service Excise Tax

Treated like a sales tax. The difference inferred in the name relates to the incidence of the tax — whether the tax is the liability of the customer or of the company. (If the tax is the liability of the company, regulatory authorities usually allow us to recover it from customers, either as a separate line on the bill or just buried in our cost of service).

Universal Service Fees

Universal Service Fees are mandated by the Federal Government and assessed under rules developed by the FCC to support universal service for schools, libraries, and rural healthcare facilities. It is calculated as a percentage of your total monthly long distance charges.