Rates last verified: September 9th, 2026
Sources: listed at the bottom of this page and on each state guide.
Most telecom bills carry a stack of taxes and fees: a state tax, often a local tax, a 911 fee, and a line recovering the provider's federal Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution. Each state builds the stack its own way. Some fold telecom into the general sales tax. Some run a dedicated communications services tax. Some layer a gross receipts tax on top, and in many states local governments add their own rates.
This page tracks how each state taxes telecommunications services. The table shows each state's approach, its 911 fee, and whether local governments add telecom taxes of their own. Each state links to a full page with rates, fees, taxability rules, and sources. Every figure comes from state statutes or state revenue departments, and each state page shows the date we last verified it.
The State-By-State Table
| State | How Telecom Is Taxed | State 911 Fee | Local Telecom Taxes | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Utility gross receipts tax, state level, flat 6% | $2.23 per voice connection, per month | No local rate on the utility tax; municipalities cap a flat telephone license tax by population under Section 11-51-128 | State guide |
| Alaska | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Arizona | Transaction privilege tax, state, county, and city | $0.20 per account, per month | Yes, county and city TPT rates | Arizona guide |
| Arkansas | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| California | Surcharges plus local utility users taxes | $0.41 per line, per month (2026) | Yes, city and county utility users taxes | California guide |
| Colorado | Sales tax, state and local, with self-collected home-rule cities | Varies by 911 governing body: up to $2.17 per line, per month without PUC approval, higher with approval, plus a $0.16 state 911 surcharge | Yes, state-administered locals plus self-collected home-rule cities | State guide |
| Connecticut | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Delaware | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| District of Columbia | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Florida | Communications Services Tax | $0.40 per line, per month | Yes, set by each jurisdiction | Florida guide |
| Georgia | Sales tax on listed services only | $1.50 per line, per month | Yes, local sales tax rates by county | Georgia guide |
| Hawaii | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Idaho | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Illinois | Dedicated excise tax, state and municipal | $1.50 per connection, per month | Yes, municipal telecom tax up to 6%; Chicago separate | Illinois guide |
| Indiana | State sales tax, single 7% statewide rate | $1.00 per line, per month | No; one statewide 7% rate | State guide |
| Iowa | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Kansas | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Kentucky | Sales tax plus provider gross revenues tax | $0.70 per month postpaid, 93 cents per prepaid retail sale | Yes, school district utility taxes and local landline 911 fees | State guide |
| Louisiana | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Maine | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Maryland | Sales and use tax on listed telecom services, plus local line taxes | $0.50 state plus $0.75 to $4.25 county, per line, per month | Yes, Montgomery County ($2.00 access line, $3.00 wireless, $0.20 Centrex) and Baltimore City tax phone lines | State guide |
| Massachusetts | State sales tax, one statewide rate | $1.50 per line, per month | No; one statewide 6.25% rate | State guide |
| Michigan | Use tax, single 6% state rate | $0.25 state per month, plus county surcharges up to $3.00 | County 911 surcharges only | State guide |
| Minnesota | Sales tax, state plus local, on the buyer | $0.80 per line, per month, inside a $0.96 combined per-line fee stack | Yes, local rates sourced to the customer's location | State guide |
| Mississippi | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Missouri | Sales tax, state and local, on intrastate telecom and VoIP | County based; 3% prepaid charge at retail; no statewide monthly fee | Yes, local sales taxes and city license taxes | State guide |
| Montana | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Nebraska | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Nevada | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| New Hampshire | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| New Jersey | Sales tax, one statewide rate | $0.90 per voice grade line, per periodic bill | No | State guide |
| New Mexico | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| New York | Sales tax plus a dedicated excise tax | $1.20 per wireless device, per month (state) | Yes, county 911 fees and municipal surcharges | New York guide |
| North Carolina | Sales tax at the 7% combined general rate | $0.55 per connection, per month | No separate local telecom taxes | North Carolina guide |
| North Dakota | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Ohio | State and local sales tax | $0.60 per line, per month (next generation 9-1-1 access fee) | Yes, county and transit authority rates, 6.50% to 8.25% combined | Ohio guide |
| Oklahoma | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Oregon | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Pennsylvania | Sales tax plus a provider gross receipts tax | $1.95 per line, per month | Limited: Philadelphia and Allegheny County sales tax | Pennsylvania guide |
| Rhode Island | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| South Carolina | Sales and use tax on communications, state plus local | $0.65 per month per wireless line; wireline varies by county tier | Yes, local sales taxes plus a municipal business license tax capped at 1% | State guide |
| South Dakota | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Tennessee | Sales tax with special state and flat local telecom rates | $1.50 per service, per month, on services billed at $5 or more | Yes, flat 2.5% local on intrastate telecom | State guide |
| Texas | Sales tax, state and local option | $0.50 per line, per month where a regional planning commission provides 911 service; emergency communication districts set their own wireline fees; $0.50 per wireless connection statewide | Yes, up to 2% by local vote | Texas guide |
| Utah | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Vermont | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Virginia | Statewide communications sales and use tax, customer-side, 5% | $0.75 landline and VoIP; $0.94 postpaid wireless (E-911 plus 988); $0.63 prepaid per sale | Mostly no; a local license tax on providers of up to 0.5% survives | State guide |
| Washington | Retail sales tax plus per-line excise taxes | $0.95 per line, per month (state and county) | Yes, local sales tax by location | Washington guide |
| West Virginia | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
| Wisconsin | Sales and use tax, state plus county and city (Milwaukee) | $0.75 per connection, per month (police and fire protection fee); $0.38 per prepaid retail transaction | Yes, 0.5% county taxes, 0.9% Milwaukee County, 2% city of Milwaukee | State guide |
| Wyoming | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Guide coming |
What Counts As Telecom Tax
Four layers make up the tax on a communications service, and they answer to different authorities on different schedules.
State taxes. States take one of three broad approaches: telecom under the general sales tax, a dedicated communications services tax with its own rate and rules, or a gross receipts tax on the provider. Several states combine approaches, which is why a single "state rate" rarely tells the whole story.
Local taxes. Many states let cities, counties, and special districts tax telecom directly. Local rates vary by jurisdiction, and jurisdiction boundaries follow legal descriptions, so two addresses in the same zip code can owe different rates.
911 fees. States fund emergency services with per-line or per-transaction fees, and the amounts, the base, and the treatment of prepaid service all vary by state. Some states have added similar per-line fees to fund the 988 crisis line, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tracks in an annual report to Congress.
Federal USF. Providers of interstate telecommunications contribute to the federal Universal Service Fund. The FCC sets the contribution factor quarterly, so this layer changes four times a year on its own.
Why Telecom Tax Is Hard To Get Right
The difficulty compounds across three dimensions at once.
Where. Local telecom taxes attach to exact jurisdiction boundaries. Zip codes cross city and county lines, so any system that assigns tax by zip code will misassign some transactions every month.
What. Taxability turns on what the service is: wireless, wireline, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), internet access, or a bundle of several. Federal law, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, bars states from taxing internet access, and bundled offerings raise the question of how much of the invoice each rule touches.
When. State rates, local rates, 911 fees, and the federal contribution factor each change on their own schedule. A rate table that was right in January quietly drifts wrong by summer.
This is the calculation problem CereTax was built for: rooftop-level jurisdiction assignment, line-item taxability across service types, and transparent logic behind every result. No black boxes. If you want to see the full rate stack on your own invoices, book a demo.
For what the software has to do, and the questions to ask any vendor, see our guide to telecom tax compliance software.
For the product side of this problem, see CereTax for communications providers.
Sources: state statutes and state revenue department publications, cited on each state page. Internet access: Internet Tax Freedom Act, 47 U.S.C. § 151 note, made permanent by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. 988 fees: FCC annual 988 fee report to Congress. Federal Universal Service Fund: FCC.
Note: Always confirm current rates and filing obligations directly with the state’s DOR, PUC, or 911 authority before applying charges or remitting payments.
