Rates last verified: September 4th, 2026
Sources: Indiana Department of Revenue; Indiana Statewide 911 Board; Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor. Full citations at the bottom of this page.
Indiana taxes telecom through its general sales tax. Providing intrastate telecommunication service is a retail transaction under Indiana Code (IC) 6-2.5-4-6, taxed at the single statewide rate of 7%. The definition reaches Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service by name. A separate layer of per-line charges funds 911, and the state repealed its old utility receipts tax on telecom revenue effective July 1, 2022.
Quick Facts
| Item | Indiana Treatment |
|---|---|
| State sales tax | 7% on intrastate telecommunication services (IC 6-2.5-4-6; Department of Revenue Sales Tax Information Bulletin #51T) |
| Local sales taxes | Not verified. The Department of Revenue lists one statewide 7% rate and no county or city sales tax layer, but no fetched source states the absence outright |
| VoIP | Included in the definition of telecommunication service, whatever the service is called and whatever label the Federal Communications Commission gives it (Bulletin #51T) |
| Mobile services | Taxed when the customer's place of primary use is in Indiana, under the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act (Bulletin #51T) |
| Statewide 911 fee | $1.00 per device, per month, on wireless, landline, lifeline, and VoIP service, since July 1, 2015 (Statewide 911 Board; IC 36-8-16.7-32) |
| Prepaid wireless 911 charge | $1.00 per retail transaction, collected by the seller and remitted to the Department of Revenue, with a 1% deduction for timely filing (General Tax Information Bulletin #210) |
| Indiana Universal Service Fund surcharge | 1.76% of net billed intrastate retail telecommunications revenue, set by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission's Docket Entry of December 27, 2024, in Cause No. 42144-S3 |
| Indiana Telephone Relay Access Corporation (InTRAC) surcharge | $0.02 per residential or business line, per month, since November 1, 2022 (Commission order, Cause No. 39880 InTRAC 6) |
| Utility receipts tax | Repealed effective July 1, 2022, by House Enrolled Act 1002 (2022) (General Tax Information Bulletin #201) |
| Internet access | Cannot be taxed, under the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act and Indiana's own statute (Bulletin #51T) |
How Indiana Taxes Telecom Services
Indiana imposes its 7% sales tax on intrastate telecommunication services: the electronic transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or other information between points. The statute does not require the provider to be a public utility, so cellular carriers, competitive carriers, and VoIP providers all collect the tax. The Department of Revenue's Bulletin #51T states the definition applies "regardless of whether the service is referred to as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services." For mobile service, Indiana follows the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act: the tax applies when the customer's place of primary use, such as a home address, is in Indiana.
The base has firm edges. Ancillary services, including voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, and directory assistance, sit outside the definition of telecommunication service and escape the tax when separately stated on the bill. Telecommunications nonrecurring charges, such as installation, connection, or service changes, stay out of gross retail income when separately stated. The catch is aggregation: if a provider lumps nontaxable charges in with taxable ones, the nontaxable portion stays exempt only if the provider's books and records can reasonably identify it.
Sales between providers are clean. The sale of telecommunication services to a public utility, a power subsidiary, or any provider of telecommunication services is not subject to sales or use tax, which keeps wholesale and resale traffic out of the base. Provider equipment purchases get their own exemption for central office equipment, station equipment, wiring, switching office equipment, and transmission gear such as towers and antennae.
History matters for older invoices. Indiana levied a utility receipts tax on gross receipts from intrastate telecom until House Enrolled Act 1002 (2022) repealed it, along with the utility services use tax, effective July 1, 2022. The Department of Revenue notes that prior tax years remain open to refund and audit until 2026, so the repealed tax can still surface in an audit file.
911 And Other Per-Line Fees
Indiana funds 911 with a flat statewide fee: $1.00 per device, per month, collected by every communication service provider in the state on wireless, landline, lifeline, and VoIP service. The fee took effect July 1, 2015, under IC 36-8-16.7-32, and providers remit it to the Statewide 911 Board.
Prepaid wireless pays at the register. The 911 service prepaid wireless charge is $1.00 on each retail transaction, collected by the seller from the consumer and remitted to the Department of Revenue on the seller's sales tax return schedule. A seller that files on time keeps 1% of the charges collected. The charge stays out of the sales tax base, and sales to the federal government are exempt.
Two smaller surcharges appear on Indiana phone bills under the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission's (IURC) oversight. The Indiana Universal Service Fund surcharge applies to net billed intrastate retail telecommunications revenue and supports rural local exchange carriers, at a current rate of 1.76%, set by the Commission's Docket Entry of December 27, 2024, in Cause No. 42144-S3. The Indiana Telephone Relay Access Corporation (InTRAC) surcharge funds telephone service for people with speech and hearing impairments, at $0.02 per residential or business line, per month, set by Commission order in Cause No. 39880 InTRAC 6 and in effect since November 1, 2022.
Taxability By Service Type
- Intrastate telecommunication services: subject to the 7% state sales tax.
- VoIP service: included in the taxable definition by name, and subject to the $1.00 monthly 911 fee.
- Mobile service: taxable when the customer's place of primary use is in Indiana.
- Ancillary services (voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, directory assistance): exempt when separately stated.
- Installation, connection, and other nonrecurring charges: exempt when separately stated.
- Sales to public utilities or other telecom providers: exempt from sales and use tax.
- Prepaid calling and prepaid wireless services: taxable retail transactions at the point of sale, plus the $1.00 prepaid 911 charge per transaction.
- Internet access: cannot be taxed, under the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act and Indiana law.
How CereTax Handles Indiana
Indiana's single rate hides the real work, which lives in the base. Every invoice needs each charge classified the way Bulletin #51T classifies it: taxable transmission, exempt ancillary service, exempt nonrecurring charge, or exempt sale for resale, with separate statement rules applied line by line, plus the right 911 mechanism for postpaid and prepaid service. CereTax assigns each charge to the right jurisdiction at the rooftop level, applies Indiana's base rules by service type, and keeps an audit trail behind every calculation. If you serve customers in Indiana, book a demo and bring a real invoice.
For the full evaluation checklist, see what a telecom tax engine should do.
Sources
- Indiana Department of Revenue, Sales Tax Information Bulletin #51T, Telecommunication and Internet Services, January 2023. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Department of Revenue, General Tax Information Bulletin #210, 911 Service Prepaid Wireless Charge, August 2024. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Department of Revenue, General Tax Information Bulletin #201, Utility Receipts Tax, March 2023. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Department of Revenue, sales tax pages (7% rate). Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Statewide 911 Board, fee remittance page. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Indiana Universal Service Fund handout. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Order, Cause No. 39880 InTRAC 6, approved August 10, 2022. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, 30-Day Utility Articles memorandum, May 9, 2025, Attachment 1 (Frontier Midstates Inc., 30-Day Filing No. 50812, citing the Commission's Docket Entry of December 27, 2024, in Cause No. 42144-S3). Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Final Rule, 170 IAC 7-8-4, Universal Service Fund Surcharge, LSA #24-392(F), approved December 11, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, Understanding Your Phone Bill. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Internet Tax Freedom Act, 47 U.S.C. § 151 note.
See how other states compare on the telecom tax by state hub.
Note: Always confirm current rates and filing obligations directly with the state’s DOR, PUC, or 911 authority before applying charges or remitting payments.
