Rates last verified: September 4th, 2026
Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes; Kentucky Department of Revenue; Kentucky 911 Services Board. Full citations at the bottom of this page.
Kentucky rebuilt its telecom taxes in 2006 around two state levies that work in opposite directions. The 6% sales tax under Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) chapter 139 falls on the customer and covers intrastate, interstate, and international communications services. The gross revenues tax under KRS 136.616 falls on the provider at 1.3% of communications revenue, and the statute forbids collecting it from the purchaser or stating it on the bill. Video carries its own pair of taxes, school districts can add a utility tax of up to 3%, and 911 funding splits four ways by service type.
Quick Facts
| Item | Kentucky Treatment |
|---|---|
| State sales tax | 6% of gross receipts from intrastate, interstate, and international communications services, and from prepaid calling and prepaid wireless calling service (KRS 139.200) |
| Gross revenues tax on communications | 1.3% of gross revenues, paid by the provider; the provider shall not collect it from the purchaser or state it on the bill (KRS 136.616) |
| Multichannel video programming | 3% excise tax on the retail purchase (KRS 136.604) plus a 2.4% gross revenues tax on the provider (KRS 136.616), both on bills issued on or after January 1, 2006 |
| School district utility tax | Up to 3% of gross receipts where a district levies it; the base includes communications services, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is named in the statute (KRS 160.613, 160.6131) |
| Wireless 911, postpaid | $0.70 per month per commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) connection; only the General Assembly may raise it (KRS 65.7629) |
| Wireless 911, prepaid | 93 cents on each retail transaction, collected by the retailer and remitted to the Department of Revenue, since January 1, 2017 (KRS 65.7634) |
| Landline 911 | A local charge: cities and counties may levy a subscriber charge per exchange line, capped at 25 lines per account per government entity (KRS 65.760) |
| Telecommunications Access Program | Up to 2 cents per access line per month for relay and equipment services for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech-impaired users; the Public Service Commission sets the amount (KRS 278.5499) |
| Internet access | Excluded from the sales tax, gross revenues tax, and school tax bases by statute; also protected by the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act (KRS 139.195, 136.602, 160.6131) |
How Kentucky Taxes Telecom Services
Start with the sales tax. KRS 139.200 imposes 6% on the gross receipts from communications services, and the statute reaches intrastate, interstate, and international service alike. Prepaid calling service and prepaid wireless calling service appear in the statute as their own taxable items. Communications services here means telecommunications services plus ancillary services such as caller ID, directory assistance, conference bridging, and voice mail, as defined in KRS 139.195. Sales to another communications provider for resale, such as carrier access, interconnection, and unbundled network elements, sit outside the definition when the charges are separately itemized or verifiable from the seller's books.
The second state layer never appears on an invoice. KRS 136.616 taxes the provider's gross revenues from communications services at 1.3%, on bills issued on or after January 1, 2006, and bars the provider from collecting the tax from the purchaser or stating it on the bill. Municipal utilities are excluded. Gross revenues exclude charges for internet access and any tax that is permitted or required to be added to the sales price, so the 6% sales tax does not inflate the gross revenues base. The Department of Revenue collects the excise and gross revenues taxes on one return.
Video runs on parallel rails. The retail purchase of multichannel video programming service carries a 3% excise tax under KRS 136.604, sourced to the end user's place of primary use, and the provider owes a 2.4% gross revenues tax on the same service under KRS 136.616. The statute's definition of multichannel video programming covers cable, satellite, wireless cable, internet protocol television, and video streaming services, and its definition of communications services names VoIP outright (KRS 136.602).
The local layer comes from school boards rather than cities. A school district may levy a utility gross receipts license tax of up to 3% on services furnished within the district, and the base includes communications services: local and long-distance telephone, mobile and fixed wireless, and VoIP (KRS 160.613, 160.6131). The base excludes internet access, prepaid calling and prepaid wireless calling service, interstate charges that are separately itemized, and sales for resale. Districts that levy the tax also reach cable, satellite, and internet protocol television under KRS 160.614. District boundaries do not follow city or county lines, so the levy turns on where the service address sits.
911 And Other Per-Line Fees
Kentucky funds wireless 911 through the CMRS service charge: $0.70 per month for each postpaid CMRS connection with a place of primary use in the state, set by KRS 65.7629, which provides that only the General Assembly may raise it. Prepaid wireless pays at the register instead: 93 cents on each retail transaction, collected by the retailer from the purchaser and remitted to the Department of Revenue, in effect since January 1, 2017 (KRS 65.7634). Lifeline carries its own rule: a Lifeline provider owes the board a monthly payment equal to the postpaid charge times its reimbursed Kentucky end users, and it may not pay that charge out of federal universal service fund money (KRS 65.7636).
Landline 911 is local. Cities and counties fund their 911 systems under KRS 65.760, most often through a subscriber charge levied per exchange line and capped at 25 lines per account per government entity. Providers of interconnected VoIP local and 911 service must collect and remit those local levies the same way the local exchange carrier does. CMRS connections that pay the state charges are excluded from the local fees.
One more line item hides in the statutes: the Telecommunications Access Program, which funds relay services and specialized equipment for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech-impaired users. KRS 278.5499 lets the Public Service Commission collect up to 2 cents per access line per month from subscribers, and it states that the industry is not required to absorb the cost.
Taxability By Service Type
- Intrastate, interstate, and international communications services: subject to the 6% sales tax (KRS 139.200) and included in the provider's 1.3% gross revenues tax base for services furnished in the state (KRS 136.616, 136.602).
- Prepaid calling and prepaid wireless calling service: subject to the 6% sales tax by name (KRS 139.200); prepaid wireless also pays the 93-cent 911 charge at retail (KRS 65.7634); both are excluded from the school district tax base (KRS 160.6131).
- VoIP: named as a communications service in the telecom tax and school tax statutes (KRS 136.602, 160.6131), and interconnected VoIP providers must collect local landline 911 levies (KRS 65.760).
- Multichannel video programming, including streaming: 3% retail excise plus 2.4% provider gross revenues tax (KRS 136.604, 136.616, 136.602).
- Sales for resale: outside the sales tax definition of communications services when itemized or verifiable (KRS 139.195); excluded from the school tax base (KRS 160.613); video purchased for resale is not a retail purchase under the excise (KRS 136.602).
- Internet access: excluded from every base above by statute (KRS 139.195, 136.602, 160.6131) and protected by the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act.
How CereTax Handles Kentucky
Kentucky's difficulty is overlap. One customer charge can carry the 6% sales tax, feed the provider's 1.3% gross revenues tax, and fall inside a school district that levies up to 3%, while the 911 charge depends on whether the line is postpaid, prepaid, Lifeline, or landline. School district boundaries do not follow city or county lines, so the levy question is a location question. CereTax assigns each charge to the right jurisdiction at the rooftop level, applies Kentucky's base rules by service type, and keeps an audit trail behind every calculation. If you serve customers in Kentucky, book a demo and bring a real invoice.
For the full evaluation checklist, see what a telecom tax engine should do.
Sources
- KRS 136.602, definitions for the telecommunications taxes. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 136.604, excise tax on multichannel video programming services. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 136.616, tax on gross revenues of multichannel video programming and communications services providers. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 139.195, definitions for the sales tax on communications. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 139.200, imposition of sales tax. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 65.760, establishment of 911 emergency telephone service by local government. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 65.7629, powers and duties of the Kentucky 911 Services Board. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 65.7634, CMRS prepaid service charge. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 65.7636, Lifeline program provider service charge. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 160.613, utility gross receipts license tax for schools. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 160.6131, definitions for the utility gross receipts license tax. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 160.614, tax on gross receipts from cable and multichannel video programming services. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- KRS 278.5499, funding mechanism for the Telecommunications Access Program. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Kentucky Department of Revenue, telecommunications tax. Accessed August 28, 2026.
- Kentucky 911 Services Board. 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.
