OUCC: Understanding Your Phone Bill

It is important to read your telephone bill every month to make sure you have been charged correctly. If you have a question about a charge or think charges are incorrect, call the carrier responsible for the charges in question before they are due. Save copies of your bills and take careful notes of your discussions with company representatives.

Along with the following information, the FCC's guide to Understanding Your Telephone Bill is a helpful resource.

Understanding Wireless Charges
Exact names of billing and service charges will vary by provider. Most wireless telephone charges are not regulated.
- Monthly service charge or access charges – This is the basic charge you pay to receive service. Your wireless bill should detail the number of minutes your calling plan covers on a monthly basis, along with overall usage.
- Usage charges – This portion of the bill should provide additional details on the calls you have made and received, along with any associated charges.
- Overage charges – If you use more than your plan’s allotted minutes in a given time period (usually a month), you may be charged an extra amount per minute for going over your allotted time.
- Roaming charges – These may apply if you use your wireless phone outside of your local calling area. Roaming charges have become less common over time.
- State Gross Receipts Tax – Under Indiana law, this tax applies to revenue from the sale of intrastate telecommunications services.
- Other charges that apply to both wireless and landline services (see definitions in the landline sections above) include: federal and state Universal Service charges, 911 charges, number portability, taxes, directory assistance, and pay-per-use services.
Understanding Landline Charges
- Basic local service charge - A consumer must pay this fee to receive a dial tone. Any basic local landline service charges still regulated by the IURC were fully deregulated as 2009.
- Subscriber line charges – Local landline telephone service providers can charge consumers monthly fees to recover part of the cost of providing long distance access over local phone lines. Some companies refer to these charges as "common line" or "end user common line" charges.
- 911 emergency service - Indiana law requires customers to pay a fee to support their local emergency systems. The monthly fee is currently set at $1.00 for both landline and wireless telephones.
- Telephone/telecom relay charge – This state-mandated fee helps provide telephone service to consumers with speech and hearing impairments. Some bills list this charge as the Indiana Telephone Relay Access Corporation (InTRAC) surcharge.
- Federal Taxes - The 3 percent federal excise tax can only apply to stand-alone local landline service charges. This tax no longer applies to long distance services.
- State Taxes - State sales tax is 7 percent in Indiana and does not vary among companies.
- Federal Universal Service Fund (USF or FUSF) - Federal law requires phone companies to contribute to this fund, which helps provide affordable telephone service to low-income and rural customers. It also helps fund high-speed Internet access for eligible schools, libraries and rural health care providers. Some companies recover their USF assessments through their basic rates, some charge a flat monthly fee, and others include a line item surcharge.
- Indiana Universal Service Fund (IUSF) – This fund was implemented in 2007 after being approved by the Indiana General Assembly. It currently covers high-cost support used to help keep telephone service affordable in rural areas.
- Local Number Portability (LNP) - LNP lets a consumer keep his or her phone number when switching to a new service provider. Companies may assess fees to all consumers in an affected area to recover equipment upgrade costs to provide LNP.
- Data and Optional features – Charges for data and optional services are not regulated in Indiana, including voice mail, call waiting, call forwarding, three-way calling, Internet access and inside wire maintenance plans. (But many wireless and VoIP providers include some of these options in service bundles or packages without separately stated charges. Rates for pay-per-use services such as automatic callback (*69) and directory assistance (411) are also unregulated in Indiana.
Telephone Fraud