Understanding Your Taxes & Fees

We understand that the variety of taxes and fees shown on your bill every month can be puzzling. That's why we created this helpful guide to explain what each fee is and why they are collected from you. It's part of the Cavalier difference. Federal, state and local governments require telephone phone companies to collect a dizzying assortment of taxes. In addition, there are fees on your bill which are not government mandated charges. These amounts vary depending upon the state, county and municipality where you have phone service. Then, to make things more confusing, the names of the fees vary and amounts are modified quite often.

Taxes
Federal Excise TaxA federal tax levied on consumers for the use of certain taxable local telecommunications services.
911 Service Fee/State 911 Surcharge/Emergency 911 SurchargeWho pays for emergency 911 calls? We all do! This fee goes to compensate local public agencies operating your local emergency telephone systems.
State Maintenance Fee/Municipal or State Tax or Surcharge/Interstate Tax or Surcharge/Statutory or Carrier Gross Receipts Tax/ Utility Users Tax or Surcharge/Communication Services Tax/District Tax/Sales Service TaxThe names and amounts of these fees vary greatly and depend upon your location. Each state, county and municipality has special taxes that every telecommunication provider is required to collect on their behalf.
Business and Occupation TaxA tax imposed on a company for the privilege of doing business in the taxing jurisdiction.
Franchise TaxA tax levied on a telecommunications carrier for a franchise to provide services in a particular area.
License TaxA tax for the privilege of soliciting and conducting business in a jurisdiction.
New York Franchise 184 and 184 Usage Two taxes levied on local phone carriers operating in New York whose primary business is providing local service.
NY MCTD 184a Usage TaxA tax levied on local toll usage for the NY Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District.
NY MCTD 186c TaxA tax levied on telecommunications services for the NY Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District.
Transit TaxA tax to suppport mass transit systems or projects in the service area.
Fees
Telephone Relay Charge/Relay Surcharge/State Deaf and Disabled FundThis fee funds state relay centers that enable persons with hearing or speech impediments or handicaps to use the telephone. If you have ever noticed a special phone number for hearing impaired assistance, this is the fee that covers that service.
Universal Service Fund Surcharge/Federal Universal Fund/ USF Line Charge/Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Charge/Louisiana Universal Service Fund/School and Library Fund/CA High Cost Fund A/CA High Cost Fund B/CA Teleconnect Fund/Telecommunications Assistance Service Fund/Telecommunications Education Assistance FundA charge to recover the company's contribution to Federal and State Universal Service Funds, which provide for affordable telecommunications services for rural regions, low income residential customers, and schools and libraries.
Primary Carrier Fee/Carrier Line Charge/
End User Common Line Charge (EUCL)/
Subscriber Line Charge		Behind the scenes, when you make a phone call, your line will routinely make connections crossing several different carriers before it rings at the other end. This per line fee enables access to other carriers and offsets costs associated with interconnecting your line to other carriers.
End User Access Fee/State Access ChargeSimilar to the End User Common Line Charge, this per line fee offsets costs associated with local facilities providing network access to and from national and international signal carriers.
PICC Charge/Carrier Access Recovery Charge/Local Connect Surcharge/LD Access ChargeThis fee covers the costs per line associated with access to long distance networks for national and international calls, and origination and termination of long distance calls through the local network. This charge is not mandated by any governmental authority.
Number portability fee/ LNP Surcharge/Local Number Portability ChargeYou've probably heard that when you sign up for telephone service from a different provider, you can keep the same telephone number. This fee is charged to help cover the costs of the systems which allow that service.
Data Service Recovery ChargeFor DSL customers, this charge offsets the costs associated with flowing high speed data across the various networks and backbone carriers both nationally and internationally.
Wholesale Carrier Charge
Wholesale Cost Recovery Fee		A fee charged by the Company due to increased wholesale costs and the administrative costs to collect and remit taxes, charges and regulatory fees. This charge is not mandated by any governmental authority.
Regulatory Compliance Fee This charge recovers the costs associated with regulatory advocacy and compliance, including administrative management costs. This fee is not a tax or a government imposed fee.
Cost Recovery Fee The charge covers investments in network enhancements, cost increases associated with regulatory changes, and storm recovery costs. This fee is not a tax or a government imposed fee.
Network UNE-L Fee (Talk)A fee charged by the Company for costs associated with building and maintaining a local network, connecting customers to the network, and updating related company systems. This charge is not mandated by any governmental authority.
Interlata Direct Dial FeeA charge to recover the costs of maintaining equipment, proper call routing and completion of direct dial long distance calls.
Interstate Network ChargeA charge to recover the costs of maintaining the company's interstate telecommunications network.
PUC FeeA fee to recover the company's mandatory contribution to certain state regulatory bodies.
Paper OptionThis fee applies under certain long distance calling plans, if the customer chooses a paper billing option. Customers can avoid this fee by contacting customer service and choosing the standard electronic credit card billing option.
Municipal Right of Way Use FeeA fee levied by the local municipality to compensate it for local phone lines crossing public rights-of-way.
Poison Control FundA fee imposed by the state for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a poison control system.
Telecommunications Infrastructure FundA charge to recover the Company's contributions to a taxing jurisdiction for the specific purpose of supporting telecommunications equipment like switches and networks.
Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance FeeA charge to recover the Company's contributions to a taxing jurisdiction for the specific purpose of supporting telecommunications equipment like switches and networks.
Energy Recovery ChargeA charge to compensate the company for rapid increases in energy expenses, fuel expenses associated with network maintenance, and higher related wholesale costs.