Guide to Federal, State and Local Assessments

We've prepared the following guide to help you understand many of the taxes, surcharge, fees and assessments you might see on your NCNI invoice. This list contains the main ones. NCNI collects these charges on behalf of the governmental entities that impose them. All of these charges may not apply, or may have a different name in your state.

These are in constant change and depending on the government entity and their voting periods and other factors, the amount and percentages may change at any time; we will update this page as we are notified. Since there are thousands of smaller entity assessments, you will see them on your invoice only, please call for specific details.

Click on any heading to show/hide details.

  • Interstate Telecommunications Relay Services

    The Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) surcharge appears on your invoice each month. Do you know how these funds are used to help those with hearing and speech disabilities? Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) enable standard voice telephone users to talk to people who have difficulty hearing or speaking on the telephone. Under Title IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act, all telephone companies must provide free relay services either directly or through state programs throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all of the U.S. territories. These services are used everyday by businesses, government agencies, family, friends and employers of persons with hearing and speech disabilities.

  • Universal Service Fund (USF) FCC Federal

    The USF fee is a charge collected by telecommunications carriers for federal and state funds that support the provision of affordable communications services to rural, isolated, and high-cost regions of the country; low-income residential consumers; schools, libraries, and rural health care. All communications companies (including local, long distance, cellular, and paging providers) contribute to the Federal Universal Service Fund.

  • Universal Service Fund (USF) State

    Similar to the Federal Universal Service fund, this fund is assessed on a state level by a number of states. Funding helps pay for services to low income customers, customers with communication disabilities, and customers who reside in rural areas served by small or rural telecom providers where costs of providing telephone service is high. The contribution factor varies by state.

  • Telecommunications Assistance Program (TAP) or Lifeline Surcharge

    The TAP charge funds a "Lifeline" program that is administered pursuant to a state rule that provides a credit to be applied against the recurring monthly rate for provisioning local residential service to eligible residential customers. A fixed rate has been determined to fund this program and is charged to all business and residential customers by all local exchange carriers in the state.

  • Telephone Assistance for the Communications Impaired Person (TACIP)

    The TACIP is the result of programs administered in accordance with state rules that provide for the distribution of communication devices to eligible communications-impaired persons. It is also used to create and maintain a message relay service. Local exchange carriers operating in most states apply this charge to all business and residential customers' lines. This charge may also include or be referred to as the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) or the State Disabled Telephone Users Fund.

  • E911 Emergency System Charge

    The E911 surcharge funds community 911 emergency telephone systems. Taxes and Fees NCNI collects federal, state, and local taxes and other fees and surcharges levied on communications providers or the sale of goods and services on behalf of the government entities that impose these charges. These include, but are not limited to, sales taxes and municipal franchise fees. These taxes and fees vary by state and local jurisdiction.

  • Public Utility Commission Fee (PUC)

    The state PUC is a charge imposed on telecommunications providers and their customers to support the operational costs for that particular regulatory entity.

  • Long Distance Access Charge

    The Long Distance Access Charge is a monthly charge the company assesses to recover costs imposed by the Local Exchange Carriers furnishing access services for use with the company's interexchange service.

  • LDAC No PIC Charge

    This is a monthly charge that allows the Company to recover costs imposed by Local Exchange Carriers furnishing access services for use with the Company's interexchange long distance services. This charge is assessed to those customers who have not chosen a presubscribed interexchange carrier.

  • Access Recovery Charge

    The Access Recovery Charge (ARC) is calculated as a percentage of total monthly recurring charges, and implemented to recover a portion of the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier access circuit price increases approved by the FCC.

  • Federal Subscriber Line Charge

    The Federal Subscriber Line Charge (FSLC) previously appeared on NCNI invoices as the End User Common Line Charge (EUCL). The FSLC is a monthly charge allowed by the FCC. It is designed to help local telephone companies recover a portion of the costs associated with providing long distance carriers with access to the local phone network.

  • Municipal Franchise Fee

    The municipal franchise fee is also often referred to as a "right-of-way" fee. It is a monthly charge imposed by local jurisdictions and paid by the customer to help recover the costs associated with providing telephone service, to include installation of underground conduit, outside telephone wires, and telephone poles. This fee varies by location and is often based upon an agreement between the local jurisdiction and NCNI or upon local or state law.

  • Federal Excise Tax

    The Federal Excise tax is imposed by the IRS and applied as percentage of stand alone local telephone service and related features.

  • Local Number Portability

    This charge appears as the "Number Portability" charge on NCNI bills. It is a monthly federal charge authorized by the FCC that provides funds for significant upgrades to networks, support services and database systems that allow customers to keep their local telephone numbers when changing local service providers.

  • Sales Tax

    Sales tax is a tax imposed by nearly all states, counties, cities and districts, on the sale of various goods and services for use or consumption. The applicability of the tax, as well as the rates, varies by each jurisdiction's constitutional provisions.

  • Federal Regulatory Recovery Charge and Property Tax Allotment Surcharge

    Identified as "Fed Reg Fee and Property Tax" on your NCNI bill, this is a monthly charge assessed on interstate and international charges that allows the company to recover costs imposed by: (i) federal regulation including, but not limited to, funding Telecommunications Relay Service for the hearing-impaired and national number administration; and (ii) federal governmental authorities for taxes imposed on property owned by the Company.

  • Property Tax Recovery Charge

    Is identified as Property Tax Recovery Charge on your NCNI bill. It is a monthly charge applied in some states to net intrastate charges, and provides for the recovery of property taxes imposed by states on our telecommunications facilities that NCNI has built and maintained for the benefit of customers in a given state.

  • Utility Users Tax

    Is a tax imposed on the consumer for using a utility (telecommunication) service. The tax is commonly based on a percentage of the amount billed to each customer for the service.

  • Business & Occupation (B&O) Tax

    The Business & Occupation Tax is a privilege tax imposed on a company for the privilege of doing business in the taxing jurisdiction. B&O taxes are typically imposed on the telecommunication provider. Some states allow the telecommunication provider to pass on these taxes to the consumer identified either as a tax or a surcharge.

  • Statutory Gross Receipts Tax

    The Statutory Gross Receipts Tax is a tax on the privilege of doing business in the state measured by gross receipts received from business done in the state. This tax is typically imposed on the telecommunication provider; however, some states allow the provider to pass on the tax to the consumer.

  • DEAF or Telecom Relay Svc Tax Surcharge

    This is a surcharge imposed by the state on telecommunication providers and that may be passed on to customers to provide telecommunication service to hearing and speech impaired individuals.

  • Residential Service Protection Fund (RSPF) Surcharge

    This is a state specific surcharge that funds the OR Telephone Assistance program, Telecommunications Devices Access Program (TDAP) and Telecommunications Relay Service (OTRS). This surcharge is assessed at a flat rate per line.

  • High Cost Fund, A, B, Other Surcharge

    This surcharge is imposed on telecommunication providers and may be passed on to customers to provide telecommunication service in high cost areas.

  • Poison Control Surcharge

    The Poison Control Surcharge is a surcharge imposed on telecommunication providers that may be passed on to customers to provide funding for Poison Control Centers.

  • Excise Tax

    Excise tax is a tax imposed on payments received for the privilege of sending or receiving telecommunication messages.

  • Interstate Access Charge (IAC)

    The IAC is a charge to defray the costs of maintenance and upkeep of the network so that customers can access the interstate telecommunications network to place and receive interstate long distance calls. This charge is assessed at separate flat rates for single and multi-line customers. This is not a charge for long distance services.

  • Interconnection Fee (ICF)

    The ICF is a flat-rate, monthly charge assessed on lines and circuits, designed to recover portions of the Company's costs of interconnection to the public switch telephone network (PSTN). The ICF is charged per line or circuit.

  • Network Access Assessment (NAA)

    The NAA is assessed as a percentage of monthly recurring and usage charges for local, intrastate, interstate, international, data, private-line and voice messaging services and the Interstate Access Charge (IAC) and Interconnection Fee (ICF). The NAA is intended to recover NCNI's increased operating cost due to certain rulings by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The NAA is charged as a percentage of total monthly recurring and usage charges.

  • City or Local Taxes, Surcharges

    Are based on the individual local entity, there are literally thousands of these through out the country.

  • License Tax

    Is a tax levied on the service provider for the privilege of soliciting and conducting business in a jurisdiction. Generally, a license tax is a flat, annual fee, but in some cases it is measured by gross receipts.

  • Service Tax

    Service tax is a tax imposed on the privilege of making sales of services.

  • District Tax

    Is a tax imposed on the privilege of making sales within a special district (e.g., a rapid transit authority, school district, development zone, stadiums, etc). Many names may apply depending on your local jurisdiction.