Many customers are surprised to see how many additional charges appear on their bills. Some of these fees are government mandated, while others are charged by the company and the revenues are retained by the company. Here are the most common charges on consumer phone bills, separated into two categories: those mandated by the government, and those not government mandated.

Government Mandated Telephone Fees: The following fees are charged by all telephone companies and are not negotiable.

• Telephone Assistance Plan (TAP): $0.07 per line, per month (up from $.02 on August 1. 2008)
  This fee is charged on each telephone line you have (not including cellular phones). It is used to help provide telephone service to Minnesota's low-income residents.
  

• Telecommunications Access Minnesota (TAM): $0.10 per line, per month (increased from $0.06 on August 1, 2010)
  This fee is charged on each line you have, including cell phones. It is used to fund programs that provide telephone service to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired.
  

• 9-1-1:$0.80 per line, per month (increased from $0.75 on August 1, 2010)
  This fee appears on all telephone bills to operate Minnesota's 9-1-1 emergency response system.
  

• State or local sales tax
  These fees are assessed by state and/or local governments.

Non-Government Mandated Fees
The following fees may appear on your local phone bill and at first glance appear to be government mandated taxes, but in fact are not. These fees are not deposited into the local, state or federal government treasury, but are retained by the carrier. Some companies do not charge all these fees.

• Subscriber Line Charge (SLC)
  Also called a "Federal Access Charge," or "Interstate Access Charge," the stated purpose of this fee is to help cover the local phone company's costs of operating the local telephone network. This charge may be up to several dollars per month.
  

• Local Number Portability (LNP)
  LNP allows you to keep your telephone number if you switch local telephone companies. An LNP charge on your bill pays for the cost of providing this service. LNP charges are temporary. According to FCC Rules, each company can collect the charge for five years after implementing the service.
  

• In-state Access Recovery Fee
  Several long distance carriers in Minnesota have recently added this charge to their phone bills. The stated purpose of this fee is to recover the companies' expense of providing long distance service in Minnesota. You can avoid paying this extra charge by selecting one of the many long distance carriers that does not charge this fee.
  

• Universal Service Fund (USF)
  Carriers must pay a percentage of their revenues into a national fund that helps provide telephone service to poor and rural customers and is helping to link the nation's schools, libraries, and rural hospitals to telecommunications networks, including the internet. Many carriers add a line item to consumer bills to recover this payment, but it is not government mandated and should not be in the "taxes" section of your bill. You may also see this charge on a cellular or pager bill.

If you see a fee on your bill and are unsure whether it is a government-mandated fee, you may contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce at 651-297-3375 or telecom.commerce@state.mn.us.