Taxes, Fees and Other Charges
The following is a brief explanation of the taxes and fees that may appear on your Harbor invoices if applicable. If you need additional information, please call Customer Service at 1-866-414-9090.
State and Local Taxes
These taxes are regulated by the state, local, and municipal governments. They apply to most line items appearing on a local and/or long distance bill. This tax may also be referred to as a ‘gross receipts’ tax in some states.
Access Recovery Charge
The FCC permits local telephone companies to assess this charge to recover a portion of the costs incurred in the provision and maintenance of telephone service to connect customer’s homes and businesses to the telephone network. Charge $.50/line.
Carrier Infrastructure Fee Charge
Carrier Infrastructure Surcharge is a 1.75% assessment on all services. The assessment is for the administration of services by personnel and systems throughout our network, including network security, infrastructure management, tax, regulatory, and tariff administration.
Federal Universal Service Fund (USF)
The USF helps to make basic phone service affordable and available to all Americans, including consumers with low incomes and those living in remote areas. The USF is also used to assist organizations such as schools, libraries, and rural health care providers with their telecommunications expenses. Long distance companies are required to contribute to the fund based on projected universal service demands. The FCC adjusts contribution levels on a quarterly basis. Current and prior contribution factors can be found on the FCC’s website. Although this charge is not government mandated, some long distance companies recover their support requirements by adding a USF charge onto their bills.
Emergency 911 (E-911)
911 surcharges are levied by local governments and are used to help pay for emergency services such as fire, rescue, and 911 operation centers. Some local authorities base it on a percentage, while others establish specific fees.
Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge (PICC)
PICC is a monthly charge assessed to each multi-line business telephone number. It does not apply to residences or single-line businesses. The purpose of PICC is to help offset costs of completing calls between the local and long distance telephone companies’ equipment. The fee is applied regardless of whether a subscriber uses long distance or not. The FCC establishes pricing levels for the local exchange carrier.
Local Number Portability (LNP)
The FCC authorizes telephone companies to recover certain costs for providing ‘telephone number portability’ to its customers. This allows subscribers to maintain their same telephone number, with limitations, when changing local service providers.
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)
This state regulated surcharge is used to help pay for the relay center that transmits and translates calls for hearing and/or speech impaired individuals.
Paper Bill fee
Harbor is Going Green! This charge applies to all accounts in certain states that chose to continue to receive a full paper bill. Fee is designed to recover the cost of generating, administering, and postage of a paper bill. In lieu of a paper invoice, customers can Go Green and elect to receive an email invoice at no charge.
Franchise fees
A utility franchise is a contract between a city and a utility company that outlines certain requirements for the utility to use the city’s public rights of way. The establishment of franchise agreements between cities and utilities is a customary business practice and legal process outlined by the state constitution in Alabama. Cities must set the structure of any proposed franchise fee and can only apply the franchise fee for customers within the boundary of their respective jurisdictions. These fees are listed as a separate item on subscriber’s bills, showing the amount and the city’s name to which the fee is payable.
FCC Fee Direct Broadcast Service
This fee represents a portion of the cost to carry and distribute broadcast television signals to subscribers.
Regulatory Compliance Fee
This fee offsets the increased costs of regulatory and compliance burdens incurred to provide telecommunications services to our subscribers.
