Florida Cell Phone Taxes/Charges

All cell phones are taxed to the ridiculous

Cell phone companies base their tax rates on your billing address generally, not on your phone number. Unless you've somehow not changed your billing address, you're paying Florida taxes and fees already, and switching to a new Florida based phone won't affect that. (Florida has cell phone taxes that are among the highest.)

The only way I know of to avoid them (or, more precisely, avoid dealing with them directly, as doubtless you're still paying them somehow under the covers) is to use a prepaid cell phone service like Tracfone, Net 10, Straight Talk, etc. The only extra tax you have to pay explicitly with them is any ordinary sales tax on the purchase of minutes.

My billing address is not in Florida. My bill lists the taxes--I know what they are. One is for the billing address city tax that is close to 9%.

DrewE wrote:
Cell phone companies base their tax rates on your billing address generally, not on your phone number. Unless you've somehow not changed your billing address, you're paying Florida taxes and fees already, and switching to a new Florida based phone won't affect that. (Florida has cell phone taxes that are among the highest.)

The only way I know of to avoid them (or, more precisely, avoid dealing with them directly, as doubtless you're still paying them somehow under the covers) is to use a prepaid cell phone service like Tracfone, Net 10, Straight Talk, etc. The only extra tax you have to pay explicitly with them is any ordinary sales tax on the purchase of minutes.

In Oklahoma, the state collects an add-on 911 service charge whenever I buy Tracfone minutes. The other taxes (and universal service charge) are no doubt buried in the basic cost, collected from Tracfone by the service provider who has to pay them to the respective governments.

Luke Porter wrote:
I'm a Florida resident with a out-of-state phone that has bunch of local charges and taxes.

I'm wondering if a Florida (Monroe County) cell phone has a bunch of charges?

I just switched to a Florida cell phone because my Wisconsin cell had so many extra charges and taxes on it too.

I use Straight Talk now with a Florida number. When I buy my pre-paid card at Walmart the only additional charge is the Florida state sales tax and nothing else.

Albiet I do have a problem with how they can charge sales tax on a service. You phone usage is not a taxable product.

I also dropped my iphone/att because of all the extra charges they kept coming up with that took my bill from 100 to over 150.

I found the ONLY way to not have to pay all those ridiculous made up 'extra' charges is to go prepaid no contract. I pay 45 bucks a month now for unlimited talk, text and date plus just the Florida sales tax.

And I don't have to give them one iota of personal info. Not even a credit card number because I pay cash for the prepaid card.
Makes me happy.:W

I use an AT&T Go Phone with unlimited talk, text and data. It has an upstate NY area code where I use it in the summer months and in SC in the winter. Other than my one total monthly usage fee, I don't see any state taxes anywhere.

PackerBacker wrote:
I use an AT&T Go Phone with unlimited talk, text and data. It has an upstate NY area code where I use it in the summer months and in SC in the winter. Other than my one total monthly usage fee, I don't see any state taxes anywhere.

My old cell was a GoPhone registered in Wisconsin and it had city, county, usage taxes you name it added on. :R

GoPhone/ATT told me each state taxes where the

number originates

was different. No matter where I bought the prepaid card when I loaded it I always was charged the Wisconsin tax.
I.E. load a 25.00 card and would get only 23.00 applied.

My question of Straight Talk is if I am traveling and buy a prepaid card in another state then I pay THAT states tax charge?

They can't go by my cell phone number because the card when purchased does not include it. So the assumption being the 'card' itself is being taxed by each Walmart? Simply as a money maker?

rockhillmanor wrote:

PackerBacker wrote:
I use an AT&T Go Phone with unlimited talk, text and data. It has an upstate NY area code where I use it in the summer months and in SC in the winter. Other than my one total monthly usage fee, I don't see any state taxes anywhere.

My old cell was a GoPhone registered in Wisconsin and it had city, county, usage taxes you name it added on. :R

GoPhone/ATT told me each state taxes where the

number originates

was different. No matter where I bought the prepaid card when I loaded it I always was charged the Wisconsin tax.
I.E. load a 25.00 card and would get only 23.00 applied.

My question of Straight Talk is if I am traveling and buy a prepaid card in another state then I pay THAT states tax charge?

They can't go by my cell phone number because the card when purchased does not include it. So the assumption being the 'card' itself is being taxed by each Walmart? Simply as a money maker?

Maybe for the taxing authority but not for Walmart in your scenario. Remember, sales taxes charged by retailers is a strong arm technique to make the business the tax collector and administrator for the state, city etc. I would much rather NOT have to collect the tax, file the returns, and remit the tax back to the state but that is just the way it is.

I heard, on the radio, this evening, that Tn Residents will have to pay an extra 1.16 per line 911 tax including cell starting this next month. Already pay some amount. This will be another appx 6 dollars for land line and cells.
There is a whole litney, of taxes and fees on cell bill and land line that weren't there even 10 years ago.
I haven't looked at it in a while. It is a bit ridiculous.
That 20 to 30 dollars is not insignifigant.

I get my Tracfone service cards from Walmart using email delivery. No tax charged even though my state has a 7% sales tax. If I buy the card in the store I do pay a tax.

Here is the sumary fom a recent 60 minute 90 day card:

Subtotal: $19.88
Shipping: Free
Tax: $0.00
Order total: $19.88