Frequently Asked Questions about Billing Taxes and Other Fees

If you can't find what you are looking for here, please feel free to call our Customer Solutions department at 1-800-818-LINC (5462).

What taxes can I expect to pay?

Unless you are exempt, you can expect to pay federal, state and local taxes as well as other applicable fees, such as E911 and Universal Service Fund fees (USF). Southern Linc customers are taxed differently, depending on location. Taxes vary significantly between states. Your location is determined by your primary locale of use, also known as your service address. The service address was determined when you filled out the service order form in the field "primary locale of use."

What is the E911 fee?

E911 is a flat fee imposed on telecommunication service users by state or local governments. The fee is passed on to the state or county and is used to cover the costs of maintaining an emergency 911 system.

What are Late Fees?

Pursuant to your Customer Agreement, you may be charged Late Fees assessed at 1.5% on any overdue amount on your account.

My organization is tax exempt. How do I file tax exempt status with Southern Linc?

Exemption procedures are unique by state. To be considered exempt, you must provide documentation from your state indicating exempt status. In general, exemptions for telecommunication services are limited to government agencies.

Are all taxes on the Master account or Sub account level?

Corporate phone packages are taxed on the Master account level. Services are taxed at the Sub account (individual unit) level.

What is the Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee?

The Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee is a monthly per-unit fee that reflects Southern Linc' cost of complying with government rules and initiatives, including, but not limited to, Telephone Number Pooling, Wireless Number Portability, E911, and other charges related to Southern Linc' governmental costs. This fee is not a tax or a government mandated charge and is subject to change. The current fee amount is $0.45 per month.

What is the E911 Cost Recovery Fee?

Southern Linc has made an extensive investment in its network to help emergency response agencies identify the approximate location of its subscribers when dialing 911. The E911 Cost Recovery Fee reflects a portion of the costs associated with this investment. This fee is not a tax or a government mandated charge. The fee for Georgia customers is $1.00 per month.

What is the Universal Service Fund (USF) fee?

The Universal Service Fund (USF) is maintained by the 1996 Telecommunications Act to promote the availability of telecommunications services to all citizens of the United States. The USF fee is the financing mechanism that supports this mandate. Southern Linc remits payments to the Universal Service Administrative company, which administers this fund on behalf of the FCC. The amount a customer may pay for this fee is related to the amount of interstate telecommunications services used by the customer in a given month. Most customers should expect to pay a fee between 0.70% and 2.8% of the telecommunications service charges on their phone bills.

What is the Administrative Cost Recovery Fee?

The Administrative Cost Recovery Fee is a monthly per-unit fee that reflects a portion of Southern Linc' cost of ad valorem and municipal taxes and business license expenses. This fee is not a government-mandated charge to the customer and is subject to change. The current fee amount is $0.82 per month per line. If an account has more than 30 lines, the monthly fee will be capped at 30 lines. The Administrative Cost Recovery Fee does not apply to Lifeline customers or customers on government contracts.