+
Washington taxes, surcharges & fees
Taxes, surcharges and fees defined
Review our guide to understanding the taxes listed on your services bill in Washington, including state-specific fees.
Defined in the tax definitions chart are the who, what, and where for each type of charge that may appear on your bill. Also, a legend shows the key codes that represent which type of service and who is being charged.
Legend
Key codes for the Tax Definitions Guide represent the type of service and who is being charged.
| Key | Tax Type | Key | Imposed On |
|---|---|---|---|
| T | Telephone (Voice) | C | Customer |
| C | Cable (Video) | W | Wave |
| D | Data (Internet) | W/P | Wave passed through to Customer |
| M | Mobile | S | Surcharge imposed by Wave |
Also in this region
See the Tax Definitions Guide for each state in this region:
Washington tax definitions guide
| Tax, fee or surcharge | Tax, fee or surcharge for T, C, D, or M | Imposed on | Definition | Location on the bill where the charge appears in the Tax, Surcharge or Fee section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Excise Tax | T | C | A federal tax on local telephone services and surcharges. | Telephone |
| Federal Universal Service Fund | T, M | W/P | A federal surcharge on interstate and international telephone services to support universal service programs such as the schools and libraries discount program. The Federal USF may also be assessed on phone surcharges. | Telephone, Mobile |
| Regulatory Fee | C | W/P | This fee is an annual assessment imposed by the FCC pursuant to Public Law 103-66, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. The FCC uses these monies to offset costs associated with its enforcement, public service, international and policy and rulemaking activities. | Cable |
| 911 Tax | T, M | C | The E911 system utilizes a system to route emergency telephone calls to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). The enhanced 911 system allows the PSAP operator to automatically see the phone number and address of the person calling. The E911 fee covers the expenses for the E911 system. All lines (residential and commercial) are subject to a monthly E911 charge per line which is imposed by the state, city or county. | Telephone, Mobile |
| State and Local Sales Tax | T, C, D, M | C | A tax levied by a state or local government on the sale or rental of tangible personal property and/or certain services such as telephone and cable services. | Telephone, Cable, Data, Mobile |
| Franchise Fee – Cable | C | W/P | A fee paid to a municipality to allow use of the public streets and rights-of-way and operate a cable television system within that municipality. This is a contractual agreement with the town/city and is normally assessed on all cable revenue. | Cable |
| PEG Access Fee | C | W/P | This fee is part of the Franchise agreement and is passed through to cable subscribers. The fee is to support Public, Educational, and Governmental facilities, equipment and services | Cable |
| Franchise Fee – Telecom | T, M | W/P | A fee paid to a municipality to allow use of the public streets and rights-of-way and to provide telecommunications services within that municipality. This is a contractual agreement with the town/city and is assessed on telecommunication services. | Telephone, Mobile |
| City/County Utility User Tax | T, C, M | W/P | A tax levied by a city or county to allow use of the public streets and rights-of-way and operate cable television system or to provide telecommunication services within that municipality. | Telephone, Cable, Mobile |
| Subscriber Line Charge | T | S | Monthly recurring charge applied to all phone line, trunk, and PRI services offered pursuant to WAVE’s State tariffs and/or price lists. There are no exemptions associated with this product charge. Rates are subject to change. This charge is not government mandated nor a tax or fee imposed on you by the government. It is a surcharge WAVE assesses and retains. | Telephone |
| Internet Infrastructure Fee | D | S | A fee to defray costs associated with building and maintaining WAVE’s fiber powered broadband network, as well as the costs of expanding network capacity to support the continued increase in customers’ average bandwidth consumption. This fee is not a government mandated tax or fee imposed on you by the government. This is a fee that WAVE assesses and retains. | Data |
| Regulatory Administration Fee | T, C, D | S | A fee to defray costs Wave incurs to comply with state and local regulations in Washington State. This fee is not a government mandated tax or fee imposed by the government. This is a fee that WAVE assesses and retains. | Telephone, Cable, Data |
| 988 Behavioral Health Tax | T, M | C | Washington State excise tax imposed on phone customers to fund the 988 behavioral health crisis hotline. The tax is imposed on a per phone line basis. | Telephone, Mobile |
| Local Broadcast Cable TV | C | C | Local Broadcast Cable TV provides access to local networks and shopping channels. It is required in order to access additional tiers of video service including Expanded Content, Digital Content Tiers, and Premium channels. | Cable |
| Local TV Station Fee | C | C | TV Stations levy a separate monthly fee for carriage of their content. This fee is applied to all TV packages to help offset the overall costs of providing programming content for local and regional broadcast television signals and is in addition to Local Broadcast Cable TV. | Cable |
| Expanded Content Fee | C | C | Cable networks levy a separate monthly fee for carriage of their content. This fee is applied to the Expanded Content TV package to help offset overall costs of providing programming content for cable television signals and is in addition to Local Broadcast Cable TV. | Cable |
| Interactive Equipment Fee | C | C | This fee provides access to the On-screen guide, On Demand, and Digital Music Channels. Applies on the first piece of interactive equipment. | Cable |
Quick links
Looking for something else?
Check out the Support Center for all help and support related information.
Disclaimers
Not all services, speeds, packages, equipment, channels, tiers, pricing, streaming services, product offerings and product features are available in all areas. Offers valid only for new residential customers or previous customers with account in good standing who have not had our service within the last 60 days. All names, logos, images and service marks are property of their respective owners. Other restrictions may apply.