Verizon, just like most home phone providers, will charge you with taxes and fees. You may be thinking that if you read through the contract, they would say something about it, but like most things in life, we don’t read those contracts we just sign them because it feels good. If you would have read Verizon’s Contract, it clearly states that taxes and surcharges could be applied. So lets look into this a little bit more to better understand why Verizon charges these taxes and surcharges and how much service costs in your state.
Verizon taxes and fees won’t be a surprise if you’ve read through the rest of their policy. Checking plan access fees ($10-$17) get added onto the standard recurring charges, which is easy to swallow for someone who chose their month-to-month plan with a two-year contract.
Verizon charges a variety of fees for taxes and fees, depending on the plan you choose. Taxes and fees are charged on top of the monthly rate for your plan, and can vary based on your area.
For example, if you have a smartphone plan with unlimited text messages and data, you’ll be charged $5 per month in taxes and fees. If you have a basic phone plan with no text messaging or data, you’ll be charged only $2 per month in taxes and fees.
How much does verizon charge for taxes and fees
Many Verizon customers are going to see a few extra dollars on their next phone bill. Starting in June, Verizon is raising the administrative fee it charges postpaid customers by $1.35, bringing it up to $3.30 per voice line. The fee increase only applies to voice lines — if you have a data-only line for a tablet, for example, there’s no change.
In an email to The Verge, company spokesperson Adria Tomaszewski didn’t cite a specific reason for the price increase on consumer accounts:
From time to time, we review and make adjustments to fees to defray some of Verizon’s administrative and telco expenses and costs of complying with regulatory requirements. To that end, Verizon Consumer will implement a change beginning in June.
Really clears things up! The company is also adding a new “Economic Adjustment Charge” to some business accounts starting June 16th. That’s a $2.20 monthly charge per line for each smartphone and data device and 98 cents for each basic phone and tablet on an account. Verizon is a little more explicit about the reasons for this new charge:
The current economic conditions impacting businesses worldwide continue to mount and despite our best efforts to mitigate further impact, we intend to offset a portion of these costs by implementing an Economic Adjustment Charge.
Verizon certainly isn’t alone here. AT&T includes its own administrative fee on bills and is settling a class-action suit in California, so it can keep charging it to customers. AT&T also recently raised prices on some older plans, and CEO John Stankey alluded to price hikes coming across the industry on the company’s last earnings call. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg also mentioned “different types of cost adjustments” and changes to pricing as options to combat inflation on the company’s Q1 2022 investor call.
Verizon also revealed on the call that, despite a 2.1 percent increase in total revenue year on year, net income was down 12.4 percent. Hiking up an ambiguous monthly fee could be one way to address that shortfall. In fact, another class-action lawsuit in California alleges that Verizon uses this fee to pad its margins without overtly raising plan prices. Maybe those big checks it wrote in last year’s C-band auction are catching up.
verizon hidden fees
I’ve spent many hours researching Verizon’s hidden charges. I compiled FAQs, complaints from forums, and other pages into this guide.
While Verizon doesn’t have the most ‘hidden fees,’ they do have plenty of charges that you’ll want an eye out for. And this piece will help you do so.
Keep reading to understand everything on your Verizon bill.
Verizon Hidden Charges
To help you find every possible hidden charge Verizon has, I’ll cover these areas:
- Home Internet
- Cellular plans
- Home Phone
- Fiber optic television
- Equipment
- Fees for shipping accessories and equipment
- Damaged and unreturned equipment
- Additional services
- Late payments
- Miscellaneous fees
The following sections will cover each fee in depth. Keep in mind that none of these costs include local or state taxes.
Verizon can change these fees at a moment’s notice. And we may not catch the changes in time. So check their website before ordering your service.
Verizon Internet Hidden Fees
Here are common fees you’ll find when dealing with one of Verizon’s many Home Internet services:
Fee Type | Amount |
Activation Fee | $99 (one-time) |
Verizon LTE Home Equipment Rental | $10/mo. or $240 (one-time) |
Whole Home Wi-Fi | $20/mo. |
Fios Router | $15/mo. or $299 (one-time) |
Fios Quantum Gateway Router | $12/mo. or $199 (one-time) |
Verizon Router | $18/mo. or $399 (one-time) |
Verizon Home Internet fees.
You can waive the $99 activation fee by ordering your Verizon plan online.
There’s no escaping the LTE Home equipment rental fee. Because it uses Verizon’s 4G network to give you internet.
Their 5G Home Internet plan includes the gateway (modem/router combo) in its monthly fee [1].
You can’t use your own router with these plans to cancel out the equipment fee. But you could use a third-party router in conjunction with your LTE or 5G router. For a better connection.
And Fios gives you some flexibility. You can get your own router, but you’ll have to deal with connecting it to your Fios ONT. I cover how to do so in a separate guide.
Whole Home Wi-Fi is a fancy term for selling you a subscription service for Wi-Fi extenders, their Fios Router, and Wi-Fi health checks.
It’s optional and not required. And it appears only Gigabit Connect customers can use this feature.
Verizon Unlimited Hidden Fees
Fees you’ll find for Verizon’s mobile services include:
Fee Type | Amount |
Activation Fee | $35 per line |
Early Termination Fee | $175–$350 |
Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge | $3.30 per voice line $0.06 per data-only line |
Regulatory Charge | $0.16 per voice line $0.02 per data-only line |
Federal Universal Service Charge | 33% of international and interstate telecom charges |
Detailed Billing | $1.99/mo. per line |
TravelPass | $10/day per line |
Use Voice Service on Data-only Plan | $0.25/minute |
Access Recovery Charge (ARC) | Varies |
Verizon 5G Unlimited fees.
You’ll have to pay a one-time $35 fee whenever upgrading your phone plan or adding another line. There’s no way to bypass this fee. Unless Verizon has a promotion.
Verizon Unlimited Wireless plans need a two-year- or month-to-month contract. Canceling a 2-year agreement early will result in a $175 fee. The $350 fee comes from canceling your contract and having an ‘advanced’ device.
There’s no way around the Recovery, Regulatory, and Service charge. Nor is there a way to avoid the ‘Detailed Billing’ fee.
They don’t explain the ‘Detailed Billing’ fee. They only state that each line will pay $1.99 per month [2].
To avoid the ‘Use Voice Service on Data-only Plan’ fee, don’t call people using a data-only Wireless plan.
You’ll also have to pay local and state taxes for each plan. These rates depend on your location.
Verizon won’t charge customers with the Lifeline discount the ARC fee.
Agent Assistance Fee
Verizon charges a $10 Agent Assistance fee to set up a payment arrangement over the phone with their customer service. Or when speaking with a Live Chat team member.
You can avoid this fee by setting up your plan’s payment arrangement through these methods:
- My Verizon online account
- My Verizon mobile app
- Verizon’s automated phone system: dial #768 on your phone to use this service
- Bill Pay Kiosks at Verizon stores
I’d imagine they charge this fee to free up customer service staff. But it’s still a bit absurd.
Data Overage Surcharge
Upon surpassing the wireless plan’s data allowances, Verizon will charge you $15 per 1 GB of data you use (rounded up).
If you go 1 KB over your allowance, you’ll pay $15. The same goes for using 999 MB.
You can avoid this fee by reducing background task usage (like photo syncing). You’ll need to visit individual settings for your phone’s apps and disable background usage. Or turn off syncing in your phone’s ‘Apps’ menu.
You could also opt for Unlimited data plans if you use a lot of data. Or use public Wi-Fi when you can.
Avoid the latter when possible because of the security risks of this type of Wi-Fi. But if you have a virtual private network (VPN), that can help. Because it’ll lessen the likelihood of a hacker intercepting your network transmissions.
Verizon Home Phone Hidden Fees
Additional costs you’ll find for Verizon’s landline voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services include:
Fee Type | Amount |
International Landline Calls | $0.04–$0.91/minute |
International Mobile Calls | $0.13–$0.91/minute |
Verizon home phone fees.
Verizon considers mobile calls as ‘Premium’ numbers. That means they’ll charge you more per minute.
If you’re using Verizon’s landline service for residential use, you may want to reconsider using it for calling people internationally. You’ll want to try using Wi-Fi calling or video conferencing apps to save money on these fees.
Like WhatsApp or Skype.
Verizon Fios TV Fees
Here are common Fios TV fees:
Fee Type | Amount |
Digital Adapter | $10/mo. |
CableCARD | $10/mo. |
DVR Service | $12/mo. |
Multi-room DVR Service (Enhanced) | $20/mo. |
Multi-room DVR Service (Premium) | $30/mo. |
Seasonal Service Suspension | $50 |
Service Charge | Up to $100 |
Tech Visit Charge | Up to $100 (additional charges may apply) |
Outlet Installation or Relocation | $60 |
Upgrade or Add Set-top Box | $60 |
TV Equipment Installation | Up to $100 |
TV Equipment Upgrade | $50 |
Fios TV Setup (Activating Existing Outlets) | $99 |
Fios TV Setup (Activating New Outlets) | $160 |
Verizon Fios television fees.
Many of these fees you can’t avoid (like the CableCARD).
You can avoid activation fees on existing outlets by ordering your plan online. But there’s nothing you can do about adding new fiber TV connections.
The following sections will cover additional fees you’ll see on your Fios TV plans. And some optional add-ons.
Broadcast TV Fee
Verizon Fios television customers need to pay a broadcast TV fee of up to $6.49 monthly if they have one of the following plans:
- Fios TV Mundo
- Fios TV Mundo Plus
- Fios TV Local
- Fios TV Extreme HD
- Fios TV Ultimate HD
- Fios TV Preferred HD
- Custom TV: Home & Family, News & Variety, or Sports & News
The broadcast TV surcharge makes it so Verizon can broadcast certain networks (like ABC).
You can only avoid this fee by canceling the above-mentioned TV plans.
Video Franchise Fee
Some cities will require television service providers to pay a surcharge to offer TV services in their city. Verizon will pass this fee onto you.
The amount you’ll pay for this fee depends on your city.
Regional Sports Fee
You’ll have to pay up to $8.99 monthly for Verizon’s regional sports fee. You’ll need to pay this fee if you use these plans:
- Fios TV Mundo
- Fios TV Mundo Plus
- Fios TV Extreme HD
- Fios TV Ultimate HD
- Fios TV Preferred HD
- Custom TV: Home & Family, News & Variety, or Sports & News
Verizon applies this non-government mandated fee because your plan contains sports networks. You can only dodge this fee by not subscribing to the plans I mentioned a second ago.
International TV Channels
You’ll need to pay an additional monthly fee for channels in various languages. Here’s a list of your options:
Region | Number of Channels | Price |
Korean | 4 | $25/mo. |
Korean Plus | 5 | $30/mo. |
Cantonese | NA | $35/mo. |
Mandarin | 6 | $14/mo. |
Hindi | 2 | $20/mo. |
Hindi Plus | 6 | $34/mo. |
Filipino | 2 | $24.99/mo. |
Italian | 2 | $15/mo. |
Russian | 1 | $15/mo. |
Russian Plus | 2 | $30/mo. |
French | NA | $11.99/mo. |
Portuguese | 2 | $15/mo. |
Portuguese Plus | 3 | $25/mo. |
Verizon Fios TV international channels compared.
They offer additional international channels such as:
- Vietnamese
- Japanese
- Greek
- Caribbean
- Brazilian
- More
They don’t list the prices for these international networks on their website. You have to apparently create an account to see these prices. They do list some channels you’ll find under each language [3].
And there aren’t many. For instance, I found 1 Vietnamese channel (SBTN Saigon Broadcasting Television Network Channel).
Spanish Packages
Verizon Fios TV charges $10 a month for the first Spanish package you get. You’ll need to pay an extra $5 monthly per Spanish package you add to your plan.
Here are the various Spanish regions you’ll find:
Region | Number of Channels |
Mexico | 53 |
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Central America | 50 |
Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, and more | 50 |
Spain | 49 |
Verizon Fios television Spanish package channels compared.
Here’s an example.
Let’s say you get the channels for Mexico; that’s $10 a month. If you want to add Spain and Dominican Republic support, add $10 monthly.
$5 per month for each additional channel.
Premium Channels
Verizon Fios TV will charge you the following rates for Premium channels:
- 1 channel for $15 a month
- 2 for $25 a month
- 3 for $30 monthly
- All 5 for $40 a month
It doesn’t matter how you mix the channels.
If you only want HBO, then you would pay the same price as you would if you only wanted SHOWTIME.
And here are the channels you can choose from:
- STARZ: you could rewatch Spider-Man: No Way Home
- HBO: has House of the Dragon
- SHOWTIME: it has Dexter
- CINEMAX: good for movies like Goodfellas
- EPIX: has shows like Billy the Kid
They don’t give you a discount if you get 4 premium channels.
Sports TV Packages
Verizon’s television sports packages and their fees include:
Pass Name | * Price | Season |
NHL Center Ice | $49.99 | Half season |
NBA League Pass | $28.99 | Half season |
MBA Extra Innings | $139.99 | Regular season |
MLB Premium | $139.99 | Regular season |
MLS Direct Kick | NA | NA |
Fox Soccer Plus | $14.99/mo. | NA |
Various Verizon sports packages compared.
* Prices can change at any time because of various scenarios. Like pandemics. And seasons have set durations. So prices and supported packages can change whenever.
Before getting a Verizon Fios plan based on this table, first check out Verizon.com/sports/tv-packages to see their current packages.
Verizon Equipment Fees
Verizon has various equipment fees that include:
Charge | Price |
Fios TV Voice Remote | $24.99 |
Replacement Fios Remote | $15 |
Suspended Fios TV Service for Non-payment | $50 |
Set-top Box | $12/mo. per box (first 2 boxes) |
Set-top Box | $6/mo. per box (3–5 boxes) |
Fios Router | $15/mo. or $299 (one-time) |
Fios Quantum Gateway Router | $12/mo. or $199 (one-time) |
Verizon Router | $18/mo. or $399 (one-time) |
Verizon’s equipment fees.
You can opt out of paying for Verizon routers by getting a third-party router.
There’s nothing you can do about Set-top Box rentals if you want Fios TV. Unless you opt out of their fiber television services entirely.
Verizon Shipping Fees
You’ll see these fees when shipping Verizon devices or equipment:
Shipping Method | Cost | Order By |
2-Day Shipping | Free | 8 PM (ET) |
Standard Overnight | $12.99 | 10 PM (ET) |
Priority Overnight | $14.99 | 10 PM (ET) |
2-Day (For Accessories) | Free (orders $49 and over) | 8 PM (ET) |
3-5 Days (For Accessories) | Free | 4 PM (local time) |
2-Day (For Accessories) | $6.99 (orders under $49) | 4 PM (local time) |
In-Store Pickup | Free | NA |
Verizon’s equipment and device shipping fees.
You’ll need to pay an extra $2 per device or accessory Verizon adds to your order.
Unreturned Equipment Fee
Verizon charges a one-time fee between $70 and $375 for damaged or unreturned equipment. Here are what these fees look like:
Charge | Price |
Fios TV One | $375 |
Video media server | $375 |
SD DVR | $330 |
HD DVR | $260 |
HD | $190 |
Fios Service Unit | $210 |
Fios TV One Mini | $115 |
SD | $160 |
Video Media Client | $115 |
Digital Adapter | $90 |
CableCARD | $70 |
Verizon Quantum Gateway Router | $100 |
Verizon Router | $200 |
Fios Router | $175 |
Fees for unreturned or damaged Verizon equipment.
Take care of equipment when renting it from Verizon. It’s their property, so they’ll charge you if you damage it.
When it comes to unreturned equipment, you may run into issues out of your control. Like reckless postal staff.
Keep your equipment return receipts. That way, if Verizon charges you, you can complain and prove that you returned their equipment.
Then they should reimburse the fee. If not, escalate the matter to the customer retention department. Or management (if possible).
Fees for Additional Services
You will find fees for freebies Verizon gives you once their subscriptions expire. Here are some examples:
Service | Promotional Duration | Price After Promo. |
Disney+ | 6 months | $7.99/mo. |
discovery+ (Add-Free) | 6 months | $6.99/mo. |
SimpliSafe | 1 month | $17.99/$27.99/mo. |
Apple Music | 6 months | $9.99/mo. |
Google Play Pass | 6 months | $4.99/mo. |
Apple Arcade | 6 months | $4.99/mo. |
Additional service charges for Verizon.
Here’s an example. If you forget to cancel Disney+ and it expires, Disney’s streaming service will charge you the $7.99 monthly fee through your Verizon account.
You can cancel these subscriptions at any time. So if you don’t intend on using these services after their promotional duration, ensure you check the “next billing date.” Then cancel a day or two before that date.
I suggest doing it earlier in case errors happen during the cancelation process. And once you cancel, double-check your work. Make sure that it doesn’t say they’ll charge you.
There’s also YouTube TV. Verizon lists it as a plan. But it doesn’t have a different cost than getting it through YouTube.
It’s $64.99 a month for 85+ channels.
Late Payment Fee
Verizon charges $9 or 1.5% per month of your unpaid balance as a late fee. The option they choose depends on the greater number.
Here’s an example. You have an overdue balance of $30. Verizon will charge you $9. Since it’s greater than 1.5% of 30 [4].
They give you a 7-day grace period after your balance is due to pay your overdue bill. Before they interrupt your service. Though during this period, they’ll still charge you the late fee.
To avoid this fee, turn on Auto Pay and ensure you have enough money in your bank.
Taxes and Other Fees
Other random fees you’ll see on your Verizon bill include:
Fee Type | Amount |
Gross Receipts Surcharge | Varies |
Local Business License Surcharge | Varies |
Communication Sales Tax | Varies |
State 911 Fee | Varies |
Miscellaneous Verizon fees.
Businesses must pay the Gross Receipts surcharge, but they don’t need to pass it on to customers. Verizon allegedly does this to offset their costs and make more money.
The business license surcharge applies to businesses with gross revenue exceeding a set threshold (unspecified). Again, they don’t need to charge this fee.
The communication sales tax combines your state and local tax. Here’s an example. Washington state’s local tax is 6.5% and Seattle’s (in 2022) is 2.35% [5].
You’d need to fork over about 10% of your Verizon bill in total communication sales tax.
The 911 fee refers to a surcharge imposed on communications companies by the state to contribute to 911 services. These fees will vary by region.