With high taxes in US for wireless service, Ohio is one of the cheapest places for cell phones

With countless phones unwrapped this Christmas season, Ohioans pay some of the lowest taxes in the nation.

A new report from the Tax Foundation shows that an average American home with four phones and a "family share" plan paying $100 a month paid for wireless services would be paying nearly $294 per year in taxes, fees and government surcharges.

Ohio had the 10th lowest combined state, local and federal wireless tax rate in the country at 19.41%. The federal tax rate is 10.83%, while Ohio’s state and local tax rate is 8.58%.

It also had the third-lowest difference between state and local sales tax rates and a wireless tax rate of 1.11%

The report says 78% of low-income adults and 72% of all adults lived in wireless-only households, and it calls wireless taxes regressive that create significant burdens on low-income families.

Since 2012, the average charge from wireless providers decreased by 26%, from $47.00 per line per month to $34.56 per line, according to the report. However, wireless taxes, fees, and government surcharges increased from 17.2% to 24.5% of the average bill during this same time.

Illinois is No. 1 in the nation for cell phone taxes by state. At 33.8%, followed by Arkansas at 32.2%, and Washington is third at 32.1%.

Texas had the most significant increase of any state in 2023 – from 24.1 to 28.3% – due to a substantial increase in the state Universal Service Fund charge rate.