Title 4, Flag and Seal; Seat of Government; StatesRelease 119-110
§117 Sourcing Rules
Title 4 › CHAPTER 4 — THE STATES › § 117
Summary
Treats charges for mobile phone service that appear on your regular bill as if your home phone company provided the service, even if a state or local law says otherwise. Allows only the state or local government where you mainly use the phone (your place of primary use) to tax those billed charges. That stays true no matter where calls start, end, or pass through, and no other government can tax them. This rule applies under sections 116 through 126.
Full Legal Text
Title 4, §117
Flag and Seal; Seat of Government; States, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Treatment of Charges for Mobile Telecommunications Services.—
Notwithstanding the law of any State or political subdivision of any State, mobile telecommunications services provided in a taxing jurisdiction to a customer, the charges for which are billed by or for the customer’s home service provider, shall be deemed to be provided by the customer’s home service provider.
(b)Jurisdiction.—
All charges for mobile telecommunications services that are deemed to be provided by the customer’s home service provider under sections 116 through 126 of this title are authorized to be subjected to tax, charge, or fee by the taxing jurisdictions whose territorial limits encompass the customer’s place of primary use, regardless of where the mobile telecommunication services originate, terminate, or pass through, and no other taxing jurisdiction may impose taxes, charges, or fees on charges for such mobile telecommunications services.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Application of Amendment Section effective
July 28, 2000, and applicable only to customer bills issued after the first day of the first month beginning more than 2 years after
July 28, 2000, see section 3 of Pub. L. 106–252, set out as a note under section 116 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
4 U.S.C. § 117
Title 4, Flag and Seal; Seat of Government; States
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110