Laws, Regulations, and Annotations
Lawguide Search
Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2025
Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act
Title 18. Public Revenues
Division 2. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration—Business Taxes
Chapter 5.6. Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Act.
Article 2. Exemptions, Deductions, Credits, and Specific Applications of Tax
Regulation 2438
Regulation 2438. Exemptions for Access Lines.
Reference: Sections 41003, 41006, 41009, 41027 and 41046, Revenue and Taxation Code.
The 911 and 988 surcharges do not apply to:
(a) Access lines supplying lifeline service.
(b) Access lines connected to public telephones as defined by Revenue and Taxation Code section 41012.
(c) Access lines for which no charges are billed by a service supplier to a service user.
(d) Access lines when imposition of such surcharge would be in violation of the Constitution of the United States, the United States Code, or the laws of the State of California. These include access lines supplied to:
(1) The United States, its unincorporated agencies and instrumentalities, or any state of the United States.
(2) Any incorporated agency or instrumentality of the United States wholly owned by either the United States, or by a corporation wholly owned by the United States.
(3) The American National Red Cross, its chapters and branches.
(4) Insurance companies, including title insurance companies, subject to taxation under article XIII, section 28 of the California Constitution.
(5) Enrolled Indians who are service users subscribing for service from within the limits of an Indian reservation. For purposes of this subdivision, "Indian reservation" means Indian country as defined in section 1151 of title 18 of the United States Code. The term includes reservations, rancherias, and any land held by the United States in trust for any Indian tribe or individual Indian.
(6) Federal credit unions organized in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Credit Union Act.
(e) Access lines supplying wide-area telephone service used by common carriers in the conduct of their business.
(f) Access lines supplied to a nonprofit hospital, nonprofit educational organization, or a public agency excluded from the definition of a person in Regulation 2436. For purposes of this subdivision, "public agency" means this state and any city, county, city and county, municipal corporation, public district, or public authority located in whole or in part in part within this state which provides or has authority to provide firefighting, police, ambulance, medical, or other emergency services.
History—New article 2 and regulation filed July 16, 2025, and operative October 1, 2025 (Register 2025, No. 30).