How to read your phone bill, line by line
Phone bills pack a lot into one page. Reading them in the right order makes them much easier to understand.
Start with the summary box
Most bills begin with a short summary: the previous balance, payments received, new charges and the total due. Check two things first. Was your last payment received? And is the total due close to what you normally pay? If it is much higher, the rest of the bill will tell you why.
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Find the due date
The due date is the last day your payment can arrive without a late fee. Payments can take a few days to process, so pay a little early. If your bill says service may be suspended after a certain number of days, that is a separate, later deadline.
Plan charges
This section shows the monthly price of your plan for each line. If you have several people on one account, each line is usually listed separately. Make sure there are no lines you don’t recognize, such as an old phone number that was never cancelled.
Device payments
If you are paying for a phone in monthly installments, you will see something like “installment 18 of 24.” This tells you how many payments are left. When it reaches the end, your bill should go down.
One-time charges and credits
This is where surprises often hide: activation fees, late fees, add-ons for part of a month, or charges for international use. Credits (money taken off) also appear here, and they are often shown with a minus sign.
Taxes, fees and surcharges
Usually at the end. These include government taxes and company fees. Our guide to phone bill fees explains each one.
A quick checklist
- Is last month’s payment showing as received?
- Do you recognize every line and phone number?
- Did a discount end, or did a new add-on appear?
- Are there any one-time charges you didn’t expect?
- When is the payment due?
Tip: If your bill went up, the fastest way to see why is to compare it with last month’s bill. Every new or changed line will stand out.
Did your bill go up?
Add last month’s and this month’s bill and see exactly what changed.
Compare two bills