Tag: Fees

Earlier this month, we spotted an upcoming increase to the fees that some of T-Mobile’s customers will pay starting January 21. Since we’re now on that date, we thought we’d remind you that your bill is about to go up and you might be wondering why.

In our story about the increased fees, we pointed out that T-Mobile was actually increasing this fee for the second time in less than a year. The fee is the “Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee,” which is not a forced-government fee by any means and is simply a fee you pay to help T-Mobile cover costs. It sounds super official by name and as if the government is forcing them to pay this, but that’s not the case.

This fee, which increased in April 2025 by $0.50, is going up by another $0.50 per line. For those with a single line and who have been with T-Mobile for around a year, your bill is now a full $1.00 more expensive. If you have more lines, well, you can do the math there. The fee was $3.49 less than a year ago, but is now $4.49.

So we are clear, this increase only affects those on a T-Mobile plan that does not include taxes and fees. If you have an older plan with those included, your bill should remain the same. However, if you are a newer T-Mobile customer who came over because of their shiny new Experience plans, increases like this will show up on your bill and likely continue to increase going forward.

The T-Mobile late fee is now $10, an increase we knew was coming but wanted to remind you of. The fee went live November 1 and is the likely amount you’ll pay should you pay your bill late.

The new fee was quietly confirmed last month, with a go-live date of November 1. The fee was previously $7, so the increase is essentially a 42% bump to what you might have previously paid.

That in mind, the official wording from T-Mobile on late fees is “the greater of 5% of applicable monthly charges or $10 or the maximum amount allowed under state law.” In other words, the minimum here is essentially $10, unless 5% of your bill is greater than $10, then you would pay even more.

The late fee increase is the latest in a string of increases from T-Mobile in 2025. We saw government fees go up, as well as a hefty $5/line price increase on older plans. This all continues to happen after they promised to not increase prices for 5 years. Of course, they only committed to not raising prices on their newest plans while decoupling fees from them, giving them room to increase fee prices as they wish.

The “Uncarrier” and its previous stance on changing the industry hasn’t been the same for years. As their network has improved, they’ve become just another carrier who often looks to squeeze customers at every turn.