Maps

Credit card surcharges by state

Last checked Nov 4, 2026

Whether a business may pass its card processing fees to customers as a surcharge, up to what, with what notice, and whether sales tax applies to the surcharge, from each state's statutes, its Attorney General and its revenue agency. Federal law and the card networks' rules, which apply everywhere, are below the map.

Rules that apply in every state

No federal law bars or caps credit card surcharges today: a federal ban in the Truth in Lending Act expired in 1984. Federal law does protect discounts for paying by cash, check or other means, and lets a business set a minimum of up to $10 for credit card purchases. Beyond state law, the card networks' own rules, which reach a business through its card processing agreement, limit surcharges.

The federal surcharge ban ended in 1984

The Truth in Lending Act once barred sellers from adding a surcharge for credit card use. The Supreme Court summarized the history in 2017: Congress let the federal ban expire in 1984 and has not renewed it, while the rule protecting discounts for cash stayed in place, and several states then passed their own bans. source Public record

Cash discounts are protected

A card issuer may not, by contract or otherwise, stop a seller from offering a discount to pay by cash, check or similar means instead of a credit card (15 U.S.C. 1666f(a)). Such a discount is not a finance charge if it is offered to all prospective buyers and its availability is disclosed clearly and conspicuously (15 U.S.C. 1666f(b)). source Public record

Card networks may not block discounts or a $10 minimum

Under 15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(b), part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, a payment card network may not stop a business from offering a discount or in-kind incentive for paying by cash, check, debit card or credit card, as long as it does not differ by card issuer or network and is offered and disclosed as federal and state law require. A network also may not stop a business from setting a minimum purchase for credit cards of up to $10.00, if the minimum is the same for every issuer and network. source Public record

Surcharge bans and free speech (Supreme Court, 2017)

In Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman, decided March 29, 2017, the Supreme Court held that New York's surcharge ban (General Business Law 518), as applied to a merchant posting a single cash price and adding a credit card surcharge, regulates speech, not just prices, and sent the case back to the court of appeals to decide whether it survives First Amendment review. Each state's page lists any ruling on that state's own law. source Public record

FTC fees rule: tickets and short-term lodging (from May 12, 2025)

The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 CFR part 464), effective May 12, 2025, covers live-event tickets and short-term lodging only. A card surcharge must be in the advertised total price only if paying by card is mandatory, meaning there is no other viable way to pay for that transaction without a fee. If a fee-free option is offered, the surcharge can stay out of the total price, but its nature, purpose and amount must be disclosed clearly before the consumer agrees to pay. The FTC says the rule does not stop a business from passing through card fees where otherwise allowed by law and does not affect state laws that bar card surcharges. source Public record

Card network rules: Visa

Visa's requirements for U.S. merchants, version of August 14, 2023: notify the acquirer (the card processor) 30 days before surcharging; surcharge credit transactions only, since debit and prepaid cards cannot be surcharged; charge no more than the cost of accepting the card, and never more than 3%; disclose the surcharge at the point of entry and the point of sale; and show the surcharge as a separate line on the receipt. source Vendor claim

Card network rules: Mastercard

Mastercard has allowed U.S. merchants to surcharge its credit cards since January 27, 2013, under the settlement of the merchant class litigation, but not Debit Mastercard or prepaid cards. A merchant must notify both Mastercard and its acquirer at least 30 days before it starts. A surcharge on all Mastercard credit cards is capped at the lesser of the merchant's average effective discount rate for Mastercard credit or the maximum cap of 4%; a surcharge on one card product is capped at the cost of accepting that product, less the Durbin Amendment debit interchange cap. The merchant must disclose the surcharge and its amount at the point of interaction and show the dollar amount on the receipt. Other networks set their own rules, and a processing agreement may add more. source Vendor claim

Recent and coming changes

• Illinois Jul 1, 2027 P.A. 104-472 (HB 228) adds 815 ILCS 505/2MMMM, requiring advertised prices to include all mandatory fees or surcharges; it does not name card surcharges. enacted source Public record
• Alabama Sep 1, 2026 SB 221 (2026) excludes any credit card transaction fee, defined as a fee assessed on purchases made by debit or credit card to offset interchange fees charged to the merchant, from the base for sales and use tax on that payment. The act's definition of credit card covers debit cards and general use prepaid cards. The Department of Revenue must adopt rules. in effect source Public record
• Louisiana Aug 1, 2026 Act 751 of 2026 (SB 254) enacted R.S. 51:3081 and 3082, barring retail businesses from surcharging debit card payments, with a private right of action for actual damages and Attorney General enforcement. in effect source Public record
• Connecticut Jul 1, 2026 P.A. 25-44 (Substitute Senate Bill 3), signed June 10, 2025: fee disclosure rule in section 1 takes effect July 1, 2026; it leaves the 42-133ff surcharge ban in place. in effect source Public record
• Colorado Jan 1, 2026 HB 25-1090 added C.R.S. 6-1-737 (total price disclosure; landlord fee limits, including fees for processing rent payments when no cost-free payment method is reasonably accessible). in effect source Public record
• Oregon Jan 1, 2026 SB 430 (2025): online prices must include all fees a purchaser must pay to complete the transaction, other than government taxes and fees, shipping and some disclosed service fees (see pricing). in effect source Public record
• Oklahoma Nov 1, 2025 SB 677 (Laws 2025, c. 410) rewrote 14A O.S. 2-211 to allow credit card surcharges with posted notice and a cap of 2 percent or the processing cost, whichever is less, and repealed 14A O.S. 2-417. Before it, 2-211 barred a seller from surcharging a cardholder who elected to use a credit or debit card. in effect source Public record
• Georgia Jul 1, 2025 HB 241 (Act 305), signed May 14, 2025, rewrote O.C.G.A. 13-1-15: the text as passed allows a convenience fee of up to $5.00 where that is greater than the average cost, lets the no-fee option be another electronic payment, and lists the loans and contracts the section covers. in effect source Public record
• Kansas Jan 1, 2025 Senate Substitute for HB 2247 (L. 2024, ch. 6, sec. 51) replaced the ban on credit and debit card surcharges with a rule allowing a credit card surcharge disclosed in advance by clear and conspicuous notice at the point of entry or point of sale. in effect source Public record
• Minnesota Jan 1, 2025 Price transparency law (Minn. Stat. 325D.44, subd. 1a) requires advertised prices to include all mandatory fees or surcharges; an avoidable card surcharge is outside it under the Attorney General's FAQ. in effect source Public record
• New York Feb 11, 2024 Chapter 723 of the Laws of 2023 replaced the GBL 518 surcharge ban with the total price notice rule and the cap at the card company's charge to the business, and changed the penalty from a misdemeanor to a civil penalty of up to $500 per violation. in effect source Public record
• New York S.363-B (mandatory junk fee pricing bill, adding a new General Business Law article) passed the Senate on May 12, 2026 and was referred to the Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee. As passed by the Senate, a seller that complies with the GBL 518 notice rules for a credit card surcharge is deemed to comply with the new article. It would take effect on the sixtieth day after becoming law. passed one chamber source Public record

Every state

Surcharges barred: State law bars surcharges on credit card purchases. Allowed up to a cap: Allowed, with a cap in state law: a percent, the business's cost of accepting the card, or both. Allowed with state rules: Allowed with no cap in state law, but with state conditions such as notice or price display. Ban struck down in court: A ban is still printed in the statutes, but a court held it unconstitutional. No state surcharge law: No state law on credit card surcharges was found; federal law and the card networks' rules still apply. A debit card is not a credit card: Visa's and Mastercard's rules bar surcharges on debit and prepaid cards even where state law allows them on credit cards.

Informational only, not legal advice. These laws change, and a card processing agreement can add its own limits; check the statute, the agency and the processor before adding a surcharge.