Contractors & HVAC Credit-Card Surcharge: State-by-State Compliance Checklist (2026)
A per-state landing checklist for contractors and HVAC businesses: the 52-jurisdiction matrix plus go-live steps for deposits, progress payments, and large jobs.
Last verified: 2026-09 · Educational reference, not legal advice
Where surcharging is permitted, the network baseline applies. Because jobs are often paid partly by check/ACH (deposits, progress payments), apply the surcharge only to the portion actually run on a credit card — never to a debit-run card.
Deposits and progress payments
If a deposit or progress payment is collected by check or ACH, no surcharge attaches to it. The surcharge appears only on the card-funded balance, disclosed in the contract or invoice before payment.
| State | Status | Surcharge? | Cash discount? | State cap | Key rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama (AL) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Alaska (AK) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Arizona (AZ) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Arkansas (AR) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| California (CA) | Contested | No | Yes | — | Statute bans surcharging; legal status contested — cash discount recommended |
| Colorado (CO) | Restricted | Yes | Yes | 2% | State cap 2% (lower than Visa 3%) |
| Connecticut (CT) | Banned | No | Yes | — | Surcharging prohibited by state law |
| Delaware (DE) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| District of Columbia (DC) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Florida (FL) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Georgia (GA) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Hawaii (HI) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Idaho (ID) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Illinois (IL) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Indiana (IN) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Iowa (IA) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Kansas (KS) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Kentucky (KY) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Louisiana (LA) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Maine (ME) | Contested | No | Yes | — | Statute bans surcharging; legal status contested — cash discount recommended |
| Maryland (MD) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Massachusetts (MA) | Banned | No | Yes | — | Surcharging prohibited by state law |
| Michigan (MI) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Minnesota (MN) | Restricted | Yes | Yes | Actual cost | Cap = your actual processing cost |
| Mississippi (MS) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Missouri (MO) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Montana (MT) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Nebraska (NE) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Nevada (NV) | Restricted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| New Hampshire (NH) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| New Jersey (NJ) | Restricted | Yes | Yes | Actual cost | Cap = your actual processing cost |
| New Mexico (NM) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| New York (NY) | Restricted | No | Yes | — | No line-item surcharge; cash-discount model required |
| North Carolina (NC) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| North Dakota (ND) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Ohio (OH) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Oklahoma (OK) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Oregon (OR) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Rhode Island (RI) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| South Carolina (SC) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| South Dakota (SD) | Restricted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Tennessee (TN) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Texas (TX) | Contested | No | Yes | — | Statute bans surcharging; legal status contested — cash discount recommended |
| Utah (UT) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Vermont (VT) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Virginia (VA) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Washington (WA) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| West Virginia (WV) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Wisconsin (WI) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Wyoming (WY) | Permitted | Yes | Yes | 3% | Visa 3% / Mastercard 4% (3% effective if you accept both); lower of cap or actual cost |
| Puerto Rico (PR) | Banned | No | Yes | — | Surcharging prohibited by state law |
Your contracting go-live checklist
- Confirm your state in the matrix (banned in CT, MA, PR; contested in CA, TX, ME).
- Decide surcharge vs cash discount — cash discounts are common on large jobs.
- If surcharging, submit the ~30-day acquirer notice and exclude debit cards.
- State the card fee in the contract/invoice before the client pays by card.
- Post signage at your office and print the surcharge as a separate receipt line.
- Run a test card payment on an invoice and verify the receipt before going live.
Only the card-funded portion of a job may carry a surcharge. Deposits and progress payments collected by check or ACH stay fee-free, and debit-run cards are always excluded.
Model cash savings on a large job.Open the Cash Discount Calculator →
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Yes, where allowed and the deposit is a card transaction — but if you collect it by check or ACH, no surcharge applies. Apply the fee only to the card-funded slice.
No. Each progress payment is evaluated the same way: surcharge only the card-funded amount, exclude debit, and disclose before payment.
Yes. Offering a lower cash/check price on a large job is legal in every state and avoids surcharge-program setup and the contested-state risk.
Educational content, not legal advice. Cashbizly is an independent educational resource. Nothing here is personalized legal advice and it does not replace a licensed attorney or your state’s Attorney General.
Our state-by-state status reflects the consensus of published 2025–2026 compliance guides (card-network rules, LawPay, Stax, NCSL) as of the “last verified” date on each page. Surcharge law changes frequently and is actively litigated — always confirm current figures with your state Attorney General or a professional. Read our full disclaimer.