# l4 tags costs > Spend per value of a provider or virtual tag key, with each value's share, its split across service categories, and the spend that carries no value. Source: https://docs.levelfour.ai/cli/commands/tags/costs `l4 tags costs` prints what each value of a key costs, with its share of the total and its split across service categories. It works on provider keys and virtual keys alike, and reports the spend that carries no value for the key on a line of its own. ```bash l4 tags costs [--provider

] [--start --end ] ``` It reads `GET /api/v1/costs/by-tag`, with the key as `tag_key`. `` is a provider tag key's name, or a virtual key's name or `vtk_` ID. A `ptk_` ID is not accepted here: the server reads that parameter as a literal tag key, so an encoded ID matches nothing. ## Flags | Flag | Description | | --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--provider

` | `aws`, `gcp`, `azure`, `digitalocean` or `all`. Defaults to `aws` | | `--start ` / `--end ` | Window, as `YYYY-MM-DD`. Without them, the current month to date | Global flags apply. See [CLI overview](/cli#global-flags). > **Warning** > > `--provider` defaults to `aws`. A key that spans both providers, such as the `Teams` key in [Virtual tags](/guides/virtual-tags#the-whole-file), reports its AWS spend alone until you pass `--provider all`. ## Examples ```bash l4 tags costs Teams --provider all l4 tags costs team l4 tags costs Teams --provider all --start 2026-08-01 --end 2026-08-31 l4 tags costs Teams --provider all --jq '.data.teams[] | [.label, .total]' l4 tags costs Teams --provider all --jq '.data.unmapped.total' ``` ## Output Default output is a table with one row per value, highest spend first, and the unassigned spend below it. With `--json` the whole API envelope is printed. The fields it carries: ```text .data.tag_key .data.origin # provider or virtual .data.teams[].id # the value .data.teams[].label .data.teams[].total .data.teams[].total_pct # share of the total, unassigned spend included .data.teams[].categories # .compute, .storage, .network, .database, .other .data.unmapped.total # spend with no value for the key ``` `teams` is the API's name for the list of values, whatever the key describes. `origin` says which kind of key the name resolved to, which is what settles the last line: for a virtual key the table labels it Unallocated and `unmapped.total` is the [unallocated cost](/guides/virtual-tags#unallocated-cost); for a provider key the table labels it Untagged and the figure is the spend on lines without the tag. A virtual key shadows a provider key of the same name, so the same argument can resolve either way. A split or cost-based config divides a line before this command reads it, so the values still add up to the total. An unknown provider key name returns an empty list with no error, and so does a `ptk_` ID. Check the name with [`l4 tags list`](/cli/commands/tags/list) when a key you expected comes back empty. ## Errors | Exit | Symptom | Cause | | ---- | --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | `4` | Authentication required | No token resolvable; run `l4 auth login` or set `LEVELFOUR_TOKEN` | | `1` | `401` authentication failed | Token revoked, expired, or from the wrong environment | | `1` | `422` | A date or provider the API does not accept | ## Related * [`l4 tags show`](/cli/commands/tags/show): spend per value next to the rules that assigned it * [`l4 tags resources`](/cli/commands/tags/resources): the resources behind a value * [`l4 costs`](/cli/commands/costs): the cost breakdown by service, region and account * [Virtual tags](/guides/virtual-tags): define the keys this command reads