I don't know anyone who gets charged for receiving SMS in 2014 (and it has been like that at least since 2011 when I came to the US). All the plans I had (Verizon, AT&T, T-mobile) had free unlimited SMS (sending & receiving).
I live in the bay area so maybe it's not like that in other parts of the country.
I pay $60/month for 3gb of LTE with T-Mobile and get unlimited texting and calling on top of that. I don't particularly care about the texting or calling so I consider it free. I'd pay the $60 just for the internet.
