diff --git a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tiered_pricing.py b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tiered_pricing.py
index fb0f130a6cf..0cb0f7004cc 100644
--- a/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tiered_pricing.py
+++ b/litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/tiered_pricing.py
@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@ def _coerce_cost_per_token(value: float | str | None) -> float:
     return float(value)
 
 
+def _resolve_tier_cost_per_token(
+    tier: dict,
+    cost_key: str,
+    fallback_cost_key: str | None,
+) -> float:
+    primary: Final = tier.get(cost_key)
+    if primary is not None:
+        return _coerce_cost_per_token(primary)
+    return _coerce_cost_per_token(tier.get(fallback_cost_key, 0))
+
+
 def calculate_tiered_cost(
     tokens: int,
     tiered_pricing: list[dict],
@@ -84,8 +95,7 @@ def calculate_tiered_cost(
 
         if tier_end > tier_start:
             tokens_in_tier = tier_end - tier_start
-            cost_per_token = tier.get(cost_key) or tier.get(fallback_cost_key, 0)
-            total_cost += tokens_in_tier * _coerce_cost_per_token(cost_per_token)
+            total_cost += tokens_in_tier * _resolve_tier_cost_per_token(tier, cost_key, fallback_cost_key)
             tokens_processed = tier_end
 
     # After loop, check if any tokens remain (i.e., tokens > highest tier's end range)
@@ -93,8 +103,7 @@ def calculate_tiered_cost(
     if tokens_processed < tokens and sorted_tiers:
         last_tier: Final = sorted_tiers[-1]
         remaining_tokens: Final = tokens - tokens_processed
-        cost_per_token = last_tier.get(cost_key) or last_tier.get(fallback_cost_key, 0)
-        total_cost += remaining_tokens * _coerce_cost_per_token(cost_per_token)
+        total_cost += remaining_tokens * _resolve_tier_cost_per_token(last_tier, cost_key, fallback_cost_key)
 
     return total_cost
 
@@ -135,5 +144,4 @@ def tier_rate(
     fallback_cost_key: str | None = None,
 ) -> float:
     """Read a per-token rate from a tier, coercing YAML string costs to float."""
-    raw: Final = tier.get(cost_key) or tier.get(fallback_cost_key, 0)
-    return _coerce_cost_per_token(raw)
+    return _resolve_tier_cost_per_token(tier, cost_key, fallback_cost_key)
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/test_tiered_pricing.py b/tests/test_litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/test_tiered_pricing.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9fba8cb1fab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/litellm_core_utils/llm_cost_calc/test_tiered_pricing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+import os
+import sys
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath("../../.."))
+
+from litellm.litellm_core_utils.llm_cost_calc.tiered_pricing import (
+    calculate_tiered_cost,
+    tier_rate,
+)
+
+
+def test_calculate_tiered_cost_honors_explicit_zero_primary_rate():
+    tiers = [
+        {
+            "range": [0, 100000],
+            "input_cost_per_token": 1e-6,
+            "cache_read_input_token_cost": 0.0,
+        }
+    ]
+
+    cost = calculate_tiered_cost(
+        tokens=10000,
+        tiered_pricing=tiers,
+        cost_key="cache_read_input_token_cost",
+        fallback_cost_key="input_cost_per_token",
+    )
+
+    assert cost == 0.0
+
+
+def test_calculate_tiered_cost_honors_explicit_zero_primary_rate_in_overflow_tier():
+    tiers = [
+        {
+            "range": [0, 100000],
+            "input_cost_per_token": 1e-6,
+            "cache_read_input_token_cost": 0.0,
+        }
+    ]
+
+    cost = calculate_tiered_cost(
+        tokens=150000,
+        tiered_pricing=tiers,
+        cost_key="cache_read_input_token_cost",
+        fallback_cost_key="input_cost_per_token",
+    )
+
+    assert cost == 0.0
+
+
+def test_calculate_tiered_cost_falls_back_when_primary_rate_is_missing():
+    tiers = [{"range": [0, 100000], "input_cost_per_token": 1e-6}]
+
+    cost = calculate_tiered_cost(
+        tokens=10000,
+        tiered_pricing=tiers,
+        cost_key="cache_read_input_token_cost",
+        fallback_cost_key="input_cost_per_token",
+    )
+
+    assert cost == 10000 * 1e-6
+
+
+def test_tier_rate_honors_explicit_zero_primary_rate():
+    tier = {"cache_read_input_token_cost": 0.0, "input_cost_per_token": 1e-6}
+
+    assert tier_rate(tier, "cache_read_input_token_cost", "input_cost_per_token") == 0.0
+
+
+def test_tier_rate_falls_back_when_primary_rate_is_missing():
+    tier = {"input_cost_per_token": 1e-6}
+
+    assert tier_rate(tier, "cache_read_input_token_cost", "input_cost_per_token") == 1e-6