Austin vs Dallas Permit Fees (2026)
How residential building permit fees compare in Texas's two largest inland metros, using the City of Austin FY 2025-26 schedule and the City of Dallas schedule effective May 1, 2024. Neither city sits under a Texas statewide levy.
Direct answer: For a new 1,000 sq ft home, the building permit plus residential plan review is about $1,842 in Austin versus about $1,238 in Dallas. The gap is almost entirely plan review: Austin's plan-review base is $896.50 plus a $106.72 application fee, while Dallas's residential plan-review floor is $577. One scope note - Austin's $838.82 permit already bundles five trade lines, while Dallas's $645.69 is the building permit and trades are billed separately. Demolition flips the result: Austin charges a flat $73.70, Dallas charges $205 plus $0.21 per square foot.
How Each City Structures Its Fees
Both cities price new homes per square foot and neither adds a state levy, but the mechanics differ. Austin sums five separate trade lines into the permit and charges a high, flat-based plan review. Dallas charges a single building-permit line from Table A-I, handles trades through a separate inspection schedule, and uses a lower plan-review floor.
| Element | Austin | Dallas |
|---|---|---|
| New-home permit method | Per sq ft, 5 trade lines summed | Per sq ft, single Table A-I line |
| New-home permit (1,000 sq ft) | $838.82 | $645.69 |
| Residential plan review | $896.50 + $106.72 app | greater of $0.46/sq ft or $577 |
| Trades (E/M/P) | Bundled into the permit lines | Separate; $125 per-trade minimum inspection |
| Demolition permit | $73.70 flat | $205 + $0.21/sq ft |
| Document / technology fee | None on core permit | $15 per document |
| Percentage add-on | 10% (Austin Energy / solar lines only) | 10% (planned-development areas only) |
| State levy | None (Texas) | None (Texas) |
Scope note: Austin's $838.82 is the sum of five trade lines (Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Energy). Dallas's $645.69 is the Table A-I building permit only; Dallas trade inspections are billed separately through its minimum inspection fee schedule, so the two permit figures are not a strict like-for-like. The plan-review and demolition lines compare directly.
Worked Examples
New 1,000 sq ft home (permit + plan review)
| Line item | Austin | Dallas |
|---|---|---|
| Building permit | $838.82 | $645.69 |
| Technology fee | $0.00 | $15.00 |
| Plan review | $896.50 | $577.00 |
| Application processing | $106.72 | — |
| Total | $1,842.04 | $1,237.69 |
Dallas is about $604 lower at this scope, before Dallas's separate trade inspections. Austin's $896.50 plan-review base alone is larger than Dallas's entire permit-plus-review total.
Demolition of a 1,500 sq ft house
| Line item | Austin | Dallas |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition permit | $73.70 | $520.00 |
Austin charges a flat $73.70 demolition permit; Dallas charges $205 + $0.21/sq ft, which is $520 for a 1,500 sq ft structure. Austin is far cheaper on demolition. Both exclude utility disconnects and any asbestos survey.
How to Read the Difference
- New construction: Dallas is lower at the building-permit-plus-plan-review level, mainly because Austin's plan-review base ($896.50 + $106.72) is so much higher than Dallas's $577 floor. Remember Austin's permit already includes the trades; Dallas bills trade inspections on top.
- Demolition: Austin wins decisively - a flat $73.70 against Dallas's $205 + $0.21 per square foot.
- Small remodels: Dallas's single-family alteration is a flat $181 plus $100 per additional trade - very simple and cheap. Austin runs remodels through an addition/remodel plan-review tier plus per-square-foot permit lines.
- Neither adds a Texas statewide percentage levy. Each has a 10% add-on, but only on narrow categories (Austin Energy / solar lines in Austin; planned-development areas in Dallas).
Practitioner Insight
The headline number on a new home in either city is plan review, not the permit. Austin makes that explicit - it charges plan review as a high flat base ($896.50) that dwarfs the per-square-foot permit on a modest home. Dallas keeps plan review lower with a $577 floor but recovers more through its separate trade-inspection schedule, so the apparent Dallas advantage narrows once you count the trades a project needs. When budgeting, get both numbers - the permit and the plan review - and in Dallas also ask how many trade inspections your scope triggers at $125 each. In both cities, the utility and impact charges that sit outside the permit are frequently the largest line of all on new construction.
Austin vs Dallas Permit FAQ
Is a building permit cheaper in Austin or Dallas?
For a new 1,000 sq ft home, the building permit plus residential plan review is lower in Dallas - about $1,238 against about $1,842 in Austin - largely because Austin's plan-review base is higher. Note Austin's permit bundles five trade lines while Dallas bills trade inspections separately, so the gap narrows once Dallas trades are counted.
Which city is cheaper for a demolition permit?
Austin, clearly. Austin charges a flat $73.70 demolition permit, while Dallas charges $205 plus $0.21 per square foot - about $520 for a 1,500 sq ft house.
Do either Austin or Dallas charge a state permit levy?
No. Texas has no statewide percentage levy on permits. Each city has a 10% add-on, but it is narrow - Austin Energy and solar line items in Austin, and planned-development / specific-use-permit / deed-restricted areas in Dallas.
Why is the Austin permit higher even though both price per square foot?
Two reasons. Austin's permit is the sum of five trade lines, while Dallas's Table A-I figure is a single building-permit line. And Austin's plan-review base ($896.50 + $106.72) is far above Dallas's $577 floor. The plan-review difference is the bigger driver.
Sources
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City of Austin Development Services Department - Fees Austin, TX - FY 2025-26 Residential schedule; new-home permit $838.82 (≤1,000 sq ft), plan-review base $896.50 + $106.72, demolition $73.70. Effective October 1, 2025; verified June 10, 2026.
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City of Dallas Permit Fee Schedule (PDF) Dallas, TX - Ordinance 32676; Table A-I ($0.34569/sq ft + $300 for 701-2,350), plan review (greater of $0.46/sq ft or $577), demolition $205 + $0.21/sq ft. Effective May 1, 2024; re-confirmed current June 27, 2026.