Texas Building Permit Fees (2026)
Actual building permit fee formulas from official Texas city fee schedules. Texas has no statewide percentage levy on permits, so each city sets its own structure and bottom-line number. Coverage starts with Austin and expands as each city's official schedule is verified.
- Texas has no statewide building-permit levy. There is no equivalent of Virginia's mandatory 2% USBC levy or Washington DC's 10% enhanced fee at the state level.
- Each Texas city sets its own fee schedule and structure. Austin prices one and two-family residential permits per square foot, charged as five separate trade lines (Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, and Energy) that are added together.
- In Austin, the permit for a new dwelling of 1,000 sq ft or less totals $838.82 across the five trade lines, with plan review charged separately starting at an $896.50 base plus a $106.72 application processing fee.
- Austin charges a verified $370.00 residential roof replacement inspection and a $73.70 demolition permit. Decks, pools, and fences do not have a single published flat permit amount in Austin - they run through a $132.86 small-projects review plus inspection fees.
- Austin's 10% Austin Energy technology fee applies only to Austin Energy and solar (auxiliary power) line items, not to the core per-square-foot building permit fees.
How Texas Permit Fees Work
There is no single statewide Texas building permit fee. Authority sits with each city's building or development services department, so the structure and the bottom-line number vary widely across the state. Texas also has no state-level percentage levy added on top of the local fee.
| City | Permitting Authority | Fee Structure | Headline Figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | Development Services Department (DSD) | Per square foot, tiered, summed across five trade lines; plan review charged separately | Small new-home permit = $838.82 |
Because Texas sets no statewide percentage levy, the city's own fee schedule (and, in Austin, the separate plan-review charge) determines the building permit cost. For new construction, separate utility tap, capital recovery, and impact fees are charged apart from the building permit and often exceed it.
Texas Cities
Actual fee structures from official city documents. Each page includes the complete fee components, worked examples, and a calculator link.
Pages are added as fee data is verified against official city documents. Each page requires a minimum of one official adopted fee schedule source before publishing. Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Frisco, and other large Texas cities are queued for verification.
Texas vs Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC
The base permit math differs across these markets, but the real divergence is the mandatory add-on layer that sits on top of every permit. Texas and Maryland have no statewide add-on; Virginia and DC do.
| Market | Mandatory add-on | What drives the bottom line |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | None statewide | City fee schedule only; Austin charges plan review separately and a 10% technology fee on Austin Energy / solar items only |
| Maryland | None statewide | County fee schedule only; Howard and Prince George's add a 10% technology fee |
| Virginia | 2% state USBC levy on every permit | Local fee plus the mandatory 2% Virginia levy on top |
| Washington DC | 10% enhanced fee on the permit | A single DOB schedule plus a universal 10% enhanced fee |
See how Maryland counties price permits, how Virginia's 2% levy works, or how Washington DC stacks its 10% enhanced fee for the contrast.
Texas Permit Fee FAQ
Does Texas charge a statewide building permit levy?
No. Texas has no statewide percentage levy on building permits. There is no equivalent of Virginia's mandatory 2% USBC levy or Washington DC's 10% enhanced fee. Each city sets and collects its own permit fees, so the bottom-line cost depends entirely on the city schedule.
How does Austin price a residential building permit?
Austin's Development Services Department prices one and two-family dwelling permits per square foot, tiered by size, and charges five separate trade lines - Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, and Energy - that are added together. A new dwelling of 1,000 sq ft or less totals $838.82 across those five lines. Plan review is charged separately, starting at an $896.50 base plus a $106.72 application processing fee.
What is Austin's 10% technology fee?
Austin adds a 10% Austin Energy technology fee, but only to Austin Energy and solar (auxiliary power) line items - for example the electric service application fee. It does not apply to the core per-square-foot building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, or energy permit fees.
Are electrical, plumbing, and HVAC permits included?
In Austin, for a new one or two-family dwelling, the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing trade lines are built into the per-square-foot permit total. Standalone trade work (for example a change-out HVAC system or an electric service inspection) is priced on its own and is not included in the dwelling permit figure.
How current is this fee data?
Austin's figures come from the City of Austin FY 2025-26 Residential Building Plan Review and Inspection Permit Fees schedule, effective October 1, 2025. Cities revise fees periodically, so confirm the current figure with the city permitting department before budgeting or filing.
Texas Permit Fees: What Most Homeowners Miss
"People moving to Texas from the DMV often expect a percentage levy on top of every permit, the way Virginia adds 2% or DC adds 10%. Texas has none of that at the state level - the city schedule is the whole story. Where Austin trips people up is the split between the permit fee and plan review: the $838.82 permit on a small new home is only part of it, because plan review starts at an $896.50 base on its own line. Read the permit fee and the plan-review fee as two separate numbers, not one."
Sources
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City of Austin Development Services Department - Fees Austin, TX - FY 2025-26 Residential Building Plan Review & Inspection Permit Fees, effective October 1, 2025