Permit Cost Stack Visualizer (2026)
An itemized cost-stack view of building permit fees for one verified jurisdiction-project pair. v0 covers Fairfax County, VA residential decks: enter a stated construction value and see the base permit fee, Virginia USBC levy, and Fairfax technology surcharge as proportional bars with a verified total. Default scenario: a $15,000 deck stacks to $504.00 ($450.00 + $9.00 + $45.00) under Appendix Q FY2027, effective July 1, 2026. Half of the permit fee is due at application as a filing-fee deposit and is credited toward the permit fee at issuance (County Code 61-1-3(d)11); it is not an extra charge and is not refunded if the application expires. Trade permits, site development fees, and ICC BVD valuation overrides are out of scope and listed in the methodology block. Estimate only.
Stated construction value: $15,000.00
- Building Permit Fee (3% of value, $141.75 min) $450.00
- Virginia USBC Code Academy Levy (2% of permit fee) $9.00
- Fairfax County Technology Surcharge (10% of permit fee) $45.00
Source: Fairfax County Appendix Q - Land Development Services Fee Schedule (FY2027, amendment 05-26-Q, effective July 1, 2026). Verified September 18, 2026.
Estimate only. Actual permit invoice may differ. Trade permits, site development fees, and ICC BVD valuation overrides are out of scope.
Bars are scaled to the largest line item in the current stack so each component's relative weight is visible. The dollar amounts are computed by the same engine that powers the permit fee calculator from verified .gov fee schedule data.
How the cost stack is computed
The visualizer reads the same verified files used elsewhere on the site. No fee numbers are hard-coded into this page or the visualizer JS.
| Step | Component | Formula (Fairfax County deck) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building Permit Fee | max(value × 3%, $141.75 min) | Appendix Q FY2027, I-B(D) accessory structures; I-A.1 minimum |
| 2 | Virginia USBC Code Academy Levy | Step 1 × 2% | Appendix Q FY2027, I-A.12; Code of Virginia §36-139 |
| 3 | Fairfax County Technology Surcharge | Step 1 × 10% | Appendix Q FY2027, Part III |
| 4 | Total visualized | Step 1 + Step 2 + Step 3 | - |
What this v0 does NOT visualize
- Trade permits. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical (HVAC) permits are issued and priced separately by Fairfax County. They are not included in this cost stack.
- Site development fees. Land disturbance, grading, and stormwater fees apply when the project triggers site development thresholds. Not included.
- ICC BVD valuation overrides. If the building official disputes a stated value, the actual base fee can be higher than what this visualizer shows.
- After-hours, reinspection, and revision fees. These appear after permit issuance and are not part of the at-issuance cost stack.
- Other jurisdictions or projects. v0 supports only Fairfax County residential decks. Other configurations route to the permit fee calculator.
- Timeline visualization. Explicitly deferred until cost-stack v0 passes QA. See
project-docs/core/PAGE_CREATION_GATE.mdVisualizer Guardrails.
Next step
For the complete Fairfax County permit fee table, surcharge breakdown, permit office contact, and all 20 project types - including trade permits not visualized here - use the jurisdiction page or the calculator.