Building new · Fort Worth
Fort Worth impact fees
Fort Worth charges each new house one-time impact fees for water and wastewater, and can add a transportation impact fee in 19 of its 28 service areas. They’re tied to the lot’s plat and paid before the City issues the building permit.
Or call or text (817) 631-9803
From the City of Fort Worth’s impact fee pages, its transportation impact fee guide and its Water Department’s developer pages, read November 8, 2026.
The charges
What Fort Worth charges a new house
Up to four City charges come with a new house, before you count the building permit. Here’s what each one pays for, from the main under the street to your front door.
- Impact fees · added capacity upstream
- The main · under the street
- Tap fee · main to property line
- Meter set fee · the meter
- Your plumber · property line to house
- Water impact fee
- $2,990 on the City’s smallest meter, for building permits issued from October 1, 2026 on lots platted on or after April 1, 2017. It pays to expand the water system: supply, treatment, transmission lines, pump stations and storage.
- Wastewater impact fee
- $2,838 on the same meter. It pays to expand the wastewater system: treatment plants, lift stations and interceptors.
- Transportation impact fee
- Set by your service area, and none in nine of the City’s 28. It helps pay for road capacity: new roads, added lanes and intersection improvements.
- Tap and meter
- A tap fee for each water and sewer connection when City crews install it, plus a meter set fee for the water meter. The tap tables are below.
The City defines the difference this way: a tap fee pays “for installing the service line from the public water or sewer main to the private plumbing,” and impact fees “are used only to fund expansion of the water and wastewater systems.”
The building permit carries its own fee, from a separate City schedule: What a building permit costs in Fort Worth
Building new? Get the house priced before these come due.
By meter size
Fort Worth water and sewer impact fees by meter size
The City charges them by the size of the water meter, not the tap or the line that feeds it. For building permits issued on or after October 1, 2026, on lots platted on or after April 1, 2017:
| Meter | Water | Wastewater | Both |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/8 inch | $2,990 | $2,838 | $5,828 |
| 3/4 inch | $4,485 | $4,257 | $8,742 |
| 1 inch | $7,475 | $7,095 | $14,570 |
| 1½ inch | $14,950 | $14,190 | $29,140 |
| 2 inch | $23,920 | $22,704 | $46,624 |
The City Council adopted these rates on June 10, 2025 (Ordinance 27745-06-2025). The City says they stay in effect until its next impact fee study.
$5,828
water and wastewater together, on the City’s smallest meter, on lots platted on or after April 1, 2017
- The meter sets it.
- “The size of the water tap and service line supplying the meter does not affect the amount of the impact fee charged.”
- Irrigation meters
- pay the water impact fee only. Fire lines pay none.
- Your exact fee:
- the City’s estimator asks for the plat date, the permit date, the meter already serving the lot and the one proposed. Water Applications is at 817-392-8250.
Building new? Walk the lot with us before you plan the house.
The road fee
Fort Worth’s transportation impact fee on a new house
It depends on where the lot sits. Fort Worth is divided into 28 transportation service areas, and nine of them charge no transportation impact fee. In the rest, the fee is figured from a share of the area’s maximum rate, and on June 1, 2026 that share went up for houses.
Since June 1, 2026, the City collects 65% of that maximum on a house. From June 1, 2025 it was 60%.
No transportation impact fee
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- P
- Q
- R
- W
The same goes for a lot outside the city limits.
To find your area, look up the address on the City’s OneAddress, open Location Data, then Reference.
The City’s transportation estimator needs your final plat approval date, the date you expect the permit application to be accepted, and your service area. Its impact fee team is at 817-392-8743.
Weighing two lots? Bring both addresses and we’ll talk through them.
The tap
Fort Worth tap fees for a new house
Every new water connection carries a tap fee, an impact fee and a meter set fee, and every new sewer connection a tap fee and an impact fee. When City crews make the tap, the fee depends on the pavement and on which side of the street the main runs.
Water tap, 1 inch
| Pavement | Main on your side | Main across the street |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaved | $2,500 | $3,000 |
| Asphalt | $3,000 | $3,200 |
| Concrete | $3,000 | $3,700 |
A 1-inch tap can serve two ¾-inch meters.
Sewer tap, 4 inch
| Pavement | Main on your side | Main across the street |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaved | $2,600 | $3,200 |
| Asphalt | $4,200 | $5,300 |
| Concrete | $3,500 | $7,900 |
“Main on your side” is the City’s short side and “across the street” its long side. Taps in asphalt add the City’s pavement repair fees. As listed on the Water Department’s developer page, read November 8, 2026.
- Older streets only.
- City crews tap only streets more than two years old. A newer street takes a Community Facilities Agreement.
- 55 feet.
- A water connection more than 55 feet from the main to the meter, or a sewer connection more than 55 feet from the main to the property line, takes an extension project.
- Your side of the line.
- A licensed plumber connects the tap at the property line to your plumbing, under a plumbing permit.
- The deposit.
- A new single-family water account opened by the builder takes a $50 meter deposit.
Planning a new house on the lot? Start with an estimate.
When it’s due
When you pay impact fees in Fort Worth
Before the City issues your building permit. The fees are assessed when the lot’s plat is recorded, and the City collects them on each house’s permit.
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The plat. The City assesses its impact fees when the lot’s final plat is recorded or approved.
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The permit application. The transportation impact fee is collected when the City accepts the building permit application.
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Before the permit. The water and wastewater impact fees are collected before the permit is issued. No fees, no permit.
The plat date
On a lot platted on or after April 1, 2017, you pay the water and wastewater rate in effect when the permit is issued. On a lot platted before then, the rate in effect when the plat was recorded.
A replat
The Water Department says every re-plat sets a new plat recording date. For the transportation fee, only a replat that adds lots does. Fort Worth replat requirements
Paying by credit or debit card? Since October 1, 2025, the City adds a 2.5% service fee to card payments for certain water development and permitting services.
Where the fees sit in the whole process: How the permit process works
Planning the house around a permit date? Let’s talk it through.
Not a new lot
Impact fees on an ADU or a rebuild in Fort Worth
For a home that stays standing, the City charges an impact fee only when it adds demand on the water or sewer system. Its own example is a larger meter for a pool or a sprinkler system, charged on the difference between the old meter and the new one.
An ADU
An ADU in Fort Worth runs its water from the house. The zoning ordinance says:
“Accessory structures that connect to utilities such as water, electric and gas must receive service from meters serving the primary structure.”
If the house’s meter gets bigger to serve it, the City’s example says the fee is charged on the difference. Ask Water Applications at 817-392-8250 with the address.
A rebuild
Tearing down to build new? The City’s water estimator asks for the meter already serving the lot and the meter proposed, along with the plat and permit dates. A house moving off a private well or a septic tank onto City water or sewer pays the impact fee. Whether the old meter counts toward the new house’s fee is a question for Water Applications, at 817-392-8250, with the address.
Whatever you’re building, our drafting team draws it, and we price it, permit it and build it.
Adding an ADU or rebuilding? Walk the lot with a designer and a builder.
Questions
Fort Worth impact fee questions
Planning a new house or an ADU? Bring us the address.
What are impact fees in Fort Worth?
The City calls them “a one-time charge assessed to new development and redevelopment,” calculated under the method in Chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code. Fort Worth charges them for water, wastewater and transportation. The water and wastewater fees pay to expand those systems, and the City has collected them since 1990.
How much is the water and sewer impact fee for a new house in Fort Worth?
It depends on the water meter. For building permits issued on or after October 1, 2026, on lots platted on or after April 1, 2017, the City charges $2,990 for water and $2,838 for wastewater on its smallest meter, $5,828 together. A ¾-inch meter is $4,485 and $4,257, and a 1-inch meter $7,475 and $7,095. The City’s estimator and Water Applications, at 817-392-8250, can tell you yours.
What’s the difference between an impact fee and a tap fee?
The City says a tap fee “is charged for installing the service line from the public water or sewer main to the private plumbing.” An impact fee is charged to new development for the added capacity it needs, and the City uses it “only to fund expansion of the water and wastewater systems.” The City’s developer page says every new water connection carries a tap fee, an impact fee and a meter set fee.
When do you pay impact fees in Fort Worth?
Before the building permit is issued. The City assesses them when the lot’s final plat is recorded and collects them on each house’s permit: the transportation fee when the permit application is accepted, the water and wastewater fees before the permit is issued. On a lot platted on or after April 1, 2017, the water and wastewater rate is the one in effect when the permit is issued.
Does Fort Worth charge a transportation impact fee on a new house?
It can. Areas H, I, J, K, L, P, Q, R and W charge none, and neither does a lot outside the city limits. In the other 19, the City says it depends on the location, the land use, whether the development has already contributed to the City’s thoroughfare system, and available discounts. Where it applies, the fee is the area’s maximum rate times the vehicle-miles the City assigns a house, and since June 1, 2026 the City collects 65% of that on a house. Look up your area on the City’s OneAddress.
Do you pay impact fees on an ADU in Fort Worth?
The Water Department charges an existing home an impact fee only when it adds demand on the water or sewer system, like a larger meter, and then on the difference between the old meter and the new one. The City’s zoning ordinance has an ADU take its water from the meters serving the house. Water Applications, at 817-392-8250, can tell you what that means for yours.
Does a replat change your impact fees in Fort Worth?
It can. The Water Department says every re-plat sets a new final plat recording date, which can change the water and wastewater rate on a lot platted before April 1, 2017. For the transportation fee, the City says a replat that doesn’t add lots keeps the original plat date, and one that adds lots sets a new one.
Every figure and rule on this page comes from the City of Fort Worth’s Impact Fees, Water and Wastewater Impact Fees, Current Impact Fees, collection rates and Transportation Impact Fees pages, its Transportation Impact Fees 101 guide (updated October 1, 2026), and its Water Department’s developer and meter deposit pages, read November 8, 2026.
Your new house
Plan the house with the City’s charges in view
Build on your lot, on land you are still looking at, or on a teardown in a neighborhood you already love. Walk the lot with a designer and a builder first, and start with an honest estimate. No charge, no obligation.
Or call or text (817) 631-9803