Building or remodeling · Fort Worth
Fort Worth Neighborhood Empowerment Zone (NEZ) incentives
The City can waive your building permit fees and, with City Council’s approval, cut its property tax on the added value for up to five years. It’s for a house you live in, inside one of its eight NEZ areas; a remodel has to clear the City’s 30% test, and you have to apply before you file for the permit or start the work.
Or call or text (817) 631-9803
From the City of Fort Worth’s NEZ page and its Basic Incentives and Tax Abatement Policy, adopted February 11, 2025, read November 11, 2026.
What the City gives
What Fort Worth’s NEZ program gives a homeowner
Three things for a certified project. The fee waivers come with certification. The tax abatement takes a separate vote by City Council.
Fees waived
Your building permit fees, including plan review, inspections, and the application and technology fees. Also the demolition fee, the zoning application fee, the urban forestry application fee and the transportation impact fee.
City tax abatement
Up to five years of relief from the City of Fort Worth’s tax on the increase in appraised value that your new house or remodel adds. City Council decides each one.
City liens released
Weed, board-up and paving liens on the lot, for an owner remodeling their own house or a builder putting a new house on a vacant lot, plus demolition liens up to $30,000 for a builder. They’re released after the work is done, and the City says all other City liens stay. How this fits the no-liens rule for your lot is a question for Neighborhood Services, at 817‑392‑7744.
Not waived
- Water and wastewater impact fees. The City says the waiver of these “is no longer available.”
- Water and sewer tap fees
- Park fees
- Fire inspection and permit fees
- Expedited or simultaneous plan review
- Renewing an expired permit, penalties and re-permitting fees
- Any fee the policy and your certification letter don’t list
What the impact and tap fees cost on a new house: Fort Worth impact fees
Building or remodeling in a NEZ? Get the project priced before you apply.
The order
Apply for NEZ incentives before the building permit
The City’s rule: apply before any work starts and before a building permit is issued for the address. For the tax abatement, City Council has to approve it before you even file for the permit. File first, and the City says the abatement request will be denied.
Only want the fee waivers? Certification is enough, and you can file for the permit after step 01.
Apply for NEZ. Online, with your plans and budget.
About two to three weeks to certify.
The abatement vote. City Council votes on the abatement.
Add 12 to 14 weeks, because state law requires 30 days’ notice.
Sign the agreement. The City and you sign the abatement agreement.
File for the permit before this point and the abatement is gone.
File for the permit. Your building permit, with the waived fees.
Build. Property taxes during construction are still due.
The certificate of occupancy. Tell the City when it’s done. The abatement starts January 1 of the next year.
The opt-out
If your lot is in a NEZ and you don’t want the incentives, the owner signs the City’s opt-out form. It says that getting a permit before applying means “voluntarily forfeiting” any claim to the incentives.
Refunds
The City considers refunds of fees you’ve already paid only when something beyond your control kept you from getting certified. It charges 20% of the refund, the request is due within 90 days of paying the fees, and there’s no refund if you knew about the NEZ when you paid.
Where the permit sits in the whole process: How the permit process works
Planning around a City Council vote? Let’s build the calendar together.
Who it’s for
Who qualifies for Fort Worth NEZ incentives
A single-family house you live in, or one being built for a homeowner to live in. Investor-owned houses and rentals don’t qualify for any NEZ incentive.
The project
- A remodel has to be big enough.
- The work has to cost at least 30% of what the Tarrant Appraisal District values your house at, not counting the land. Only work on the house counts, not furniture or appliances.
- A new house counts.
- A new home on a permanent foundation qualifies. A shed, an outbuilding or a detached garage doesn’t on its own.
- A new house follows the City’s design rules.
- At least 70% masonry, an attached garage no more than 4 feet past the front wall, and no metal buildings, plus the design guidelines in any adopted NEZ strategic plan. Inside a local historic district or one of the three urban design districts the policy names, the City makes an exception to the masonry rule for approved plans with a Certificate of Appropriateness, and only to that rule.
Adding on? The City’s application puts additions in the same box as new construction, but its policy defines only new construction and remodels. Ask Neighborhood Services, at 817‑392‑7744, which test your addition falls under.
The owner
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Taxes paid.
No delinquent property taxes on any property you own.
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No City liens.
None on any property you own, including this one.
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Nothing started.
No work on the house and no permit issued for the address.
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No demolition order.
No Building Standards Commission demolition carried out on your property in the last five years.
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Not a contract for deed.
Property bought, or being bought, that way doesn’t qualify.
Not sure your remodel clears 30%? Have a designer and a builder walk it with you.
The tax abatement
How the NEZ tax abatement works
It lowers the City of Fort Worth’s part of your property tax, on the value your work adds, for up to five years. The City’s policy covers City of Fort Worth taxes only.
Up to 5 years
of City property tax relief on the added value, if City Council approves it
When it runs
It starts January 1 of the year after the City issues your certificate of occupancy. Taxes during construction are still due. A property can get it once.
What it covers
Only the City of Fort Worth’s tax, and only on the increase in appraised value from the work. The appraisal district still values the house.
The cap
For a house you live in, the City caps it at the median home value the National Association of Realtors reports for Tarrant County, updated each year.
Keeping it
Each year, by February 1, you report that you’re meeting the agreement. Miss it, and the City cancels the agreement and the prior year’s abated taxes come due. An approved abatement ends automatically if a new house’s permit isn’t pulled and its foundation poured within two years of the vote, or a remodel isn’t finished within two years. Council decides every abatement, and none is granted inside a tax increment financing district.
Want the abatement? Plan the house around the vote.
The application
How to apply for Fort Worth NEZ incentives
Online, through the City’s permitting system, with drawings and a budget for the project. The City asks for the plans before you have a permit, so the design comes first.
- The application
- signed by the owner.
- Proof you own it
- a recorded warranty deed if you’re asking for the abatement.
- A line-item budget
- from your contractor, if you’re hiring one.
- Plans
- a site plan, floor plans with square footage, and elevations.
- Your other property
- a list of the Tarrant County properties you own.
- A historic overlay?
- Attach the approved Certificate of Appropriateness first.
The City keeps the plans you send with the application. They can’t be used for your permit submittal.
$25 for the basic incentives, paid when staff contact you after their first review. $100 per house for the tax abatement, paid after certification. Neither is refunded.
A certification lasts five years and covers this project and this owner.
Questions go to the City’s NEZ staff at 817-392-7744 or nez_ns@fortworthtexas.gov, and to 817-392-7316 for tax abatements.
New house or remodel, our drafting team draws it, and we price it, permit it and build it. After the design, you get a detailed budget.
Need plans and a budget for the application? Start with an estimate.
The areas
Is my house in a Fort Worth NEZ?
The City maps eight NEZ areas across central Fort Worth, 59.8 square miles in all. Check your address on the City’s own maps before you plan around one.
- Area One
- Area Two
- Area Three
- Area Four
- Area Five
- Area Six
- Area Seven
- Area Eight
Check your address
- The City’s map of all active NEZ areas, and a map for each one.
- The City’s NEZ page, with each area’s map and the strategic plans.
- NEZ staff, at 817‑392‑7744.
In a NEZ, the City’s permit checklist asks for either the NEZ application or the opt-out form: Permit drawings for your house
Your lot is in one? Walk it with us before you plan the house.
What is a Neighborhood Empowerment Zone in Fort Worth?
A City program, created by City Council in 2001 under Chapter 378 of the Texas Local Government Code, that the City says promotes “promote housing, economic development and quality services in central Fort Worth.” In a NEZ, the City offers incentives to property owners who build or rehabilitate property, under a policy adopted February 11, 2025.
How do I know if my house is in a NEZ?
Check the address on the City’s NEZ maps. There are eight areas, Area One to Area Eight, each with its own map on the City’s NEZ page, and NEZ staff can tell you at 817-392-7744.
What fees does the NEZ program waive?
For a certified project, the City waives all building permit related fees, including plan review, inspections, and the application and technology fees. It also waives the demolition fee, the zoning application fee, the urban forestry application fee and the transportation impact fee, among others.
Does the NEZ waive water and sewer impact fees?
No. The City says the waiver of water and wastewater impact fees “is no longer available,” and its NEZ information document lists water and wastewater impact fees and tap fees as not waived. The transportation impact fee is still waived for a certified project. Older City documents still describe the water and sewer waiver; the policy adopted February 11, 2025 doesn’t include it.
How does the NEZ tax abatement work?
If City Council approves it, the City of Fort Worth abates its own property tax on the increase in appraised value from your new house or remodel, for up to five years. It starts January 1 of the year after the certificate of occupancy, and taxes during construction are still due. For an owner-occupied house, the City caps it at the median home value the National Association of Realtors reports for Tarrant County.
Can a remodel get the NEZ tax abatement?
Yes, if it’s big enough. The City says a remodel’s cost must be at least 30% of the Tarrant Appraisal District’s value of the house, not counting the land, to apply for any NEZ incentive. For the abatement, City Council also has to approve it before the work starts. Only work on the house counts, not furniture or appliances.
Can an investor, a rental or a garage apartment get NEZ incentives?
Investor-owned single-family houses and rentals don’t qualify for any NEZ incentive. The City’s definition of new construction leaves out sheds, outbuildings and detached garages, and its budget form says accessory structures qualify only as part of an original new-construction project. Whether a detached garage apartment fits is a question for NEZ staff, at 817-392-7744.
How long does NEZ approval take, and what does it cost to apply?
The City says certification for the basic incentives takes about two to three weeks. A tax abatement adds 12 to 14 weeks, because state law requires 30 days’ notice before City Council votes. The application is $25 for the basic incentives and $100 per house for a residential abatement, and neither is refunded.
What happens to the NEZ abatement if I sell the house?
The City’s policy says a new owner may enter into an abatement agreement for the time left on the term. A sale the agreement doesn’t allow cancels it, and the City recaptures the taxes abated after that date.
What if I already pulled the permit?
Then the incentives are likely gone for that project. The City’s opt-out form says getting a permit before applying means “voluntarily forfeiting” any claim to the incentives and to a refund of fees paid, and the City’s policy grants no abatement once a permit application is filed. Refunds are considered only when something beyond your control kept you from getting certified.
Every rule on this page comes from the City of Fort Worth’s NEZ page, its Basic Incentives and Tax Abatement Policy (adopted February 11, 2025, Resolution 25-4899), its NEZ information document and single-family application packet, its opt-out packet and its map of active NEZ areas, read November 11, 2026. The City decides eligibility, certification and every abatement.
Your project
Plan the house with the NEZ calendar in view
Build on your lot, on land you are still looking at, or on a teardown in a neighborhood you already love. Or remodel the one you live in. Walk the house with a designer and a builder first, and start with an honest estimate. No charge, no obligation.
Custom homes in Fort Worth Whole-home remodels in Fort Worth
Or call or text (817) 631-9803