Montgomery County, Maryland - County Development Fees
Montgomery County | Charter county | Washington Metro / Suburban Maryland | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA | County seat: Rockville | FIPS 24031
Montgomery County is a charter county in suburban Maryland north of the District of Columbia. The Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) is the primary permitting authority, publishing the consolidated fee schedule including the Impact Taxes Handout, Zoning Fees, and Commercial and Residential Building Permit Fees. The County Council sets Transportation Impact Tax and School Impact Tax rates by ordinance under County Code Section 52-42. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) Planning Department handles separate Planning Department fees (rezoning, conditional use, special exception). WSSC Water administers water and wastewater service-connection charges across Montgomery and Prince George's Counties on a separate schedule.
Recent Fee Changes
Montgomery County Transportation Impact Tax and School Impact Tax effective July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025 per the official DPS Impact Taxes Handout (assets.montgomerycountymd.gov, file path 2026-04). The schedule sets rates across four Transportation Impact Tax policy areas (Red Metro, Orange, Yellow, Green) and Infill / Turnover School Impact Tax tiers per dwelling type. Per County Code Section 52-42(l), the rate due is the rate in effect on the date paid.
Note: the published handout window ends June 30, 2025. Whether the County Council adopted post June 30, 2025 rates was not located via official-source substitute probes during the source review on 2026-05-06. Verify current rates with DPS before relying on this data for any post June 30, 2025 application.
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Impact Tax (per dwelling unit, Infill / Turnover) | Confirmed | Single-family Detached $30,343 / $30,719; Multifamily Low Rise $9,275 / $17,827; Senior Residential $0 / $0 (six dwelling categories total) | July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2025 |
| Transportation Impact Tax - Residential (per dwelling unit, four policy areas) | Confirmed | Single-Family Detached $8,835 / $22,084 / $27,605 / $27,605 (Red Metro / Orange / Yellow / Green); five additional dwelling categories tabled below | July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2025 |
| Transportation Impact Tax - Commercial and Industrial (per square foot, four policy areas) | Confirmed | Office $8.05 / $20.20 / $25.25 / $25.25 per sq ft; Retail $7.15 / $18.00 / $22.50 / $22.50; Industrial $4.05 / $10.00 / $12.65 / $12.65; zero-rate exempt categories listed below | July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2025 |
| DPS Zoning Fees (permit-stage zoning review) | Confirmed (URL captured) | Schedule URL captured at assets.montgomerycountymd.gov/files/2026-04/Zoning-Fees.pdf; verbatim per-fee dollar extraction deferred to future pass | FY26 schedule (Council-adopted) |
| Water and Sewer Connection (Tap) Fees | Administered separately | WSSC Water (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission) administers connection charges across Montgomery and Prince George's Counties on a separate schedule | - |
| Proffers | Not applicable | Maryland counties do not use Virginia-style cash proffers; growth-cost recovery uses impact taxes (above) plus Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance tests | - |
| Special District Fees (e.g., White Flint Sector Plan, Recreation Districts) | Not verified via official sources | Specific assessment rates publish on Council legislation pages or Sector Plan documents, not on the DPS Fees landing (3 substitute paths probed, all 404 or non-fee content) | - |
School Impact Tax
School Impact Tax is administered under Montgomery County Code Section 52-42. Two columns - Infill rate and Turnover rate - apply by location and project type per the published handout. Effective: July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025. Administered by: Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services.
| Dwelling Type | Infill Rate | Turnover Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family Detached | $30,343 | $30,719 |
| Single-family Attached | $26,028 | $35,018 |
| Farm-Tenant House | $30,343 | $30,719 |
| Multifamily Low Rise | $9,275 | $17,827 |
| Multifamily High Rise | $4,911 | $11,601 |
| Senior Residential | $0 | $0 |
Transportation Impact Tax - Residential (per dwelling unit)
Transportation Impact Tax is administered by policy area; the County is divided into four Transportation Impact Tax policy areas with rate differentials. Effective: July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025.
| Dwelling Type | Red Metro | Orange | Yellow | Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-Family Detached | $8,835 | $22,084 | $27,605 | $27,605 |
| Single-Family Attached | $7,228 | $18,069 | $22,587 | $22,587 |
| Multifamily Low Rise | $5,620 | $14,051 | $17,563 | $17,563 |
| Multifamily High Rise | $4,014 | $10,036 | $12,545 | $12,545 |
| Senior Residential | $1,605 | $4,015 | $5,018 | $5,018 |
Transportation Impact Tax - Commercial and Industrial (per square foot GFA)
| Use | Red Metro | Orange | Yellow | Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | $8.05 | $20.20 | $25.25 | $25.25 |
| Retail | $7.15 | $18.00 | $22.50 | $22.50 |
| Industrial | $4.05 | $10.00 | $12.65 | $12.65 |
| Other nonresidential | $4.05 | $10.00 | $12.65 | $12.65 |
| Bioscience facility, Hospital, Place of worship, Charitable Institution, Agricultural Facility | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Source: Montgomery County DPS Impact Taxes Handout (assets.montgomerycountymd.gov/files/2026-04/Impact-Taxes-Handout.pdf), effective July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025; County Code Section 52-42 (Transportation Impact Tax / School Impact Tax administration); Section 52-42(l) (rate-on-date-paid rule).
DPS Zoning Fees
The Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services publishes a Zoning Fees schedule (PDF) on the official DPS Fees page. The canonical PDF URL is recorded below. Verbatim per-fee dollar extraction was deferred to a future source review so this page does not estimate or interpolate dollar values for individual fee items.
Source: Montgomery County DPS Zoning Fees PDF (file path 2026-04 indicates April 2026 publication on the official county assets host).
Note: the M-NCPPC Planning Department administers separate Sketch Plan, Preliminary Plan, Site Plan, and rezoning fees on a separate schedule, not captured in this review cycle.
Coverage Notes - What This Page Does Not Cover
Per ZoneFee's Partial-Verified Publication Standard, the items below were not closed via verified primary sources during the source review on 2026-05-06. They are disclosed here rather than estimated or omitted silently.
Post June 30, 2025 Impact Tax Rates
The published Impact Taxes Handout effective window ends June 30, 2025. Whether the County Council re-adopted rates for the post June 30, 2025 cycle was not located via official-source substitute probes in this review cycle. The current handout on the DPS Fees page is the 2023-2025 version. Per County Code Section 52-42(l), the rate due is the rate in effect on the date paid: ZoneFee will re-verify on a future pass whether the Council adopted updated post June 30, 2025 rates.
DPS Zoning Fees (verbatim dollar values)
The Zoning Fees PDF URL is captured but per-fee dollar amounts were not extracted verbatim in this review cycle. A future ZoneFee source review will run PDF extraction extraction on the PDF.
M-NCPPC Planning Department Fees
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Planning Department administers separate Sketch Plan, Preliminary Plan, Site Plan, and rezoning fees on a separate schedule from the DPS Fees page. That schedule is not captured in this review cycle.
Water and Sewer Connection (Tap) Fees
WSSC Water (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission) administers public water and wastewater service-connection charges across Montgomery and Prince George's Counties on a separate fee schedule from the County DPS Fees page. The County government does not publish tap fees because it does not collect them. A separate ZoneFee WSSC Water authority record is queued.
Proffers
Maryland counties do not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Va. Code Section 15.2-2303 does not apply outside Virginia. Maryland uses impact taxes (Transportation and School, captured above) plus Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) tests instead.
Special District Fees
Specific Sector Plan special tax districts (e.g., White Flint), MD Recreation Districts, and transit assessment districts publish their assessment rates on Council legislation pages or sector-plan documents, not on the DPS Fees landing. Substitute paths probed:
- montgomerycountymd.gov/department-permitting-services/fees - DPS landing enumerates DPS-administered fee categories only; no special-district links
- montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/permitting/fees.html - HTTP 404
- montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/permitting/impact_taxes.html - HTTP 404
A future ZoneFee source review will attempt browser-based source retrieval on County Council legislative archives or Sector Plan documents.
Fee Authorities
| Authority | Fee Types | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services (DPS) | Zoning Fees, Commercial and Residential Building Permit Fees, Site Development Fees, Impact Taxes Handout (collection) | montgomerycountymd.gov/department-permitting-services/fees |
| Montgomery County Council (rate-setting) | Transportation Impact Tax and School Impact Tax rates by ordinance under County Code Section 52-42 | montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) Planning Department | Sketch Plan, Preliminary Plan, Site Plan, conditional use, special exception, rezoning fees (separate from DPS; not captured in this review cycle) | montgomeryplanning.org |
| WSSC Water (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission) | Water and wastewater service-connection charges across Montgomery and Prince George's Counties (separate ZoneFee authority record queued) | wsscwater.com |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| Impact Taxes Handout - Transportation Impact Tax and School Impact Tax (effective July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2025) | Montgomery County DPS | 2026-05-06 |
| DPS Zoning Fees PDF | Montgomery County DPS | 2026-05-06 |
| Montgomery County DPS Fees landing page | Montgomery County DPS | 2026-05-06 |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-05-06. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the Montgomery County DPS Impact Taxes Handout effective July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025. ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. The published Impact Taxes Handout window ends June 30, 2025; whether the County Council re-adopted post June 30, 2025 rates was not located via official sources during the source review on 2026-05-06 and is honestly disclosed as unverified rather than estimated. Per County Code Section 52-42(l), the rate due is the rate in effect on the date paid: verify with DPS before relying on these rates for any post June 30, 2025 application. The DPS Zoning Fees PDF URL is captured but verbatim per-fee dollar values were not extracted in this review cycle. M-NCPPC Planning Department fees (Sketch Plan, Preliminary Plan, Site Plan, rezoning) are administered separately and not captured. WSSC Water connection (tap) fees are administered separately. Maryland counties do not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Sector Plan special tax districts publish their assessment rates on Council legislation or Sector Plan documents and were not located via the DPS Fees landing. Verify all current rates with Montgomery County DPS, M-NCPPC, and WSSC Water before relying on this data for land acquisition, project budgeting, or any financial decision. This page is for research and due diligence reference only - it is not legal or financial advice.