Austin, Texas - City Development Fees
Austin | Home-rule city | Travis, Williamson, and Hays Counties | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA | County seat: Travis County | FIPS 4805000
Austin is a home-rule city in Central Texas operating across the Travis, Williamson, and Hays County tri-overlap. The City of Austin Development Services Department (DSD) administers zoning, subdivision, site plan, and building permit application fees. Austin Water, a separate City of Austin utility department, administers water and wastewater Capital Recovery Fees (the Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 impact-fee equivalent for utility infrastructure) and connection (tap) charges on a separate fee schedule. Travis County WCID No. 17 and other Municipal Utility District (MUD) overlays administer their own fees directly.
Recent Fee Changes
Austin Water Capital Recovery Fees (impact fees) effective tier from October 1, 2023. Lots platted after October 1, 2023 pay the current top-tier Capital Recovery Fee schedule. Older platting tiers retain their grandfathered rates. The schedule is published on austintexas.gov/water/rates-and-fees and adopted under City Code Chapter 25-9 and TX Local Government Code Chapter 395.
The City of Austin DSD Application Fee Schedule (zoning, subdivision, site plan) was not located via official sources during the 2026-05-06 verification pass after the early-2026 site information architecture reorganization. That fee family is disclosed below as unavailable via official sources rather than estimated.
Fee Summary
| Fee Type | Status | Top-Line Figure | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Water Capital Recovery Fee (Water + Wastewater impact fees, lots platted after 2023-10-01) | Confirmed | $4,800 water + $2,900 wastewater = $7,700 combined per lot (current top tier) | October 1, 2023 |
| Austin Water Capital Recovery Fee (older plat-date tiers and zone-variant tiers) | Confirmed | 5 plat-date tiers; oldest tiers ranging $800 to $7,600 combined depending on platting period and zone | Tiered by plat date (see detail table below) |
| DSD Zoning, Subdivision, Site Plan Application Fees | Not verified via official sources | Canonical DSD Application Fee Schedule URL not located after 2026 site IA reorganization (6 substitute paths probed, all 404 / DNS-fail / empty) | - |
| Austin Water Connection (Tap) Fees | Administered separately | Austin Water (separate City of Austin utility) administers tap/connection fees on a separate schedule from DSD land-use fees; capital recovery (impact) portion captured above | - |
| Proffers | Not applicable | Texas does not use cash proffers; growth-cost recovery operates via TLGC Chapter 395 impact fees and developer agreements | - |
| Special District Fees (Travis County WCID No. 17, MUDs) | Administered separately | WCID and MUD overlays administer their own fees directly; City of Austin does not charge a special-district application fee for development | - |
Austin Water Capital Recovery Fees (Impact Fees)
Capital Recovery Fees are the Austin Water portion of impact fees adopted under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 and City Code Chapter 25-9. The fee due is tiered by the date the lot was platted, with five distinct date thresholds. Lots platted in earlier eras retain their lower grandfathered rates; lots platted after October 1, 2023 pay the current top tier. Administered by: Austin Water (City of Austin utility).
Capital Recovery Fees by Plat Date
| Lots Platted | Water | Wastewater | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| After October 1, 2023 | $4,800 | $2,900 | $7,700 |
| October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2023 | $4,700 | $2,500 | $7,200 |
| January 1, 2014 through September 30, 2018 | $5,400 | $2,200 | $7,600 |
| October 1, 2007 through December 31, 2013 | Zone-variant (CURE / Urban Watersheds / DDZ / DWPZ): combined $1,100 to $3,900 | ||
| Before October 1, 2007 | Zone-variant: combined $800 to $3,000 | ||
Source: Austin Water Capital Recovery Fees, austintexas.gov/water/rates-and-fees (verbatim 5-tier plat-date schedule with zone-variant rows for the two oldest tiers; effective tier from October 1, 2023 published per City Code Chapter 25-9 and TX LGC Chapter 395).
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 2026-05-06 verification pass. They are disclosed here rather than estimated or omitted silently.
DSD Zoning, Subdivision, and Site Plan Application Fees
The City of Austin Development Services Department (DSD) administers zoning amendment, subdivision, and site plan application fees. The canonical DSD Application Fee Schedule URL was not located via official sources during the 2026-05-06 verification pass. The site IA was reorganized in early 2026 and legacy URLs return HTTP 404. Six substitute paths were probed:
- austintexas.gov/development-services - HTTP 404 on 2026-05-06 re-probe (legacy DSD landing)
- austintexas.gov/department/development-services-fees - HTTP 404
- services.austintexas.gov/Government/development-services/fees - HTTP 404
- development.austintexas.gov/fees - DNS / connection failure
- austintexas.gov/financeonline/finance/index.cfm - HTTP 404
- austintexas.legistar.com - root accessible; targeted keyword search returned empty default
The Street Impact Fee program (Ordinance No. 20200611-018) and the DSD Application Fee Schedule remain unverified for this pass. A future ZoneFee verification pass will attempt Stage 3 Playwright nav-traversal of austintexas.gov from the root with anchor enumeration for "fee", "schedule", and "permit fee", and a targeted Legistar keyword search for ordinance 20200611-018 follow-up amendments.
Austin Water Connection (Tap) Fees
Austin Water administers water and wastewater connection (tap) and service-extension fees on a fee schedule separate from the Capital Recovery (impact) Fees published above. The tap-fee component lives on a separate Austin Water rates-and-fees subpage. A separate ZoneFee Austin Water authority record is queued.
Proffers
Texas jurisdictions do not use cash proffers. Cash proffers are a Virginia/Maryland framework. Texas growth-cost recovery operates through Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 impact fees (the Capital Recovery Fees captured above) and developer agreements, not proffers.
Special District Fees
Austin overlaps Travis County WCID No. 17 and other Municipal Utility District (MUD) jurisdictions whose fees are administered by those districts directly, not by City of Austin. WCID and MUD authority records are pending separate creation. The City of Austin itself does not charge a special-district application fee for development.
Fee Authorities
| Authority | Fee Types | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| City of Austin Development Services Department (DSD) | Zoning amendment, subdivision, site plan, and building permit application fees (canonical schedule URL not located 2026-05-06; future verification pass queued) | austintexas.gov/development-services (legacy URL; returned 404 on 2026-05-06 re-probe) |
| Austin Water (City of Austin utility) | Water and Wastewater Capital Recovery Fees (impact fees, captured above); water and wastewater connection (tap) charges (separate schedule, separate ZoneFee record queued) | austintexas.gov/water/rates-and-fees |
| Travis County WCID No. 17 and other MUD overlays | Special-district fees within respective district boundaries (administered directly by each district; not collected by City of Austin) | Per individual district websites |
Sources
| Document | Agency | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Water Rates and Fees - Capital Recovery Fees by plat date | Austin Water (City of Austin utility) | 2026-05-06 |
| City of Austin Development Services landing (historical reference; returned 404 on 2026-05-06 re-probe due to 2026 site IA reorganization) | City of Austin DSD | 2026-05-05 (last successful capture) |
Last verified by ZoneFee: 2026-05-06. Fee schedules are subject to change. Verify current rates directly with Austin Water and the City of Austin Development Services Department before relying on this data for any financial decision.
This page reflects fee data sourced from the Austin Water Rates and Fees page (austintexas.gov/water/rates-and-fees) effective tier from October 1, 2023 for Capital Recovery Fees (impact fees). ZoneFee does not guarantee that fee amounts are current at the time you read this page. Fee schedules change. The Austin Water Capital Recovery Fee schedule is reviewed periodically by the Austin City Council. The City of Austin Development Services Department (DSD) Application Fee Schedule for zoning, subdivision, and site plan applications was not located via official sources during the 2026-05-06 verification pass after the 2026 austintexas.gov information architecture reorganization, and is honestly disclosed as unavailable rather than estimated. Austin Water connection (tap) fees are administered separately by Austin Water and are not included on this DSD-and-Capital-Recovery-scoped page; a separate authority record is queued. Travis County WCID No. 17 and other MUD overlays administer their own fees directly. Texas does not use Virginia-style cash proffers. Verify all current rates with Austin Water and DSD 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.