Tap Fee vs. Impact Fee: Connection, Capacity, SDC and Other Terms Explained

A tap fee pays for the physical connection to a water or sewer main, or for the utility’s inspection of it. An impact fee pays for your share of the plants, tanks and trunk lines that serve the whole system. In the 2026 schedules we track, sewer tap fees run from $95 in Phoenix to $6,444 in Charlotte, while sewer impact-type fees run from $372 in El Paso Water’s Northeast impact fee area (effective 5/7/2024) to $6,670 per ERU in Charleston, and a new house usually pays both.

The confusion comes from vocabulary. Utilities use at least a dozen names for these two ideas, and some use the “wrong” one: Denver Water calls its capacity charge a tap fee, and Las Vegas calls its capacity charge a connection charge. This guide sorts every term into one of two buckets, shows how units like EDU and meter multipliers turn a published rate into your bill, and explains why the date on your plat can matter more than the date on your permit.

The two buckets

Nationally, our national estimate puts water and sewer capacity-type fees combined at $3,500 low, $7,500 typical and $25,000 high for a single-family home, and sewer tap fees at $200, $3,000 and $6,100. A 2019 national survey used in that estimate found average single-family fees of $4,249 for water and $3,896 for sewer among places that charge them; many places charge none.

Glossary of terms

Tap fee

The charge for tapping the main and, depending on the utility, installing the service to the property line. Fort Worth’s city-installed 4-inch sewer tap costs $2,600 to $7,900 depending on street surface and side of the street; Charleston Water System’s $200 sewer tap fee only covers inspecting a contractor-made connection.

Connection fee

Usually a physical charge, sometimes a capacity charge. Charlotte Water’s water connection fee ($4,407 for 5/8″, FY27) pays for a utility-installed service. Pima County’s sewer connection fee ($4,443, FY2026-27) and the City of Las Vegas sewer connection charge ($3,235 per ERU, 2026) are buy-in charges; no pipe work is included.

Impact fee

A one-time charge on new development to pay for growth-related capital facilities. Texas cities, Charleston and Phoenix use this name. In Texas, impact fees are governed by Local Government Code Chapter 395 and are usually assessed at plat and collected at permit or connection.

Capacity fee or capacity charge

The same concept, named for the plant capacity being reserved. Tampa’s wastewater capacity fee is $1,237 per ERU; Columbus’s sewer system capacity charge is $3,892 for a 3/4-inch tap; Nashville charges $2,300 per sewer capacity unit.

System development charge (SDC) or fee (SDF)

Common in the Carolinas, Florida, Colorado and the Northwest. Charlotte’s sewer SDF is $5,066 (5/8″, FY27); OUC’s water SDC is $2,325 for a single-family home; Seattle added wastewater and drainage SDCs on 1/1/2026; Portland charges water SDCs by meter size.

Plant investment fee (PIF)

Fort Collins’s term. The sewer PIF is $4,476 per single-family dwelling; the water PIF is $914 for the first 3/4-inch tap plus $0.494 per square foot of lot. Fort Collins also requires water rights or a cash payment in lieu, which is a third category altogether.

Capital recovery fee

Austin Water’s name for its impact fee: $4,800 water and $2,900 wastewater per service unit on lots platted on or after 10/1/2023.

Capital facility fee

Raleigh’s term: $1,447 water and $2,223 sewer for a 5/8-inch meter in FY27.

Capital charge

Orange County Utilities, Florida: $2,790 per ERC water and $5,270 per ERU wastewater, paid before the building permit.

Sewer Availability Charge (SAC)

The Twin Cities regional charge set by the Metropolitan Council: $2,485 per SAC unit in 2026, with a single-family home counted as one unit of 274 gallons per day. The council bills the city, which may pass it on at building permit.

How each city names its charges

Local fee names from official schedules in our database, mapped to the concept they represent. Amounts are single-family examples; follow the city page for full detail and sources. Checked 2026-09-24.

Units: EDU, ERU, ERC, SU, LUE

Capacity fees are priced per unit of demand so that a duplex or a restaurant can be charged fairly against a house. The names differ; the idea is the same. One unit is usually the demand of one single-family home:

• EDU (equivalent dwelling unit): SAWS defines one EDU as 290 gallons per day for water and 200 for sewer.
• ERU / ERC (equivalent residential unit or connection): OUC’s ERC is 275 gallons per day; Charleston, Tampa and Las Vegas charge sewer per ERU.
• SU (service unit) and LUE (living unit equivalent): Texas terms. Houston and Austin charge per service unit.
• Capacity unit: Nashville’s unit is 350 gallons per day; Met Council’s SAC unit is 274.
• Fixture units: Portland’s sewer SDC is charged per drainage fixture unit, and San Diego counts 20 fixture units as one EDU.

If a schedule says “per EDU” and does not tell you how many units your house is, ask. Nashville’s code sets a price per unit but we could not confirm how many units it assigns a single-family home, so we do not publish a Nashville total.

Meter-size multipliers

Most utilities scale capacity charges by the water meter, because a bigger meter can draw more. The common ratio is 1.0 for 5/8 inch, 1.5 for 3/4 inch and 2.5 for 1 inch. Austin and Fort Worth publish those multipliers directly, and the official rates confirm the pattern elsewhere:

Published fee at each meter size, and the ratio to the smallest size (our arithmetic).

Worked example, Charlotte FY27. A home with a 5/8-inch meter pays a water connection fee of $4,407, water SDF of $1,453 and sewer SDF of $5,066: $10,926, plus the $6,444 sewer connection for $17,370. If a fire sprinkler system requires a 1-inch meter, the same three water and SDF lines become $7,068 + $3,632 + $12,664 = $23,364, and the total with the sewer connection is $29,808. The meter size alone adds $12,438.

Plat date vs. permit date

In several Texas cities, the date the subdivision plat was recorded decides which impact fee table applies, not the date you pull a building permit.

• Austin charges $4,800 water and $2,900 wastewater per service unit for plats recorded on or after 10/1/2023, and $4,700 and $2,500 for plats from 10/1/2018 to 9/30/2023. Older plats pay less.
• Fort Worth uses both: impact fees apply to plats recorded on or after 4/1/2017, and the rate then follows the building permit date. A 5/8-inch home pays $2,824 water with a permit issued by 9/30/2026 and $2,990 from 10/1/2026.
• San Antonio (SAWS) applies its current schedule to plats recorded on or after 7/1/2024.
• McKinney keeps five historical tables keyed to final plat date.

For a buyer, an older plat can mean a lower fee, so ask the seller or title company for the recorded plat date. For a builder, a permit pulled before a scheduled increase can lock in the lower rate where the permit date controls.

When each fee is paid

• At building permit: Orange County’s capital charges, Phoenix impact fees and Sacramento’s utility fees. Pima County’s sewer fee must be paid before Tucson releases the building permit.
• Before a connection permit: Nashville’s water capacity charge.
• With a time limit: Colorado Springs Utilities requires the building permit within 120 days of paying development charges, or you re-apply at current rates.
• At meter set or tap: physical tap and meter fees are typically paid when the work is scheduled.

Related guides

See the utility connection cost calculator, tap fees by city, water tap fee, sewer tap fee, water meter installation cost, sewer connection cost, and state guides for Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, Arizona and Florida.

Frequently asked questions