Central Florida Impact Fees by County: 2026 Comparison

Anyone building a new home in Central Florida pays impact fees, one-time charges that counties and school districts collect to pay for the roads, schools, parks, and fire stations new growth requires. They’re one of the biggest costs of building that most people never hear about. They rarely show up as a separate line in a builder’s price, and for someone building on their own lot, they come due with the building permit. They also vary enormously: the same 2,000-square-foot house can owe less than $10,000 in one county and more than $37,000 in the next one over.

Short version: For a typical 2,000-square-foot single-family home in an unincorporated area, countywide impact fees in 2026 run about $37,700 in Osceola, $24,700 in Orange (suburban district), $18,000 in Polk, $17,600 in Lake, $14,200 in Volusia, $12,600 in Seminole (suburban district), and $9,800 in Brevard. School fees are the biggest piece in most counties, and road or mobility fees are the most variable. Cities often add their own fees, water and sewer connection charges come on top, and several counties have increases scheduled or under review, so check the county’s current schedule before you budget.

What impact fees are, and who pays them

Impact fees are governed by the Florida Impact Fee Act, F.S. 163.31801. The basics:

They have to match a real need. Fees must be based on a demonstrated-need study using local data no more than 4 years old, and they have to be proportional to the extra demand new construction creates and to the benefit it gets from the money.
They’re due no earlier than the building permit. The statute bars local governments from collecting fees before the building permit is issued. Some counties let builders defer payment until later in the process.
Builders who build infrastructure get credit. If a developer builds a road or donates land, the government must credit that dollar for dollar against the fees.
They don’t apply to rebuilding. Replacing a home that already existed on the lot generally doesn’t trigger new fees.
Water and sewer are separate. The act specifically doesn’t cover utility connection fees, which are charged on their own.

On a new home bought from a builder, the builder pays the fees and builds them into the price. On a lot you’re building on yourself, you or your contractor pay them at permitting. Either way, the buyer pays in the end.

How fast fees can rise

Florida limits how quickly local governments can raise impact fees. Under the statute:

An increase of up to 25% must be phased in over 2 years.
An increase of 25% to 50% must be phased in over 4 years.
A fee can’t rise more than 50% at a time, and can’t be raised more than once every 4 years.

There’s an exception for “extraordinary circumstances,” which allows bigger increases with a recent study, two public workshops, and, as of January 1, 2026, a unanimous vote of the commission. That’s why so many counties now have fee schedules with step increases on set dates, and why the numbers below are worth checking again before you budget.

The comparison

The example is a new, detached, 2,000-square-foot single-family home in an unincorporated area, close to the 2,142-square-foot median for new single-family homes completed in the U.S. in 2025. The totals include countywide road or mobility, school, parks, fire, EMS, law enforcement, library, and other countywide impact fees, as each county charges them. They don’t include city fees or water and sewer connection charges, covered further down.

County impact fees for a new 2,000 sq ft single-family home, unincorporated area, as of October 2026. Excludes city fees and water/sewer connection charges.
County	Total	Biggest piece	Notes
Osceola	$37,718	Mobility $21,710	Flat per home; slightly lower in three mobility areas
Orange	$24,663	Transportation $11,589	Suburban district; about $22,468 urban, $26,318 rural; road fee update pending
Polk	$18,027	Schools $11,124	Zone A; rises to $20,112 on Jan. 1, 2027
Lake	$17,564	Schools $12,021	South and Northeast/Wekiva districts, from Oct. 1, 2026
Volusia	$14,181	Schools $7,023	1,701 to 2,200 sq ft tier; about $13,201 inside most cities
Seminole	$12,606	Schools $9,000	Suburban district; about $11,703 core, $17,204 rural
Brevard	$9,838	Schools $5,097	Flat per home; schedule from 2017, review under way

County by county

Osceola County: about $37,700. Osceola has the highest fees in the region, mostly because of its mobility fee, which more than doubled in 2025. According to the county’s residential fee schedule, effective June 20, 2025, a single-family home pays:

Mobility fee: $21,710.14 countywide, or slightly less in three special mobility areas around Lake Toho and the Alligator Chain of Lakes
Schools: $12,923
Parks: $2,304.72
Fire: $780

Fees are flat per home, not tiered by size, so a small home pays the same as a large one. Kissimmee and St. Cloud charge their own road, fire, police, and parks fees in place of the county versions, and the county school fee still applies. St. Cloud’s rate sheet shows its mobility fee alone at $14,501.18. The Osceola County guide covers the rest of the county.

Orange County: about $24,700 (suburban). Orange’s road fee depends on the home’s size and on whether the lot is in the urban, suburban, or rural district. According to the county’s impact fee summary and fee brochure, a 2,000-square-foot home in the suburban district pays:

Transportation: $11,588.69 (urban district $9,393.94; rural $13,243.90)
Schools: $9,513 for 2,000 to 2,499 square feet ($8,829 for a home just under 2,000)
Parks: $2,434
Law enforcement: $665
Fire/rescue: $462

That comes to about $22,500 in the urban district, $24,700 in the suburban district, and $26,300 in the rural district. Homes on Orange County Utilities also pay water and wastewater capital charges of $2,790 and $5,270, adding $8,060. The road fee may change soon: a consultant’s study finished in May 2026, and state limits would cap any increase at 50%, phased over up to 4 years. Commissioners took no action in June, with a vote expected in fall 2026. Orlando and several other cities charge their own fees. See the Orange County guide.

Polk County: about $18,000, rising to $20,100 in January. Polk is phasing in an increase adopted in 2024, with the last step on January 1, 2027. According to the county’s permitting page, a single-family home in Zone A, the central part of the county, pays $18,027 in 2026 and $20,112 starting January 1, 2027:

Schools: $11,124, rising to $12,187
Transportation: $3,710, rising to $4,103
Parks: $1,381, rising to $1,864
Correctional: $516, rising to $662
Unchanged in January: law enforcement $578, fire rescue $377, library $188, EMS $153

Zones B and C cost slightly less. Fees are flat per home. Homes on county utilities also pay water and wastewater connection fees of $9,207, rising to $11,449 on January 1, 2027. Cities like Winter Haven and Lakeland replace some county fees with their own. Winter Haven’s residential fee guide puts the combined city and county total at $21,329.86 for 2026. See the Polk County guide.

Lake County: about $17,600. Lake charges by living area and steps its fees up on a schedule. For a home of 1,500 to 2,499 square feet in the South and Northeast/Wekiva road districts, the schedule effective October 1, 2026 (posted on the City of Groveland’s site) shows:

Schools: $12,021 (up from $11,247 earlier in 2026)
Roads: $4,356
Fire: $536
Parks: $263
Library: $263
Administration: $125

Under the county’s January to September 2026 schedule, totals ran from $13,667 to $16,765 depending on the road district. The October rates for the other districts weren’t posted on the county’s site when we checked, so confirm your district’s current rate with Lake County. Water and sewer come from the cities, not the county. See the Lake County guide.

Volusia County: about $14,200. Volusia tiers its fees by square footage. A home of 1,701 to 2,200 square feet in an unincorporated area pays, according to the county’s 2026 residential schedule, effective June 3, 2026:

Schools: $7,022.70
Road: $5,464
District/coastal parks: $644
Fire: $596.81
Local parks: $384
EMS: $69.97

That totals $14,181.48. Inside most cities, the county doesn’t charge its fire and local parks fees, since the cities charge their own, and the county portion drops to $13,200.67. Deltona, Daytona Beach, and DeLand all have their own fee schedules. See the Volusia County guide.

Seminole County: about $12,600 (suburban). Seminole’s fees depend on home size and, for the mobility fee, on whether the lot is in the core, suburban, or rural district. For a home of 1,500 to 2,499 square feet:

Schools: $9,000, flat per home
Mobility: $2,714 suburban ($1,811 in the core district; $7,312 in the rural district)
Fire/rescue: $497
Library: $395

That comes to about $11,700 in the core district, $12,600 suburban, and $17,200 rural. These schedules took effect in June 2021. Some cities add their own fees; Oviedo, for example, charges its own mobility fee. See the Seminole County guide.

Brevard County: about $9,800. Brevard has the lowest fees in the region, on a schedule that hasn’t changed since January 2017. According to the county’s residential schedule, a single-family home in an unincorporated area pays:

Schools: $5,096.50
Transportation: $4,353
Solid waste: $160
Correctional: $71.99
Library: $63.84
Fire/rescue: $54.08
EMS: $38.65

Fees are flat per home. Melbourne and Palm Bay charge their own transportation and fire fees in place of the county’s. Brevard commissioners voted in 2025 to study all of the county’s impact fees, so higher fees are likely within the next few years. See the Brevard County guide.

City fees and water and sewer

The county totals above are only part of the bill:

City fees. Many cities charge their own road, police, fire, and parks fees, sometimes replacing the county’s version and sometimes adding to it. School fees almost always still apply countywide.
Water and sewer connection fees. Florida law treats these separately from impact fees. Depending on the utility, they can add several thousand dollars to more than $10,000.
Well and septic. Homes on a well and septic system don’t pay water and sewer connection fees, but they have their own permitting and installation costs. The septic and sewer guide and well permits guide cover those.

How to find your exact number

Find out who has jurisdiction. Check whether the lot is in a city or unincorporated county. The property appraiser’s site will tell you.
Find the road district or zone if the county has more than one. Orange, Osceola, Polk, Lake, and Seminole all do.
Pull the current schedules from the county, any city, and the school district. Fees change on set dates, so check the effective date.
Ask the utility about water and sewer connection charges, or plan for well and septic.
Ask the builder, if you’re buying new construction, whether impact fees are included in the price. They usually are, but a contract that lists them separately leaves room for surprises.

Impact fees belong in the same early budget as the lot, the permit, and site work. The buildable lot checklist, buying vacant land guide, and building permits guide cover the rest of that list. For new construction in a planned community, CDD assessments are another cost to add, and the new construction buyer mistakes article covers what to watch for in a builder contract.

Frequently Asked Questions

One-time charges on new construction that counties, cities, and school districts use to pay for the roads, schools, parks, and public safety facilities growth requires. Under the Florida Impact Fee Act, they must be based on a recent study and be proportional to the demand new construction creates.

Osceola. A new single-family home there pays about $37,700 in countywide impact fees in 2026, mostly from a mobility fee of $21,710. Brevard has the lowest, at about $9,800 for a single-family home in an unincorporated area.

Florida law bars local governments from collecting impact fees before the building permit is issued, and some counties allow payment later in the process. On a new home from a builder, the builder pays them and includes them in the price.

No. Impact fees apply to new construction. Rebuilding a home that previously existed on the lot also generally doesn’t trigger new impact fees under Florida law.

Increases of up to 25% must be phased in over 2 years, and increases of 25% to 50% over 4 years. A fee can’t rise more than 50% at a time or more than once every 4 years, unless the county meets the extraordinary-circumstances test, which since January 1, 2026 requires a unanimous commission vote.

No. Florida’s Impact Fee Act specifically excludes water and sewer connection fees, which utilities charge separately. In Orange County, for example, they add $8,060 for a home on county utilities, and in Polk County $9,207, rising to $11,449 in January 2027.

Often. Many cities charge their own road, police, fire, and parks fees, sometimes replacing the county’s version and sometimes adding to it. School impact fees almost always apply countywide, inside and outside cities.

Sources

This article is for general informational purposes only and isn’t financial, legal, insurance, or tax advice – for guidance specific to your situation, talk to a licensed professional.

Central Florida Impact Fees by County: What a New Home Pays in 2026