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Do you know how much your city will charge before you can start building your home?
If you do not, you are not alone. Many Utah County homeowners account for the land and construction costs only to discover thousands of dollars in impact fees and utility hookups later in the process. The amount also depends on where you build. A custom home in Lehi may be subject to a different mix of fees than the same home in Highland or American Fork. Lot size and utility needs can change the total even within the same city.
This guide explains what impact fees cover and what you should confirm before purchasing land or finalizing your construction budget.
Use these links to navigate to the sections you want to read:
- What Are Impact Fees in Utah?
- How Much Are Impact Fees for a New Home in Utah County?
- The Difference Between Impact Fees, Building Permits, and Utility Hookups
- Utah County Impact Fees by City
- How Fees Work in Key Utah County Cities
- Know What Can Change Your Impact Fees
- When Are Impact Fees Paid During Construction?
- Get an Impact Fee Estimate Before You Buy a Lot
- Add Impact Fees to Your Custom Home Budget
- Frequently Asked Questions About Impact Fees in Utah County
What Are Impact Fees in Utah?
An impact fee is a one-time charge imposed on new development to help fund the additional public infrastructure that development requires. Cities, counties, and special districts may collect impact fees for qualifying infrastructure. That can include water systems, wastewater facilities, storm drainage, roads, parks, municipal power, and public safety facilities.
The basic idea is that new growth should pay a proportionate share of the infrastructure needed to serve it. A new home adds demand to the sewer system and local roads, for example, so part of the cost of expanding that capacity is assessed when the home is built. Utah’s Impact Fees Act also limits how cities can use the money. An impact fee cannot become a general source of revenue or pay for routine maintenance. The fee must be tied to the effects of new development and supported by a formal analysis.
How Much Are Impact Fees for a New Home in Utah County?
There is no countywide impact fee. Each municipality adopts its own schedule, and some services are provided by a separate district.
Spanish Fork City publishes a regional comparison prepared with data from the Utah Valley Home Builders Association. It uses the same hypothetical project in each city: a single-family home valued at $300,000 on a quarter-acre lot. The comparison includes impact fees, building permit fees, and utility hookups because cities package those costs differently.
Under those assumptions, the combined total ranges from approximately $12,200 in Lindon to $29,500 in Highland. That range is helpful for early planning, but it is not a quote for a custom home. A high-value home on an acre in Highland does not place the same demand on municipal services as the sample quarter-acre property. Meter size, irrigation requirements, electrical capacity, and the amount of hard surface on the lot can all change the final cost.
Access our free Custom Home Cost Guide to budget for your project.
The Difference Between Impact Fees, Building Permits, and Utility Hookups
Homeowners often use “impact fees” as a catchall for every payment due to the city before construction. Utah law treats several of those charges separately. The Utah Legislature’s overview of impact fees specifically notes that impact fees do not include building permit fees, hookup fees, taxes, special assessments, or project improvements. Here's a closer look at each of those expenses:
Table 1. Comparison of Impact Fees. Building Permits, and Utility Hookups
| Cost | What It Generally Covers | How It May Be Calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Impact fee | Infrastructure capacity required by new development | Per home, acre, meter, or service unit |
| Building permit fee | Plan review, inspections, and permit administration | Construction valuation or an adopted permit table |
| Utility hookup fee | Meter installation or connection to a utility system | Connection type and meter size |
| Water or irrigation requirement | Water supply, rights, or irrigation capacity | Lot size or landscaped area |
| Bond or deposit | Protection of streets and other public property during construction | Flat or project-specific amount |
The distinction matters when comparing cities. A lower published impact-fee subtotal may not include a regional sewer charge or the cost of connecting to power. Another city may show a larger number because it provides more municipal utilities directly. Be sure to talk with your builder about the exact fees you'll need to cover in your city.
Utah County Impact Fees by City
As we have covered, impact fees can vary widely across Utah County. The table below shows estimated impact fees using a $300,000 single-family home built on a quarter-acre lot as an example. Keep in mind that these figures are not quotes for a specific project. Current fee schedules and the requirements of your lot and home will determine what you will end up paying.
Table 2. Impact Fees in Utah County by City
| City | Published Total |
|---|---|
| Lindon | $12,200 |
| Lehi | $13,600 |
| Mapleton | $14,700 |
| Woodland Hills | $15,000 |
| Santaquin | $16,400 |
| Orem | $16,500 |
| Pleasant Grove | $16,700 |
| Cedar Hills | $18,200 |
| Provo | $18,200 |
| Eagle Mountain | $18,400 |
| Payson | $21,000 |
| Vineyard | $21,800 |
| Elk Ridge | $21,900 |
| Alpine | $22,900 |
| American Fork | $23,300 |
| Saratoga Springs | $24,000 |
| Springville | $25,400 |
| Salem | $28,000 |
| Highland | $29,500 |
How Fees Work in Key Utah County Cities
If you're wondering how much impact fees differ across Utah County, we'll take a closer look at four of the cities where our team frequently works.
American Fork Impact Fees
American Fork breaks its fees down line by line on its single-family building and impact fee sheet. The list includes the city’s charges for water, sewer, roads, parks, and public safety, along with a few costs that are easy to overlook when you first start budgeting. One of those is the $5,793 fee for the Timpanogos Special Service District, which operates the regional wastewater treatment system. You will see that charge alongside American Fork’s own sewer fee because each one covers a different part of the wastewater system.
Your pressurized irrigation fee will depend on how much impermeable surface the property has, at $0.42 per square foot. The home itself counts toward that calculation, along with the other hard surfaces shown on the site plan. Water and irrigation hookups, the building permit, and the state permit tax are added separately.
Highland Impact Fees
If you are building in Highland, pay close attention to the size of the lot. The city charges $0.51 per square foot of permeable area for pressurized irrigation, so the fee for a large estate lot can move well beyond the quarter-acre example used in the comparison table.
Where the property sits within Highland matters too. Homes in the southeastern service area have their own culinary water impact fee and sewer rate. The city also collects the Timpanogos Special Service District fee on top of its local sewer charge.
Bring the parcel information and an early site plan to the city before you settle on a number. Highland’s 2026 fee schedule gives you the rates, but the city will need details from your property to calculate the amount you will actually owe.
Lehi Impact Fees
Lehi starts with several standard per-home charges, then uses the details of your lot and plans to calculate the rest. Pressurized irrigation and storm drainage are based on acreage, with a quarter-acre minimum. The home’s electrical service also affects the power impact fee. A 200-amp service falls into a different tier than the higher-capacity service often planned for a larger custom home. Water meter size can change the connection cost as well.
Lehi’s connection and impact fee schedule lists the $5,793 Timpanogos Special Service District charge with the city’s other fees. Water, irrigation, and electrical hookups are shown as separate costs, so make sure those amounts are included when you build your permit budget.
Spanish Fork Impact Fees
Spanish Fork makes it easier to see the full cost in one place. Its 2026 schedule lists $20,997.39 in impact fees for a single-family home and another $5,836.77 for the building permit and utility hookups. That brings the city’s published example to $26,834.16.
Wastewater accounts for $5,763.51 of the impact fees, while the parks charge adds $4,896. The site plan can affect the stormwater portion of the bill. If your plans meet the city’s low-impact development requirements, you may qualify for the reduced stormwater rate.
Know What Can Change Your Impact Fees
Lot size makes a noticeable difference in places like Highland, where pressurized irrigation is charged by the square foot. American Fork looks at impermeable surface, which means the footprint of your home and the hardscaping around it can affect the total.
Additionally, your utility plans will narrow the estimate further. The city needs to know what size water meter the home will use and how much electrical capacity it requires. Those decisions often come later in design, so the first estimate you receive may still carry a few allowances. If you are looking at an infill property or replacing an existing home, ask the city to check for paid utility connections. Any credit will depend on the property records and how the previous home was served.
Make sure you're working with an experienced builder who is familiar with all of the local fees and regulations and can manage these during the planning process.
When Are Impact Fees Paid During Construction?
Most cities collect impact fees when they issue the building permit or connect the home to municipal utilities. Plan-review fees may come due when you submit the application, so you can have money going out before any work begins on the lot. Make sure you account for those payments in your preliminary construction budget. If you are using a construction loan, the lender will want to see the permit and utility costs alongside the rest of the project expenses.
Get an Impact Fee Estimate Before You Buy a Lot
Once you have a property in mind, take the parcel number to the city and ask which fees will apply. The parcel number will help staff identify the correct jurisdiction and service area, especially when a property sits close to a city boundary. You do not need finished plans to get started. Give the city the approximate size of the home and whatever site information you already have. They can tell you which charges are fixed and what will need to wait until the plans are further along.
For an infill lot, ask the utility departments what has already been paid. An existing meter or sewer connection may carry value, but you will want that confirmed in writing before you include a credit in your budget. Then, look at what it will take to prepare the property itself. Grading and utility extensions can add to the cost, so plan for that to keep your budget on track.
Add Impact Fees to Your Custom Home Budget
Give impact fees their own line in the budget so you can update the amount as the plans develop. Include the date of the city estimate too, since the rates may change before your permit is ready. Once the site plan and utility requirements are finalized, your builder can go back through the city’s schedule and replace any early allowances with the current numbers. That way, the fees are already accounted for when the permit is issued.
Frequently Asked Questions About Impact Fees in Utah County
Build Your Custom Home With Conner Construction
At Conner Construction, we evaluate impact fees and utility requirements as part of our comprehensive design-build process, when there is still time to make informed decisions about the lot and home design. We confirm the applicable charges with the city and account for them in the project budget before construction begins.
Our team has been building custom homes across Utah County and the surrounding areas for more than 15 years. That local experience matters when municipal requirements can change from one community to the next.
If you have land or are still comparing locations, contact our team to discuss your plans. You can also browse our custom home gallery to see what we have built for homeowners throughout the area.
