6 Things Texans Used to Get for Free That Now Come With a Fee
A Hays CISD freshman turns in fall sports paperwork this year and finds a brand-new line: An athletic fee.
That fee didn’t exist last year.
It’s one of several charges showing up on ordinary Texas bills for the first time.
These are the things Texans used to get for free, now with a fee attached.
Note: This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Fees, rates, and policies are subject to change.
1. Skipping a TollTag on Texas Toll Roads
The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) let cash-paying drivers cover the exact same toll as TollTag holders for years.
Cash lanes are gone now.
NTTA bills drivers without a tag through its ZipCash pay-by-mail program.
That rate runs double the TollTag price after a summer 2025 hike: 42 cents versus 21 cents on a typical stretch.
Add it up over a daily commute, and the gap can run higher than a week of gas.
Get the tag.
2. Getting a Paper Statement From United Heritage Credit Union
United Heritage Credit Union, based in Austin, mailed every member’s paper statement free for years, no fee attached.
Not anymore, as of May 1, 2025.
United Heritage now charges $5 for a mailed paper statement, while switching to e-statements still costs nothing.
Expect twelve statements a year by mail, and that’s $60 gone just for wanting paper.
It adds up fast.
3. Checking a Bag on Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines checked a bag free for more than fifty years, the last major airline still doing it.
That ended on May 28, 2025.
The first bag now costs $35, the second $45, the same whether a flight connects through Dallas Love Field or Houston Hobby.
Business Select flyers, A-List Preferred members, and certain Chase Rapid Rewards cardholders still check a bag free, so status still buys something.
Everyone else pays.
4. Booking a Room at an Austin Hotel
A night at an Austin, Texas, hotel used to mean the room rate plus the usual city and state hotel taxes, nothing else.
Book a room at a hotel with 100 or more rooms now, and a new line waits on the bill.
The Austin Tourism Public Improvement District (PID) fee adds 2% to the room’s taxable revenue, a charge that took effect April 1, 2025.
Stack that on top of the 11% city hotel tax and 6% state hotel tax already there, and a $150 room can run several dollars higher.
Psst! How much do you know about the history behind America’s fees and tolls? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
Quiz
Texas Fee History IQ
Answer these questions on tolls, credit cards, and the fees behind them. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Texas ended its annual vehicle safety inspection for most drivers on January 1, 2025. What happened to the old inspection fee?
5. Setting Out Extra Trash in Fort Worth
Fort Worth let residents pile extra trash at the curb for free for years, while Waste Management's contractor covered the cost.
Since January 2024, camera-equipped trucks photograph every cart at the curb.
An overloaded cart now costs $6, with a loose bag beside it running $3.
The city documented more than 30,000 extra bags a year before it started charging.
Now it's on video.
6. Playing a Sport at a Hays CISD School
Hays Consolidated Independent School District (CISD), a Texas district near Austin, never charged a student to try out for a University Interscholastic League (UIL) sport.
Starting with the 2026-27 school year, that changes.
A high schooler's first sport costs $175, a second $90, a third $50, with a $315 cap per family.
Middle schoolers pay less: $100 for a first sport, capped at $175 per family.
Budget cuts do that.
A student who qualifies for free lunch gets 90% of that fee waived, and reduced-price lunch gets a 50% discount.
The Cost of Paying a Texas Property Tax Bill by Card
Tarrant County, Texas, charges 2.15% of the amount charged on a credit card for a property tax payment, on top of whatever a homeowner already owes.
A debit card costs less: $2.50 in person, or $2.95 online or by phone.
Dallas County runs almost the same setup: 2.05% on a credit card, $2.85 on a debit card.
That stings.
A homeowner who mails a check by the January deadline skips every card fee, same as always.
The Math Behind a Texas Card Fee
Tarrant County charges 2.15% every time a homeowner pays a property tax bill with a credit card.
On a typical $5,000 tax bill, that adds $107.50 just for the swipe.
A debit card costs less: $2.50 in person, $2.95 online or by phone, no matter the bill's size.
An e-check carries no fee at all.
Typing in a bank routing number instead of a card number keeps the whole bill intact.
What Replacing a Lost Unemployment Debit Card Costs
Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) loads unemployment benefits onto a U.S. Bank ReliaCard debit card.
A standard replacement card is free and arrives by mail.
Ask TWC to rush a replacement instead, and the card issuer charges $12.50 for delivery in two to three business days.
Waiting costs nothing. Rushing does.
A New Stormwater Fee Is Coming to Carrollton Water Bills This Fall
Carrollton, Texas, has covered stormwater drainage out of its general budget for years, with no separate charge on the water bill.
A new stormwater fee starts showing up on every water bill October 1, 2026.
The Carrollton City Council approved the fee in November 2025.
About 80% of homes will land in the $7.25-a-month tier.
That's brand new.
Smaller properties pay $4 a month, larger properties pay $11.40.
Every Carrollton water bill gets a new line this fall.
9 Little-Known Texas History Stories Even Longtime Texans Haven't Heard About
Ask a lifelong Texan to name every battle fought on their own soil, and many stop at two: The Alamo and San Jacinto.
A war between neighboring counties and a U.S. Army program that swapped horses for camels never made it into the textbook.
9 Little-Known Texas History Stories Even Longtime Texans Haven't Heard About
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A high electric bill isn't the worst thing a Texas summer can cost a newcomer.
Ask anybody who's spent a July night in an emergency room after reaching into a woodpile they couldn't see into.
10 Texas Summer Rules Locals Follow That Newcomers Learn the Hard Way
