Construction-only take
~22%
Of total build cost in permits, fees, and embedded taxes.
All-in take
28%–36%
Including wage withholding and first-year property tax.
Illustrative dollars
$153K–$214K
Total government take across all agencies, all-in ranges.
The Scenario
Explicit assumptions
Swap any input below and the totals move. These are modeled figures, stated openly so the math can be checked or adjusted to a real project.
New single-family home — Burbank, CA · 2,500 SF · market-rate · Occupancy Group R-3, Type B
Hard construction cost (excl. land)$500,000
Materials inside that cost$250,000
Embedded wage base (on/off-site)$275,000
Inbound delivery fuel2,000 gal diesel
Imported materials @ 3.0% duty$75,000
Contractor taxable profit (if C-corp)$50,000
Line by line
The take, by agency
Direct means a separate check you write. means it is already inside the $500,000 spend. Ongoing recurs each year.
A
City of Burbank Direct
City departments — permits & impact fees| Plan Check Fee (2,500 SF R-3 Type B) | $4,408.48 |
| Building Permit Fee | $3,878.10 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | $519.07 |
| Green Building Fee | $62.07 |
| Strong Motion Instrumentation Fee | $65.00 |
| Development Impact — Transportation | $9,285.16 |
| Development Impact — Community Facilities | $5,311.88 |
| Development Administration Surcharge (5%) | $729.85 |
| Subtotal — City of Burbank | $24,259.61 |
Excludes trade permits (electrical/plumbing/mechanical), grading, and project-specific reviews, which depend on exact scope and fixture counts.
B
City of Burbank — Sewer Direct
Local sewer per City fee schedule| Sewer Facilities Charge (Single Family Residential) | $2,043.00 |
C
Burbank Unified School District Direct
Local school developer fee| School Developer Fee (Level 1 cap $5.17/SF × 2,500 SF) | $12,925.00 |
Actual BUSD adopted rate may fall below the cap and can change — verify the current adopted rate.
D
Los Angeles County Direct
Recorder / Registrar| Recording fees + SB2 example (2 recorded documents) | $190–$285 |
Typical case: Deed of Trust + Notice of Completion. Actual documents and pages vary.
E
Sales / Use Tax on Materials
CDTFA collects, then allocates · $250,000 taxable base| Total sales/use tax @ 10.50% (Burbank rate) | $26,250.00 |
| State portion (6.00%) | $15,000.00 |
| Local + district portion (4.50%) | $11,250.00 |
F
Payroll Taxes on Labor
$275,000 wages across the supply chain| FICA total (15.30% = employer + employee) | $42,075.00 |
| FUTA (effective, wage-base-limited) | $200–$500 |
| CA SDI employee withholding (1.30%) | $3,575.00 |
| CA UI employer tax (effective) | $1,300–$2,600 |
| CA ETT employer tax (effective) | $40–$80 |
G
Fuel Taxes on Delivery
2,000 gal diesel for inbound deliveries| Federal diesel excise (24.4¢/gal) | $488.00 |
| CA diesel excise (46.6¢/gal) | $932.00 |
| CA diesel sales tax prepayment (38.5¢/gal) | $770.00 |
| Subtotal — fuel taxes | $2,190.00 |
H
Import Duties on Materials
If applicable to imported components| Duties (3.0% × $75,000 imported value) | $2,250.00 |
I
Income Tax Withholding
On $275,000 wages — varies by worker W-4| Federal income tax withheld (8%–18%) | $22,000–$49,500 |
| California income tax withheld (3%–8%) | $8,250–$22,000 |
J
Business Income Tax on Profit
Only if taxed as a C-corp · $50,000 profit| Federal corporate income tax (21%) | $10,500.00 |
| California franchise tax (8.84%) | $4,420.00 |
If structured as a pass-through, these shift into individual income taxes instead.
K
Property Tax Ongoing
First-year shown as a government-take example| Incremental annual tax on $500,000 improvement (1.1%–1.4%) | $5,500–$7,000 |
Parcel-specific rates vary because of voter-approved debt.
Grand totals
Who collects it — by level of government
1
Federal Government
| IRS · SSA · Medicare · CBP | |
| Embedded (FICA, fuel excise, duties, FUTA) | $45,013–$45,313 |
| + Federal income tax withholding | $22,000–$49,500 |
| + Corporate income tax (if C-corp) | $10,500 |
| Subtotals | |
| No income / no corp tax | $45,013–$45,313 |
| With income, no corp tax | $67,013–$94,813 |
| With income + corp tax | $77,513–$105,313 |
2
State of California
| EDD · CDTFA · FTB · Fuel | |
| Embedded (state sales, SDI, UI/ETT, fuel) | $21,617–$22,907 |
| + CA income tax withholding | $8,250–$22,000 |
| + CA franchise tax (if C-corp) | $4,420 |
| Subtotals | |
| No income / no franchise tax | $21,617–$22,907 |
| With income, no franchise tax | $29,867–$44,907 |
| With income + franchise tax | $34,287–$49,327 |
3
Local Government
| City · County · School · Local sales | |
| Direct (City + sewer + school + recording) | $39,417–$39,513 |
| Embedded (local + district sales allocation) | $11,250 |
| Ongoing (first-year property tax) | $5,500–$7,000 |
| Subtotals | |
| One-time direct + embedded | $50,667–$50,763 |
| Incl. first-year property tax | $56,167–$57,763 |
The bottom line
How much of the build is government take?
Construction-only view
21.75%–22.34%
Government take $117,317–$120,513 on a total build cost of ~$539,500. Practical bottom line: about 22%.
Including withholding + first-year property tax
28.08%–36.42%
Government take $153,000–$199,000 on a total of ~$545,000. Practical bottom line: about 28%–36%, higher with corporate tax.
About these figures. This is a modeled illustration built on the stated assumptions, not a quote for a specific project. Wage-base-limited items (FUTA, UI, ETT), income-tax withholding, and property-tax rates are shown as ranges because they depend on worker W-4s, entity structure, and parcel-specific voter-approved debt. Replace the assumptions with real materials, labor, freight, import share, square footage, and entity type to sharpen the numbers.