Charge, we're told, for the nails (5)
I believe the answer is:
tacks
'the nails' is the definition.
(tack is a kind of nail)
'charge we're told' is the wordplay.
'charge' becomes 'tax' (tax is a kind of charge).
'we're told' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'tax' is a homophone of 'TACKS'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for tacks that I've seen before include "They secure" , "Small broad-headed nails" , "Fixes" , "a few points" , "Shorts nails with big heads" .)