The Categories tab deals with options around Categories and Tags for topics.
Allow categories
Enable categories for the topics post type.
Create categories
Allow users to create new categories when they create a new topic.
Allow tags
Enable tags for the topics post type. When enabled, users can add and create their own tags.
Display categories
Choose where to display category and tag lists.
Display categories and tags on archive and single topic layout
Enable categories and tags, display them above or below content and on the design tab, make sure to set Archive Layout to Archive and Single Topic Layout to Archive.