The middle Utah homeowner pays $2,525 a year on a home worth $489,400, or 0.52 percent of market value, according to the Census Bureau. By county, that share ranges from 0.26 percent in Rich County to 0.80 percent in San Juan County. This Utah property tax calculator multiplies the value you enter by the share owners in your county actually pay, then shows the result next to the typical local bill. Type the full market value from your July notice or a recent sale price; the county share already reflects the 45 percent break that primary residences get.
Primary Homes Are Taxed on 55 Percent of Value
The biggest factor in a Utah bill is whether the house is your primary residence. Under Article XIII, Section 3 of the Utah Constitution and Utah Code 59-2-103, residential property used as a primary residence gets a 45 percent reduction in fair market value, on the house and up to one acre of land. A home the assessor values at $500,000 is taxed as if it were worth $275,000.
Utah Property Tax Calculator (2027)
Choose one of the 29 counties, enter a sale-price estimate, and see a yearly plus monthly amount scaled by what owner households there actually report paying, from Census ACS 2024 five-year medians. Built for a primary residence, where the 45 percent exemption already lowers the bill.
A planning figure, not a bill. It multiplies your value by the county's ratio of median real estate payments to median owner-occupied value from the Census ACS 2024 five-year survey, which mostly reflects primary residences taxed on 55 percent of market value after the 45 percent residential exemption. Second homes, short-term rentals, and vacant land pay on full value, so expect nearly double. Rates differ by tax area inside each county, and circuit breaker credits, veteran and blind exemptions, special assessments, and fees are not modeled. Check your market value with the county assessor, and the amount due by November 30 with the county treasurer.
The exemption does not apply to second homes, cabins, nightly or short-term rentals, or condos in a rental pool. A long-term rental does qualify when it is the tenant’s primary residence. A home used as a residence for 183 or more consecutive days in the year qualifies for that year, and each household gets one primary residence. If the assessor asks you to confirm residency, return form PT-19A within 90 days or you risk losing the exemption.
At the same tax area rate, a home without the exemption owes about 1.82 times as much (100 divided by 55), which is why ski-town cabins and St. George vacation homes out-pay owner-occupied neighbors. The county shares here come mostly from primary homes, so for a second home, multiply the answer by roughly 1.8.
Truth in Taxation: Rising Values Do Not Raise the Levy on Their Own
Utah fixes revenue, not rates. Every June the county auditor gives each taxing entity a certified tax rate, the rate that would bring in the same property tax revenue as last year plus money from new construction (Utah Code 59-2-924). When values climb, the certified rate drops to offset them. A county, city, school district, or special district that wants more than that has to go through truth in taxation under Utah Code 59-2-919: published notices, a public hearing, and a vote.
So a 10 percent jump in market value does not mean a 10 percent jump in the bill. Your share moves when your home gains faster or slower than the rest of your district, or when an entity adopts a rate above its certified rate. The July notice names any entity asking for more and when its hearing is.
2025 Tax Area Rates in Four Cities
Rates are decimals of taxable value, and each tax area stacks several entities. The Tax Commission’s 2025 report of final adopted rates gives these combined figures for one core tax area in each city:
- Salt Lake City (area 013-0000): 0.009183, including 0.003767 for the Salt Lake City School District and 0.003169 for the city
- St. George (area 008-0000): 0.006584
- Ogden (area 014-0000): 0.012439, with 0.006938 going to the Ogden City School District
- Park City (area 006-0000): 0.005508
For a $500,000 primary home, taxable value is $275,000. In Salt Lake City that comes to $2,525.33 a year; as a second home, $4,591.50. St. George comes to $1,810.60 (or $3,292.00 without the exemption), Ogden $3,420.72, and Park City $1,514.70. Your own tax area can differ within a city.
County Ratios: Rich (0.26%) to San Juan (0.80%)
Each Census ratio divides median tax paid by median owner-occupied value, 2020 through 2024 survey years. Rich County has the lightest share at 0.26 percent, followed by Wayne at 0.34 and Garfield, Piute, and Summit at 0.35. A $400,000 house in Rich comes to about $1,040 a year. Summit has the highest home values in the state, with a median of $1,067,700; a $1,000,000 home there at 0.35 percent comes to $3,500.
At the top, San Juan stands alone at 0.80 percent, with Emery at 0.62, Carbon and Duchesne at 0.61, and Weber at 0.60. A $250,000 house in San Juan works out to $2,000, and a $400,000 house in Weber to $2,400. Treat the San Juan figure with caution. Much of the county is Navajo Nation and other tribal trust land, which county levies do not reach, and the Census median bill counts only owners who pay.
Near the metros, a $500,000 home in Salt Lake County at 0.54 percent works out to $2,700 annually ($225 monthly), $136 under the county’s $2,836 median bill. In Utah County, a $600,000 home at 0.44 percent comes to $2,640, or $220 a month, $270 above the local median of $2,370. A $450,000 home in Washington County at 0.42 percent works out to $1,890, or $157.50 a month. Nineteen counties sit below the 0.52 percent statewide share, Morgan matches it, and nine sit above; the populous Wasatch Front pulls the state figure above the 0.46 percent county midpoint.
The July Valuation Notice and the September 15 Appeal Deadline
Assessors value every parcel as of January 1. By July 22 the county auditor mails a Notice of Valuation and Tax Changes with your market and taxable values and the hearing date for any entity proposing an increase.
If the market value looks too high, appeal to the county board of equalization by the later of September 15 or 45 days after the notice was mailed (Utah Code 59-2-1004). Include your own value estimate and evidence such as sales near January 1 or an appraisal; the board generally decides within 60 days. If you won a reduction last year and the value jumps again without improvements, the board presumes last year’s figure adjusted by your area’s median change. Beyond the county board, the next step is the State Tax Commission.
Circuit Breaker, Veterans, Blind, and Hardship Relief
File relief with the county by September 1. According to the Utah County Auditor’s 2026 guidance, the circuit breaker homeowner’s credit is for residents 67 or older by December 31, or a surviving spouse, with 2025 household income no higher than $44,221. The state’s 2025 table capped the credit at $1,312. Owners 75 and older can defer tax on income up to $88,442 in 2026, with interest accruing until the home changes hands.
Veterans with a service-connected disability rated at 10 percent or higher get an exemption scaled to their rating. For 2026 the full amount is $535,459 of taxable value, up from $521,620 in 2025. Surviving spouses of service members killed in action are exempt from all property tax on the primary residence. Active-duty members who served 200 days in a 365-day period outside Utah can exempt their home for that year. Legally blind owners take $11,500 off taxable value. Counties may also grant an indigent abatement to owners 65 or older, disabled, or in extreme hardship: in 2025 it covered half the tax or up to $1,312, whichever is less.
November 30, Penalties, and the Four-Year Tax Sale
Treasurers mail notices by November 1, and the full year is due November 30 (Utah Code 59-2-1331), a Tuesday in 2027. Treasurers accept early partial payments of at least $10.
A late payment draws a penalty of 2.5 percent or $10, whichever is greater, cut to 1 percent or $10 if everything is paid by January 31. After that, interest runs from January 1 at the federal funds target plus 6 percent, but never below 7 percent or above 10 percent. A home still unpaid after four years goes on the tax sale list in March and is sold in May or June unless it is redeemed before the sale (Utah Code 59-2-1343 and 59-2-1346).
HB 236, Summer Hearings, and When These Ratios Refresh
The most recent change targets the hearing process itself. House Bill 236, Truth in Taxation Amendments, was signed on March 23, 2026 and took effect May 6, 2026. School districts and cities on a July fiscal year that are considering a rate increase must now say so early in a public meeting, adopt an interim budget that includes a property tax impact schedule, and set aside part of their general fund in a restricted account while the process is under way. It does not cap rates or require voter approval.
The county ratios here refresh with the next Census ACS 5-year release, and the tax area examples when the Tax Commission posts its 2026 final rates.
Sources: Census Bureau ACS 2024 five-year figures (B25103 median taxes paid, B25077 median value); Utah State Tax Commission 2025 tax rates by tax area, primary residential exemption guidance, 2025 property tax relief table, and property tax calendar; Utah Code Title 59, Chapter 2; H.B. 236 (2026); Utah County Auditor 2026 relief figures. To confirm your market value, contact your county assessor; for the amount due, contact your county treasurer.