About Property Taxes

Property taxes in Utah are collected by local governments to fund essential services and infrastructure.

Why Property is Taxed

Under Utah law, local governments have the authority to levy property taxes on all taxable property within their boundaries. As established in Article XIII, Section 2 of the Utah Constitution, “all tangible property in the State … shall be assessed at a uniform and equal rate in proportion to its fair market value … and taxed at a uniform and equal rate.”

These taxes are not dependent on whether a property owner directly benefits from specific local services; rather, they fund essential public functions such as law enforcement, emergency services, road and utility maintenance, education, and water and sewer infrastructure. Every property is subject to multiple overlapping local governments, and based on these overlaps, the county establishes Taxing Districts that consolidate the individual tax rates into a single combined rate.

What Determines Your Property Tax?

There are three elements in determining the amount of property tax assessed. The annual budget of a local government, a property's taxable value, and final adopted Tax Rate.

Budget:

Every local government must adopt a balanced budget each year. The portion of the budget funded by property taxes will be proportionally divided among all taxpayers within the government's boundaries, based on the taxable value of their property.

Taxable Value:

The portion of a property's value that is taxed is referred to as its Taxable Value. For all property, except primary residences, Taxable Value is 100% of the Assessed Market Value. For primary residences, Taxable Value is only 55% of the Assessed Market Value.

Tax Rate:

The tax rate charged to a property owner by a local government is determined by a simple formula: Total Estimated Property Tax Revenue divided by the Total Taxable Value within the government's boundaries. This rate is then applied to each property individually to calculate the property tax due. See below for a more detailed explanation.

An Introduction to Property Taxes with Burt Harvey

Where Do My Tax Dollars Go?

Your property taxes help fund essential services that keep our community running smoothly. The accompanying chart shows how these dollars are divided, giving you a clear picture of where your money goes and how it supports the programs and services we rely on every day.

In 2025, Utah County residents paid a total of $940,440,145 in property taxes to local government agencies, as per the 2026 Treasurer 750 Report that can be found at TaxRates.Utah.gov. Those taxes were distributed to the various local governments in the amounts shown.

2025 County Distribution Totals

School Districts - 65.74%$618,244,170
Cities - 12.79%$120,262,639
Utah County - 9.44%$88,737,430
Redevelopment Agencies - 5.71%$53,661,620
Central Utah Water District - 4.18%$39,314,484
Special Service Districts - 0.48%$4,470,427
Local & State Assessing/Collecting - 1.4%$13,138,310
City Water Districts - 0.15%$1,423,772
Public Infrastructure Districts - 0.13%$1,187,299

Learn more about the specific tax entities that relate to this distribution pie chart.

TAX ENTITY INFORMATION

How are Property Tax Rates Calculated?

Property tax rates are determined by the relationship between a local government's budget and the total taxable value within its boundaries. The tax rate is calculated using the formula:

For example, if a local government has a budget of $100,000 and a total taxable value of $100 million, the tax rate would be 0.1%. If the taxable value increases to $110 million while the budget remains the same, the rate would decrease to 0.0909%.

Changes in assessed property values impact taxes in complex ways. While higher values may suggest higher taxes, tax shifts occur as different areas and property types change at varying rates. Even if a property's assessed value decreases, its taxes could still increase if countywide values shift differently.

To explore tax rates in Utah County, visit taxrates.utah.gov and log in as a guest.