State guide · UT
Utah sales tax and property tax
Groceries pay the same 3% in every Utah town, and a home you live in is taxed on 55% of its value while a cabin pays on all of it.
Facts read on official Utah pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- State sales tax
- 4.85%
- Local sales taxes
- Yes, by address
- Groceries
- Reduced state rate, 1.75%
- Clothing
- Taxed like other goods
- Median property tax
- $2,648
- Effective property rate
- 0.49% · #43 of 51
Utah's state sales tax is 4.85%, and every location adds at least a 1% local option tax and a 0.25% county option tax, with transit, highway, resort, rural health care and recreation taxes on top depending on the area. Groceries are the exception that keeps things simple: grocery food pays a 1.75% state rate, and with the two option taxes the total is 3% in every corner of the state, since other local taxes do not apply to it. Clothing has no break, prescription drugs are exempt, and there is no sales tax holiday. Since January 1, 2026, food made or heated to order at grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations also pays the county restaurant tax. Property tax is moderate. Owners paid a median $2,648 in 2024 on homes worth a median $545,200, according to the Census, an effective 0.49% ranked 43 of 51. The reason is the primary residential exemption, which removes 45% of a lived-in home's market value.
Total to pay
$104.85
Sales tax $4.85 · 4.85% of the price
| Price before tax | $100.00 |
| State tax · 4.85% | $4.85 |
| Local tax · 0% | $0.00 |
| Total | $104.85 |
Rule applied: general state rate. Exact local rate for an address: Utah rate lookup. How this is calculated.
Sales tax in Utah
Every Utah rate is built in layers, and the bottom ones are universal. The 4.85% state tax, the 1% local option and the 0.25% county option apply everywhere, so 6.1% is the least anyone pays on general goods. From there, each city and county adds the special taxes it has adopted, such as a resort community tax of up to 1.60% or a public transit tax of up to 0.30%, with no single statewide cap. A $1,400 mountain bike costs $85.40 in tax at the floor rate; the Tax Commission's TAP lookup gives the exact local total, and changes take effect only at the start of a calendar quarter.
Food bought to cook at home follows a separate, flat schedule. The state's 1.75% plus the two option taxes come to 3%, and no resort, transit or other local tax is added, so a $200 grocery bill pays $6.00 in a resort town or a rural county alike, against $12.20 if it were taxed as general merchandise at the floor rate. Choose "Groceries" in the calculator and enter 1.25 as the local rate to reproduce it. Home heating fuel has its own reduced state rate of 0%.
The restaurant line moved in 2026. All counties impose a restaurant tax on top of sales tax, and since January 1 it also reaches food prepared or heated at a customer's request in grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations (SB 91, 2025). Resort community taxes do not apply to cars, boats, aircraft or manufactured homes.
What the state charges, item by item
| Item | State rate | Local tax | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most goods | 4.85% | yes | State sales and use tax of 4.85% (the rate chart splits it into the general state tax and a Medicaid expansion component). Every location adds a 1% local option tax and a 0.25% county option tax, plus other local taxes depending on the area. |
| Groceries (food for home) | 1.75% | yes | Grocery food is taxed at a 1.75% state rate; with the 1% local option and 0.25% county option taxes, the combined grocery rate is 3% everywhere in Utah. Other local taxes do not apply to grocery food. |
| Clothing | 4.85% | yes | No clothing exemption. |
| Prescription drugs | 0% | no | |
| Residential fuel (state portion) | 2% | Reduced state rate on home heating fuels, giving a combined rate of 2.85% less than the general rate. | |
| Restaurant and customized food tax | see note | County tax on restaurant food, imposed by all counties, on top of sales tax; since January 1, 2026 it also covers food prepared or heated to order at grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations (SB 91, 2025). |
Local sales taxes
Levied by counties, cities and towns (local option 1%, county option 0.25%, resort community, rural health care, public transit, highways, recreation/zoo/arts and other special taxes). No single overall cap; each local tax has its own legal rate (e.g. resort communities up to 1.60%, rural health care up to 1%, public transit up to 0.30%). Find the exact combined rate for an address with the official Utah lookup, then type the local part into the calculator above.
Sales tax holidays in 2026
Utah does not hold a sales tax holiday; none appears in the Tax Commission's 2025-2026 tax bulletins.
Worth knowing about Utah sales tax
- Groceries are taxed at a flat 3% combined rate everywhere in Utah, whatever the local rate on other goods. source
- Since January 1, 2026, food prepared or heated at a customer's request in grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations pays the county restaurant tax (SB 91, 2025). source
- Resort communities can add up to 1.60%, but sales of vehicles, boats, aircraft and manufactured homes are exempt from that resort tax. source
- Local rate changes take effect at the start of a calendar quarter: on October 1, 2026, Washington City and Hildale imposed an emergency services tax. source
- Sales tax returns are due on the last day of the month after the period; businesses with $50,000 or less of annual tax file quarterly. source
Property tax in Utah
County assessors value property at market value as of January 1 each year, and the county treasurer collects for the county, cities, school districts and special districts. Neither the state nor the federal government receives any of it. The decisive rule is the primary residential exemption: 45% of a qualifying home's market value, with up to one acre of land, is exempt, so only 55% is taxed. On the Census median home of $545,200, that leaves $299,860 of taxable value. A cabin or vacation home of the same value is taxed on the full $545,200, nearly double the base.
The exemption follows occupancy rather than ownership. A rental used as someone's full-time home qualifies, as long as the owner or a full-time tenant lives there at least 183 consecutive days a year, and only one exemption is allowed per household anywhere in Utah. The county assessor handles it and may ask for a signed declaration. Furniture and home furnishings are never taxed as property. Run a $480,000 house through the Census ratio of 0.49% and the result is close to $2,333 a year.
Bills become delinquent if unpaid on November 30, with a penalty of 2.5% or $10 per parcel, cut to 1% or $10 if paid by January 31. For owners aged 67 or older or surviving spouses with 2025 household income under $44,221, the county can abate up to $1,412 and add a credit; apply by September 1.
Property tax on a home in Utah
Typical bill per year
$2,650
| Per month | $221 |
| Median effective rate in Utah | 0.49% |
| Median bill paid | $2,648 |
Census median ratio; your county, city and school district set the real levy.
| Census figure | Utah |
|---|---|
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $545,200 |
| Median real estate taxes paid | $2,648 |
| with a mortgage | $2,638 |
| without a mortgage | $2,671 |
| Effective rate (tax ÷ value) | 0.49% |
| Rank by effective rate (1 = highest) | 43 of 51 |
| Rank by median bill | 30 of 51 |
How the taxable value is set
Property is valued at market value as of January 1 each year. A primary residence (including rentals used as full-time homes, with up to one acre of land) receives a 45% exemption, so it is taxed on 55% of market value; vacation homes and cabins are taxed on 100%. Who levies the tax: local (counties, cities, school districts and special districts); the county assessor values property and the county treasurer collects
Payment calendar: Property taxes become delinquent if not paid by November 30; the penalty is 2.5% or $10 per parcel (reduced to 1% or $10 if paid by January 31).
Other property tax relief
- Homeowner low-income abatement / Homeowner's Credit. For owners with 2025 household income under $44,221 who are 67+ or surviving spouses (or qualified in 2025): up to $1,412 abated based on income, plus a credit equal to the tax on 20% of the home's value. Apply to the county by September 1. source
- Veterans with a Disability Exemption. Veterans with at least 10% service-connected disability: exemption of up to $535,459 of taxable value, in proportion to the disability rating. source
- Other programs. Renter refund, active or reserve duty armed forces exemption, blind exemption, and low-income or elderly deferral. source
Worth knowing about Utah property tax
- Rental homes and apartments used as full-time residences also get the 45% primary residential exemption; second homes and cabins do not. source
- Home furnishings and furniture are not subject to property tax. source
- Only one primary residential exemption is allowed per household anywhere in the state. source
- The state and federal government receive none of Utah's property tax revenue; it funds schools, counties, cities and districts. source
- Utah offers six types of property tax relief to individuals, administered through county governments. source