Utah Homestead Exemption: Amount, Filing & Savings
Utah’s property-tax homestead break is the residential exemption in Utah Code § 59-2-103: 45% of a primary residence’s fair market value is exempt, so the 2026 tax falls on 55%, on up to one acre per unit. County assessors apply it without yearly renewal; a purchase or part-year move-in can trigger paperwork.
A separate Utah law, § 78B-5-503, also uses the word homestead. It has nothing to do with your tax bill: it shields up to $53,700 in value of an individual’s primary residence ($107,500 per household when the home is jointly owned) from judgment creditors in 2026, and only once a declaration is recorded or served. It has its own section further down.
What § 59-2-103 takes off the assessed value
The statute, in the version in force since July 1, 2025 (Chapter 234, 2025 General Session), reads: “for a calendar year, the fair market value of residential property located within the state is allowed a residential exemption equal to a 45% reduction in the value of the property.” The Tax Commission’s primary residential exemption page says your valuation notice (end of July) or tax notice (around the start of November) shows whether you have it; the taxable value will be 55% of market value.
- Primary residence only. “Residential property” means “any property used for residential purposes as a primary residence” and “does not include property used for transient residential use” (§ 59-2-102(35)).
- Land cap. “No more than one acre of land per residential unit may qualify” (§ 59-2-103(5)).
- One per household. The exemption “is limited to one primary residence per household,” and a household includes “married individuals, who are not legally separated, who have established domiciles at separate locations within the state.”
- Rentals count, after a declaration. An owner of several primary residences gets the exemption for his own home, for “each residential property that is the primary residence of a tenant,” and for qualifying homes under construction or unoccupied. For a tenant’s home, the county allows it only after each owner signs a written declaration to the county assessor, under penalty of perjury and on a Tax Commission form, that the property will be a tenant’s primary residence; the assessor may also ask for a current lease signed by the tenant, then the insurance policy, then the rental filing from the latest federal return, but may not ask the tenant for information (§ 59-2-103.5(5)).
- Move-in during the year. Part-year residential property qualifies if used as a residence “for 183 or more consecutive calendar days during the calendar year.”
When a Utah owner has to file, and the September 15 cutoff
§ 59-2-103.5 as in force from July 1, 2026 (Chapter 35, 2026 General Session) splits counties in two. A county may adopt an ordinance requiring an application to the county board of equalization before the exemption is applied if: the home was ineligible the year before; “an ownership interest in the residential property changes”; or the board “determines that there is reason to believe that the residential property no longer qualifies.” The application is the Tax Commission’s form (TC-473A Application for Residential Property Exemption, or a county equivalent), signed by the owner, and it “may not request the sales price.”
| Situation in 2026 | What the owner files | Time limit in the statute |
|---|---|---|
| County with an application ordinance, one of the three triggers above | Application to the county board of equalization | Not accepted after the later of September 15 or the end of the 45-day period that starts when the county auditor sends the § 59-2-919.1 notice of property valuation and tax changes (due “on or before July 22”) |
| Part-year residential property, any county | Same application, certifying the date it became residential, the 183-day use, and that no one in the household claims the exemption elsewhere (other than for a tenant’s home) | Same cutoff; a filing on or after May 1 can carry a fee “not to exceed $50” |
| County without an ordinance, after a change in ownership | Residential Property Declaration (TC-473D) to the county assessor, under penalty of perjury | “within 90 days after the day on which the county assessor mails the notice”; after a second notice, 30 more days |
| Home under construction or unoccupied | Written declaration to the assessor, signed by each owner, that it will be a primary residence | Before the county allows the exemption |
| Home rented to a tenant as the tenant’s primary residence | Written declaration to the county assessor, signed by each owner under penalty of perjury, that it will be a tenant’s primary residence; the assessor may ask for a current signed lease | Before the county allows the exemption |
The state sets the September 15 / 45-day cutoff, not the county. Late applications are accepted only in circumstances the Tax Commission defines by rule under § 59-2-103.5(6)(b).
The assessor skips the 90-day notice when the home’s address matches the owner’s or tenant’s mailing, driver license or voter registration address, or when the owner uses a post office box or rural route box in the same county and the home is in a county of the fourth, fifth or sixth class (§ 59-2-103.5(11)(b) and (c)). An owner who ignores both notices “no longer qualifies to receive the residential exemption … in the calendar year” unless he appeals to the board of equalization (same September 15 / 45-day limit) or the county finds the home eligible as part-year residential property.
When you stop qualifying, § 59-2-103.5(7) requires two things: a written statement to the county board of equalization on its form, and a declaration on your Utah individual income tax return for that taxable year. Neither is required if you change primary residences and qualified at the old home and qualify at the new one.
January 1, 2027: an application in every county
Chapter 282 of the 2026 General Session rewrites subsection (1) from January 1, 2027: “an owner shall file an application with the county board of equalization” on the same three triggers, whether or not the county has an ordinance, and the 90-day declaration subsection is removed. The September 15 / 45-day cutoff stays.
title-59-chapter-2a">County relief for low-income and older owners (Title 59, Chapter 2a)
Since January 1, 2026, these programs sit in Title 59, Chapter 2a, “Tax Relief Through Property Tax,” where Chapter 172 of the 2025 General Session renumbered them. Figures below come from the Tax Commission’s current forms, TC-90H (Rev. 4/26) and TC-90L (Rev. 8/26).
Homeowner’s credit, §§ 59-2a-301 to -305
A claimant must be domiciled in Utah for the whole year and, by December 31, be 66 or older if born on or before December 31, 1959, or 67 or older if born on or after January 1, 1960; an unmarried surviving spouse who lived in the deceased spouse’s household qualifies at any age. TC-90H: “You do not qualify if the amount on line 11 is greater than $44,221 (the 2025 maximum total income).” The credit schedule printed on the form:
| 2025 household income | Maximum credit |
|---|---|
| $0 – $15,033 | $1,412 |
| $15,034 – $20,048 | $1,245 |
| $20,049 – $25,057 | $1,082 |
| $25,058 – $30,069 | $835 |
| $30,070 – $35,083 | $674 |
| $35,084 – $39,796 | $429 |
| $39,797 – $44,221 | $262 |
For a qualifying claimant, § 59-2a-302 sets the year’s liability at “property taxes accrued,” which § 59-2a-101(21) defines as tax “levied on 35% of the fair market value” of the residence; the credit is then applied against that. File with your county “annually … before September 1” (§ 59-2a-303; the form reads “by Sept. 1, 2026,” so do not wait for the last day); for good cause the time can be extended “until December 31” (§ 59-2a-108). Under § 59-2a-305(2), neither the credit nor the extra 20% abatement behind the 35% figure is allowed for someone claimed as a personal exemption, or as a dependent for the § 24(h)(4) federal credit, on another person’s return, or for an owner who did not own the home the entire calendar year; in a year of sale, both are repaid to the county on or before the day the sale closes. One claimant per household per year.
Indigent abatement, § 59-2a-401 (Form TC-90L)
Separately, a county “may” abate the tax of an owner who meets the “indigent individual” definition in § 59-2a-101(18) and owned the home on January 1, by no more than the lesser of the lowest-bracket credit ($1,412) or “50% of the total tax levied.” The application is due on or before September 1 each year; § 59-2a-402(2) lists the four grounds on which the county must extend that by one year, and under § 59-2a-108 the county may also extend it for good cause until December 31.
Veterans with a disability, § 59-2a-501
Except for the survivors listed in § 59-2a-501(3), who are exempt on the full taxable value, the exempt amount is the disability percentage times an “adjusted taxable value limit” that the statute indexes to inflation each year; the county can quote the current limit. A rating below 10% gets nothing, and a VA individual-unemployability rating counts as 100%. File on or before September 1 with the county where you live on that date; § 59-2a-502 lists when the county must extend that date by one year and when you must re-file, and under § 59-2a-108 the county may also extend it for good cause until December 31.
Owners of an attached or detached single-family home who are 75 or older by December 31 (or a § 59-2a-109 trust whose grantor is) can also ask the county to defer the tax under § 59-2a-901. Household income may not exceed 200% of the homeowner’s-credit income limit, and household liquid resources may not exceed 20 times the prior year’s tax on the home (§ 59-2a-101(9)). The home must be the owner’s primary residence on January 1; it must carry no delinquent taxes, tax notice charges, or related penalties, interest or costs; it must either be valued no higher than the county median for attached or detached single-family homes or have been owned continuously for 20 years; and every mortgage or trust-deed holder must approve in writing. When all of this is met, the county “shall defer.” The application is due on or before September 1; the county must extend that by one year if you were approved for the deferral the year before or on the other grounds in § 59-2a-902(2)(b), such as illness or a death in the family, and § 59-2a-108 allows a good-cause extension until December 31.
Creditor protection: § 78B-5-503 and the declaration that makes it work
The creditor homestead amounts are recalculated by the Office of the State Auditor for each calendar year from the Consumer Price Index and published no later than January 1 (§ 78B-5-503(2)(e)). The January 2026 notice sets:
| Property claimed | One individual | Jointly owned, per household |
|---|---|---|
| Primary personal residence (dwelling or mobile home plus up to one acre) | $53,700 | $107,500 |
| Property that consists in whole or in part of property that is not the primary personal residence | $6,400 | $12,800 |
The protection is not automatic. Under § 78B-5-504 you claim it by recording a signed and acknowledged declaration of homestead with the county recorder, or by serving one on the sheriff or other officer conducting an execution “prior to the time stated in the notice of execution.” If neither happens, “title shall pass to the purchaser upon execution free and clear of all homestead rights.” When a declaration is on file, the home may not be sold at execution unless a bid exceeds the declared exemption.
§ 78B-5-503(3) lists what the homestead does not stop:
- statutory liens for property taxes and assessments on the property;
- security interests in the property and judicial liens for debts created for the purchase price of the property;
- judicial liens obtained on debts created by failure to provide support or maintenance for dependent children; and
- consensual liens obtained on debts created by mutual contract.
Property acquired “as a result of criminal activity” cannot be claimed. Proceeds of a sale, up to the exemption amount, stay exempt “for one year after the receipt.” If a married owner’s home is recorded as a homestead, a later sale or mortgage of it needs both spouses to sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
My 2026 valuation notice has no residential exemption. Is it too late?
For 2026, yes, unless the county auditor’s notice went out late. The board of equalization may not accept an application filed after the later of September 15 or the end of the 45-day period that starts when the county auditor sends the valuation notice, and that notice is due on or before July 22 (§ 59-2-919.1). With a timely notice, both dates have passed by late September, and only the Tax Commission’s late-filing rules under § 59-2-103.5(6)(b) remain; ask the county assessor, and get the application in for 2027.
My home is in a living trust. Can I still get the senior homeowner’s credit?
It can. Under § 59-2a-109 the county may treat you as the owner of that portion of the property if you prove you are the grantor, title will revest in you when you, a nonadverse party or both exercise a power to revoke, terminate, alter, amend or appoint, you are obligated to pay the taxes on that portion from January 1 of the claim year, and you meet the credit’s other tests. Owning a share of an LLC that holds title does not make you a “homeowner” (§ 59-2a-101(12)).
Does a homestead declaration stop foreclosure by my lender?
No. Security interests and liens for the purchase price, and consensual liens, are on the § 78B-5-503(3) list of claims the homestead does not bar.