Primary Residential Exemption

General Information
The Residential Property Declaration
Informational Materials

General Information

The Utah State Constitution, Article XIII, § 3, allows County Assessors to exempt from taxation 45% of the fair market value of residential property and up to one acre of land. Statute defines residential property, for purposes of the exemption, to be a primary residence. A primary residence does not include property used for transient residential use, or condominiums used in rental pools.

“Part-Year residential property” is property that was not residential on January 1, but became residential property later in the calendar year. Part-year residential property in Utah is allowed the residential exemption if the property is used as a primary residence for 183 or more consecutive calendar days during the calendar year in which the owner is applying for the exemption. (§§ 59-2-102 and 59-2-103)

Your Valuation Notice (received at the end of July) or your Tax Notice (received around the start of November) will indicate if you receive the exemption. The taxable value of your property will be 55% of the market value (reflecting the 45% exemption). Most residences in Utah receive the exemption.

The Residential Property Declaration

SB 13 (2019) directs County Assessors, who do not have an existing and enforced ordinance requiring an application for the primary residential in place for the preceding five years, to administer a Residential Property Declaration. HB 164 (2020) amended the content of the residential declaration form and extended the deadline to return the ongoing residential property declaration.

The PT-19A is required to be submitted to the County Assessor within 90 days after the day on which the owner receives notice from the County Assessor.

The PT-19B is a one time declaration sent to all residential property owners by May, 2020, unless the mailing address, voter registration address, or driver’s license address matches the physical location of the property. This address information may be out of date, unavailable to the County Assessor, or the County Assessor may seek to verify the primary residential exemption on additional residences. Please complete, sign and return the declaration to the County Assessor if you receive it.

Failure to complete the declaration and have the owners sign and return the form will impact the status of the primary residential exemption on your home.

Once again these requirements do not apply to counties that have had an enforced ordinance requiring an application for the primary residential exemption the prior five years.

Informational Materials

Below are informational materials and forms related to the primary residential exemption itself, and the Residential Property Declaration.