Utah property is valued as of January 1. Official Tax Commission materials say the annual Notice of Property Valuation and Tax Changes should arrive in July or August. File an appeal with the county board of equalization by the later of September 15 or 45 days from the mailing date on the notice.

What deadline applies to a county appeal?

Official Tax Commission guidance on locally assessed property, and official Publication 31, set the county filing deadline as the later of September 15 or within 45 days of the mailing date shown on the notice. If you miss that deadline, official materials say the notice value generally becomes final, with limited exceptions described in official rule R884-24P-66.

The county legislative body sits as the board of equalization. Official materials note that some counties use hearing officers. File in the county where the property is located, and keep a copy of the notice, your evidence, and proof of the filing date.

The appeal is about the value as of January 1, not about a later remodeling project or a sale that closed after that date, unless official rules treat that information as relevant evidence of the January 1 value. Bring comparable sales, an appraisal, or other evidence that speaks to the official valuation date.

What if the county board disagrees with you?

You may file a further appeal to the Utah State Tax Commission within 30 days of the county board decision. Official materials say that appeal is filed in writing with the county auditor, using the official locally assessed path, including Form TC-194.

After the Tax Commission appeal is underway, official materials describe mediation or an initial hearing, then a formal hearing, then a possible appeal to district court or the Utah Supreme Court. Those later steps have their own official procedures. The first consumer deadline that most homeowners face is still the county deadline, then the 30-day step to the Tax Commission.

The Tax Commission Appeals Unit official numbers listed in official materials are 801-297-3904 or 801-297-2281, or 1-800-662-4335 extension 3904. Confirm the current number and form on the official appeals page before you file.

What this appeal path is not

This is not the same process as applying for the primary residential exemption or for a homeowner tax credit. Those relief programs have their own official forms and calendars, which a later article in this hub explains. An exemption or credit application is not a substitute for a valuation appeal, and a valuation appeal is not a substitute for a missed exemption deadline.

Do not use another state's informal protest period, such as a 30-day informal review or a seven-day decision clock, as if it applied in Utah. Official Utah law uses the later of September 15 or 45 days for the county board, then 30 days to the Tax Commission.

If your application for a tax-relief program is denied, official Publication 36 (Rev. 09/26) says you may file an appeal within 30 days of the denial notification. Appeals for denials of property tax exemptions, abatements, or deferrals are filed with the county auditor, who then forwards the appeal to the Tax Commission. A renter credit denial is appealed directly to the Tax Commission.

How should you prepare?

Read the notice as soon as it arrives. Official materials say it should come in July or August, but the clock is tied to the mailing date on the notice, not to the day you first saw it. If the notice is late, the 45-day alternative may matter.

Organize evidence before the county deadline. Official hearings can be brief. A clear comparison of similar properties, or a professional appraisal that addresses the January 1 value, is more useful than a general complaint about the tax bill.

If you have just bought the property, remember that official taxable value, the primary residential exemption, and a valuation appeal are separate official tracks. Recording the deed does not automatically complete any of them.

Talk with a licensed local real-estate professional or a property-tax representative about evidence that fits your county's process, and confirm the official deadline on your notice before you let September 15 pass. If you need official forms or a current phone number, use the Tax Commission appeals page or call the Appeals Unit numbers listed above.

Official Publication 31 and official locally assessed appeal pages are the current official references for the county and Tax Commission steps. Confirm the current official form number, filing address, and Appeals Unit phone numbers on those official pages before you file, because a missed official deadline can make the notice value final.

Official locally assessed appeal materials also say the county must mail the initial valuation notice no later than July 22 of each tax year, and they describe Form TC-194 as the official request for redetermination filed with the county auditor within 30 days of the county board decision. Official Publication 31 remains the source for the later-of September 15 or 45-days-from-mailing deadline that this article uses for the county filing.

FAQ

When is a Utah county valuation appeal due?

Official Tax Commission materials say to file with the county board of equalization by the later of September 15 or 45 days from the mailing date on the Notice of Property Valuation and Tax Changes.

What if I miss the county deadline?

Official materials say the notice value generally becomes final if you miss the deadline, with limited exceptions in official rule R884-24P-66.

How long do I have to appeal a county board decision?

Official materials say a further appeal to the Utah State Tax Commission must be filed within 30 days of the county board decision, in writing with the county auditor, using Form TC-194 for the locally assessed path.

Who sits as the county board of equalization?

Official materials say the county legislative body sits as the board, and some counties use hearing officers.

Sources: Utah State Tax Commission, Locally Assessed Appeals, Utah State Tax Commission, Publication 31, Utah State Tax Commission, Publication 36 (Rev. 09/26).

Official 17-71-407, effective May 6, 2026, charges $40 to record a standard instrument not otherwise provided for, plus $2 for each legal description after the first ten. Many counties below the first class add $5. Confirm the current total with the county recorder before you close.

What official fees apply to a deed or similar instrument?

Official 17-71-407 requires the county recorder to collect the fee before recording an instrument, furnishing copies, or providing a related service, unless payment has been authorized electronically. The official statewide amounts include:

• $40 to record any instrument not otherwise provided for, other than bonds of public officers
• $40 to record an instrument, including instruments under the Uniform Commercial Code, not otherwise provided for, plus $2 for each description beyond ten
• $40 to record mining location notices and affidavits of labor, plus $2 for each mining claim beyond ten
• $5 to redact personal information as provided in official 17-71-406
• $50 for each sheet of a plat, plus $2 for each lot or unit designation
• $40 to record a license issued by the Division of Professional Licensing
• $40 to record a federal tax lien, and $40 to record the discharge of a federal tax lien

A county recorder may not charge more than one recording fee for each instrument, even if the instrument has multiple descriptive titles or includes attachments.

When is the extra $5 added?

Official 17-71-407(3)(b) says a county of the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class shall charge and receive an additional $5 for each service listed in subsection (3)(a), other than the extra $2 for additional descriptions or mining claims, unless the county has a balance in the restricted account into which recording fees are deposited.

That official add-on can turn a $40 recording into a $45 recording in many counties, but it is not automatic in every county or at all times. The official exception depends on whether the restricted account has a balance. Ask the county recorder for the current total that will be collected on your deed.

A county legislative body may set reasonable fees by ordinance or resolution for recorder services not listed in the official statutory amounts, including copies and a subscription service. If the county has not set a different fee for a certificate under seal or for taking and certifying acknowledgments, official law uses $5 for each certificate under seal and $5 for one name, plus $2 for each additional name, when taking and certifying acknowledgments including the seal.

Is there a Utah real-estate transfer tax?

Official Tax Commission property-tax and tax-relief materials reviewed for this article do not list a state real-estate transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, or conveyance excise tax as a charge collected on the deed. The official statewide government charge identified in 17-71-407 is the county recorder's fee.

This article does not invent a $0.50 or $0.75 per $500 stamp tax from another state, and it does not invent a uniform rule for every local charge that a particular city or county might assess under some other authority. Confirm the current recording total, and any other official closing charges, with the county recorder and your closing professional.

What should you do at closing?

Budget the official $40 recording fee as a starting point, then ask whether your county adds $5 under official 17-71-407(3)(b) and whether the deed has more than ten legal descriptions. Pay the fee, or authorize electronic payment, before the recorder records the instrument. Official law says the recorder may not record until the relevant fees have been paid or authorized.

After the deed is recorded, keep the recording information with your closing documents. A later article in this hub explains the official calendar for the primary residential property-tax exemption, which does not transfer automatically to a new owner.

Talk with a licensed local real-estate professional or closer about the current recorder fee for the county where the property sits, and confirm the official total before you sign the closing figures.

How to confirm the official total before funds are wired

Ask the closer or the county recorder for a current fee quote that identifies the official $40 base, any official $2 additional-description charges, and whether the official $5 add-on in 17-71-407(3)(b) applies in that county on the recording date. Official law makes the add-on depend on the county class and on whether a restricted recording-fee account has a balance, so a figure that was correct last month may not be the figure collected today.

If the packet includes a plat, official 17-71-407 charges $50 for each sheet plus $2 for each lot or unit designation, which is a different official schedule from the $40 instrument fee. Do not assume every document in a closing package is priced as a standard instrument.

Keep the official recording information with the deed and the settlement statement. You will need it later if you file for the official primary residential exemption, including Form TC-473A beginning January 1, 2027, when that official form applies, or if you appeal a valuation notice.

FAQ

How much does Utah officially charge to record a standard deed?

Official 17-71-407 sets a $40 fee to record an instrument not otherwise provided for. If the instrument has more than ten descriptions, add $2 for each additional description.

Why might my county charge $45 instead of $40?

Official law requires counties of the second through sixth class to add $5 for most of those recording services unless the county has a balance in the restricted account into which recording fees are deposited. Confirm the current total with the county recorder.

Does Utah have a state real-estate transfer tax?

Official Tax Commission materials reviewed for this article do not list a state transfer tax or documentary stamp tax. The official statewide charge identified here is the recorder's fee in 17-71-407.

Can the recorder charge two fees if the document has more than one title?

No. Official 17-71-407(6) says a county recorder may not charge more than one recording fee for each instrument, regardless of multiple descriptive titles or attachments.

Sources: 17-71-407, Utah State Tax Commission, Primary Residential Exemption.

Official Utah law requires a specific disclosure when an owner or lessor has actual knowledge that a property is currently contaminated from the use, storage, or manufacture of methamphetamine. That duty is in official 57-27-201. Official statutes reviewed here do not create a statewide government residential seller-disclosure form.

What does official 57-27-201 require?

The Disclosure of Methamphetamine Contaminated Property Act says that, subject to Section 57-1-37, if an owner or lessor of real property has actual knowledge that the property is currently contaminated from the use, storage, or manufacture of methamphetamines, the owner or lessor shall, in a real property lease, conveyance, or other transaction related to the contaminated property, disclose that the property is contaminated.

The official trigger is actual knowledge of current contamination, not a rumor or a historic problem that the owner does not actually know is still present. The official duty applies to a sale, a lease, and other transactions related to the contaminated property.

An owner or lessor may report contaminated property to a government agency responsible for monitoring decontamination and documenting that test results meet decontamination standards. If the contamination is reported in a police action related to manufacturing methamphetamines, official 57-27-201 points to Title 19, Chapter 6, Part 9, the Illegal Drug Operations Site Reporting and Decontamination Act.

A person may file a civil action to enforce Chapter 27. A court may award a prevailing party damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees.

Is there an official statewide seller-disclosure form?

Official Utah Code materials reviewed for this article require the methamphetamine disclosure in 57-27-201. They do not, in the official text reviewed here, create a government-issued fill-in-the-blank residential seller property condition form that every private seller must use, or a statewide licensee-delivery clock such as a 72-hour or 120-hour rule used in some other states.

Real-estate licensees and private sellers may still use a written condition statement, including a trade-association form. A form published by a private trade group is not a state form and should not be described as an official government disclosure. Buyers who want written information about the condition of the property can ask for that statement in the contract, review it carefully, and still obtain independent inspections.

This article does not invent a common-law duty, a court case name, or a list of required checkboxes that official statutes reviewed here did not set out. Confirm current disclosure practices with a licensed local real-estate professional and, if the facts are unusual, with a qualified attorney.

What should buyers still do?

A statutory methamphetamine disclosure is not a substitute for inspections, tests, or a careful review of title and municipal information. If a seller or lessor has actual knowledge of current methamphetamine contamination, official law requires that fact to be disclosed in the transaction. If you are the buyer or tenant, ask direct questions and keep the written answers.

If the property has a decontamination history, official 57-27-201 describes reporting to the government agency that monitors decontamination and documents test results against official standards. Ask for those documents rather than relying on a verbal assurance.

Buyers can also ask whether other material defects are known, even when official law does not supply a statewide government form for those items. Put important answers in the contract or in a signed addendum.

How does this affect a closing timeline?

Because official law reviewed here does not set a special statewide delivery clock for a government seller form, the purchase contract itself usually controls when inspections occur, when objections are due, and when a buyer may cancel under the contract's stated conditions. Read those dates carefully. A later article in this hub explains recording the deed and following the official calendar for the primary residential property-tax exemption.

If a dispute arises about a missing methamphetamine disclosure, official 57-27-201 authorizes a civil action and possible damages, costs, and attorney fees for a prevailing party. That is a legal remedy, not a substitute for asking the question before you close.

Talk with a licensed local real-estate professional about the written condition information you want in the contract, and about inspections that fit the property. If methamphetamine contamination is a concern, confirm whether official disclosure and decontamination documents exist before you rely on the sale.

How official 57-1-37 fits the methamphetamine disclosure

Official 57-27-201 is expressly "subject to Section 57-1-37." That official cross-reference is part of the statute and should be read with the contamination-disclosure duty. This article does not invent additional stigmatized-property rules beyond that official cross-reference. Confirm the current official text of 57-1-37 if a disclosure question involves something other than known current methamphetamine contamination.

Buyers can still ask for written answers about known material defects, inspections, and any decontamination documents, even when official law does not supply a statewide government checkbox form for those items. Put important answers in the contract or in a signed addendum, and keep copies at closing. Official civil remedies under 57-27-201, including possible damages, costs, and attorney fees for a prevailing party, are easier to evaluate when the written record is complete.

FAQ

Does Utah require a statewide government seller-disclosure form?

Official statutes reviewed for this article do not create a statewide government residential seller-disclosure form. Official 57-27-201 does require disclosure of known current methamphetamine contamination.

When must methamphetamine contamination be disclosed?

Official 57-27-201 requires disclosure when an owner or lessor has actual knowledge that the property is currently contaminated from the use, storage, or manufacture of methamphetamines, in a lease, conveyance, or other related transaction.

Is a real-estate trade-association form an official state form?

No. A private trade form can still be useful in a transaction, but it is not a government form and should not be described as one.

What if a required methamphetamine disclosure is not made?

Official 57-27-201 allows a person to file a civil action to enforce the chapter, and a court may award a prevailing party damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees.

Sources: 57-27-201, Utah State Tax Commission, Primary Residential Exemption.