Real estate transfer tax in Utah: is there one?

What is a transfer tax, and how do we know Utah has none?

A transfer tax is a charge calculated on the price of a property when ownership changes. Many states charge one, usually as a rate per $1,000 of price.

No Utah law is cited in this article’s sources as imposing such a tax, and the county’s own fee list contains none. The Salt Lake County Recorder’s schedule, which says it follows fees established by the Utah Legislature, lists only a flat recording fee, extra charges for long legal descriptions and copy fees.

The Legislature has also looked at the question. In 2024, S.J.R. 2 proposed a constitutional amendment that would bar the state and local governments from imposing a tax or fee on transferring real property if it was not already imposed before January 1, 2025. The Senate struck its enacting clause and filed it on March 1, 2024, so it did not pass. The text of that proposal does not tell you whether a tax exists today. The county fee schedule does.

No source read here lists a city or county transfer tax in Utah. If you want to be certain for a specific property, ask the county recorder or your title company before you close.

What do you pay instead?

Two things replace a transfer tax at the recorder’s office.

• A recording fee. By statute the county recorder charges $40 for recording an instrument, plus $2 for each description beyond ten. The recorder may not charge more than one recording fee per instrument, even if it has several titles or attachments (§ 17-71-407). Some smaller counties add $5 in certain cases.
• Property tax proration. The buyer and seller split the current year’s property tax as of the settlement date, unless they agree otherwise in writing (Utah REPC § 4.1). Utah property tax is due November 30 of each year (Utah Code § 59-2-1331). See Utah property tax.

Other closing costs are covered on our Utah closing costs page.

Who pays by law and by custom

Because there is no tax, no statute assigns it. The recording fee is owed by whoever submits the document. The state’s standard purchase contract does not assign recording fees, so they follow the closing instructions and your loan.

Are there exemptions?

There is nothing to exempt from. The recording fee applies to each recorded instrument, whatever the price, so a $150,000 condo and a $1.5 million house pay the same $40 for a deed.

Why do Utah deeds not show the price?

A Tax Commission briefing to the Legislature’s Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee in 2023 states that Utah is a non-disclosure state: deeds that transfer ownership do not include the sale price. County assessors therefore rely on other sources, such as the local multiple listing service and transfer surveys.

Worked example in Salt Lake City

This is an example, not a quote. A buyer pays $500,000 for a home in Salt Lake City with a mortgage.

The $80 is the same at $250,000 or $1,000,000. For the full picture, see the Salt Lake City guide and closing costs explained.