Our Vision, Purpose and Values
These links are provided as a public service and do not represent any relationship between Wasatch County Government and the organizations listed here.
The theoretical value at which the property would sell on the open real estate market.
Generally what isn’t fixed to land, ie equipment, tools, computers, etc.
Generally, land and buildings.
Wasatch County oversees the property tax functions required by the State of Utah within the county's boundary. The following elected officials, Surveyor, Recorder, Assessor, Auditor, Treasurer, and County Council, manage this property tax system. This page is dedicated to helping explain how Utah's property tax system works within Wasatch County. Below is the why, who, what, where, and how of the Utah State Property Tax system.
Property taxes are an especially stable and reliable method for funding government services. Because they are reliable, they are typically used as the primary funding for local and essential services, such as schools, fire protection, and utilities. County governments in Utah are responsible for administering property tax on behalf of each taxing entity that benefits from it.
Wasatch County’s role begins with recording of real property ownership records. It continues with the valuation, assessment, and equalization of property values. It ends with the collection of property taxes and the distribution of revenues to the various local governmental entities.
Wasatch County has an elected Surveyor, Recorder, Assessor, Clerk\Auditor, Treasurer and County Council. The Surveyor preserves, maintains, and upgrades the Public Land Survey System and other government surveys network of corners and monuments that provide the basis of property ownership while ensuring records of survey, subdivision maps, and plats correctly tie to these networks. The Recorder is responsible for creating and maintaining property ownership information. The Assessor is responsible for the appraisal and assessment of each property. The Clerk\Auditor applies tax rates and serves as clerk of the Board of Equalization (BOE). The Board of Equalization is composed of County Council who hear appeals of the valuations and assessments entered on the tax roll by the assessor. Finally, the Treasurer is responsible for collecting the property tax.
Property tax is based on the revenue needed for government services and the fair market value of real property and personal property for both commercial and residential properties. All property tax valuations are based off of 100% of the fair market value, but the taxable value for residential real property is often the value after exemptions are applied.
The most common exemption is the primary residence exemption, and some residential properties in Wasatch County can also qualify for the greenbelt or urban farming exemptions. Residential tax assessments do not consider personal property.
Personal and Real property is assessed at 100% market value as of January 1st of each year.
Real property is assessed at 100% market value as of January 1st of each year.
A 45% property tax exemption if you occupy your home for 183 or more consecutive days in a calendar year.
Utah Farmland Assessment Act allows agricultural land to be assessed based on its productive capacity rather than market value.
Parcels under 5 acres may be assessed based on its productive capacity rather than market value if certain conditions are met.
Utah’s property taxes are managed by legislation commonly called Truth in Taxation. Truth in Taxation (1985) changed property tax from a rate-based tax to a revenue-based tax, and also requires all taxing entities go through public hearings in order to increase revenues generated through property tax. Because Truth in Taxation holds each taxing entity’s revenue fixed, each property owner’s rates will fluctuate based on all property values throughout the County.
The County Assessor reassesses properties on a regular schedule in order to keep valuations uniform and in keeping with fair market standards as required by the Utah Constitution, and the County Clerk\Auditor calculates the property tax rate based on the budget requirements and the total taxable value in the tax area. This short clip demonstrates how this works:
Your property valuation and tax notices will include the rates from each taxing entity applied to that property, the property valuation, and the date and time of all upcoming Truth in Taxation hearings to increase revenues for providing new services or keeping up with inflation. You can find this information online here.
Wasatch County offices are located in the Administration Building at 25 N Main Street, Heber City, Utah 84032. Additional contact information for each office related to property taxes can be found here.
Wasatch County meeting schedules, agendas, minutes, and videos can be found at the Wasatch County Agenda site and Public Access site. Public meeting locations can be found on Utah’s public notice website and are publicly posted in the Wasatch County Administration Building.
The Assessor's Office staff visit properties throughout the county on a year-around basis.
Property owners are notified by mail of the valuation of their property, and notified again when taxes are due. Real property valuation notices are mailed in July, and are based on that property’s value as of Jan 1 that year. Real property tax notices are mailed in October and payment is due no later than Nov 30th. These notices also contain dates and times for other parts of the tax process.
January 1 All annual assessed values are based on fair market value as of January 1st of each year. (Exemptions are applied based on qualification.)
January 31 Annual Urban Farming Renewal Applications are due.
May 1 Greenbelt applications are due for current tax year
May 22 Real Property Assessment Roll closes. (All properties have their assessed (market) value for the current year.)
July 22 Real Property Valuation notices mailed from Clerk/Auditor's Office (Contains Truth in Taxation information for fiscal budget year entities)
August 1 - September 1 Property Tax Increase Hearings
August 1 - September 15 The Board of Equalization accepts valuation appeals via the Clerk/Auditor's Office
November 30 Real Property Taxes are due
December 1 - December 31 Property Tax Increase Hearings