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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What
is the mission statement of the Salt Lake Assessor's Office?
What
is the job of the county assessor?
What is real property?
What is personal
property?
What
legal references exist concerning assessment laws?
How
are tax rates set for my property?
What
is the tax rate calculation?
Where
does my property tax money go?
How
do I calculate my real property tax?
What
if I disagree with the market value placed on my property?
I
just purchased my property, why have you valued it for more than I paid
for it?
How
can my property be worth more if I haven't done anything to it?
Why
should I be penalized for somebody else paying a high price for a home
in my neighborhood?
I
have an older home in an area where they are building new homes. How will
this affect my property value?
If
you didn't increase my market value, why did my taxes increase?
Do
you visit each home in the county?
How
can my property increase in value if it is getting older?
Will
my value increase every year?
What
are some terms and definitions used in the Assessor's Office?
MISSION
STATEMENT OF THE SALT LAKE COUNTY ASSESSOR'S OFFICE
The mission of the Salt Lake County Assessor's Office is to consistently
provide the public with the Fair Market Value of real and personal property
through professionalism, efficiency and courtesy in compliance with the
laws and statues of the State of Utah and other applicable standards of
assessment.
We will accomplish these objectives on behalf of the people
of Salt Lake County in the following ways:
By administering our duties as public servants in partnership
with those we serve
By demonstrating fairness and equity
By utilizing effective communication
By incorporating technology to ensure accuracy and timeliness
By educating ourselves and the public about our respective
duties and responsibilities
By planning for the future back
to top
WHAT IS THE
JOB OF THE COUNTY ASSESSOR?
The county assessor is responsible
for the following:
• Lists and maintains records on each
piece of taxable "real" and "personal property" in
Salt Lake County.
REAL PROPERTY includes land and buildings.
PERSONAL
PROPERTY includes business furniture and fixtures, business equipment,
construction equipment, and manufactured homes.
• The Salt Lake County Assessor is responsible for the equitable
and fair assessment of all taxable properties in Salt Lake County. Individual
parcels now number over 308,000 and cover an area of 737 square miles
with a market value over $70 billion. There are over 90,000 personal property
accounts valued over $3.6 billion and over 725,000 motor vehicles. Public
access to these records, excluding motor vehicle records which are private,
is available online and at the office at 2001 South State Street N2300.
• The County Assessor annually determines fair market value for
residential, commerical, and other taxable property in Salt Lake County.
Fair market value of real property may go up or down depending on the
real estate market in the county. Personal Property is valued based on
schedules developed by the Tax Commission.
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LEGAL
REFERENCES TO ASSESSMENT LAWS
The Utah Constitution,
Article XIII, Section 2, requires "All tangible property in the State,
not exempt under the laws of the United States, or under this Constitution,
shall be taxed at a uniform and equal rate in proportion to its value,
to be ascertained as provided by law."
Title 59, Chapter 2 of the Utah Code is the
Property Tax Act, which contains provisions for levying and collecting
taxes on both personal and real property. Provisions of 59-2 also cover
appeals (59-2-1001 et seq), exemptions, deferrals and abatements (59-
2-1101 through 59-2-1220), tax liens (59-2-1301 et seq), delinquencies
(59-2- 1331 through 59-2-1334), and sales of property for delinquent taxes
(59-2-1302, 59-2-1303 and 59-2-1343 through 59-2-1364). In addition, Tax
Commission Rules R884 pertains to property tax as well as the Uniform
School Fund.back to top
HOW ARE TAX
RATES SET FOR MY PROPERTY?
Tax rates are set by procedures established in the
Utah Constitution. Rates are not set by the County Assessor.
There are many different rates in Salt Lake County and those vary across
the county depending on which school district, city, special service districts
etc the property is located. The tax rate levied against a property makes
a great deal of difference in the taxes paid. back
to top
TAX
RATE CALCULATION
Approved Budget ÷ Total Tax Base = Tax Rate
Note: The tax rate is fine-tuned through other factors
such as the five-year collection rate and the historical level of the
board of equalization adjustments.
TOTAL TAX BASE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:
Locally assessed Residential
Locally assessed Commercial
Locally assessed Personal Property
Some Fee in Lieu (Motor Vehicle – boats, trailers, motorhomes, motorcyles)
State Assessed by Tax Commission (such as mines, utility companies, airlines,
etc.)
NOTE:
Each taxing entity has a distinct tax base
For Example:
The tax base for the County includes the entire county while the tax base
for the Un-incorporated Salt Lake County includes only the Unincorporated
County. (Which includes Kearns, Magna, Millcreek, White City, as well
as the other unincorporated areas.) back
to top
WHERE DOES MY
PROPERTY TAX MONEY GO?
Property taxes are an important source of revenue
for public (K-12) schools, libraries, city and county government. As in
most states in the United States, property taxes are the backbone of funding
of local government and schools. Salt Lake County's property tax with
some changes has fulfilled this basic function since statehood.
Generally, public (K-12) schools receive the largest share of the property
tax, as well as city government, county government, libraries, water districts,
mosquito abatement district, etc. back to
top
HOW
DO I CALCULATE MY REAL PROPERTY TAX?
The method for figuring
ad valorem taxes requires four steps: You must know the taxable market
value of your property, the assessment ratio(55% of market value for Residential
propertry;100% for all others), any exemptions, and the tax rate for your
area of the county.
Click
here for a detailed explanation
back to top
WHEN DO I PAY
MY TAX?
The County Treasurer sends out a tax bill in October
each year. If nothing is paid by November 30, the full amount is due and
becomes delinquent January 1 with applicable penalties owed. back
to top
Link
to payment information - Treasuer's Office
WHAT IF I DISAGREE WITH THE
MARKET VALUE PLACED ON MY PROPERTY?
For Questions concerning the
Board of Equalization, please go to
Salt
Lake County Tax Administration
If you have any questions concerning your real
or personal property, please contact our office. It is important to our
office to correct any factual or valuation errors. Property Owners are
always welcomed year round to meet informally with staff, to correct errors
in property characteristics and to discuss valuation issues.back
to top
I
just purchased my property, why have you valued it for more than I paid
for it?
There are numerous types of sales occurring
throughout the county. Some of which are less than market as well as some
more than market. Market value must be viewed as a willing buyer and willing
seller without any undue pressure to buy or sell. For example if an individual
is transferred from the county or inherits property, they may choose to
sell below the market to rid themselves of the burden of trying to maintain
two households. On the other hand one might choose to purchase a home
above the indicated market value for reasons such as location to ones
employment, relatives, schools and fondness of the overall structure and
layout of the property. These, along with other sales that have occurred
in the neighborhood, must be considered. We determine what the majority
of similar properties are selling for, in that neighborhood, and apply
those findings in terms of market value for each property. back
to top
How
can my property be worth more if I haven't done anything to it?
Property values are based on the activity
in the marketplace. If homes, similar to yours, are selling for a higher
price state law requires the assessor to value your property in a similar
manner.back to top
Why should I
be penalized for somebody else paying a high price for a home in my neighborhood?
It isn’t a penalty. Although it does
occur, few people will pay more for something than it is worth. Therefore
if a number of homes similar to yours are selling for more based on the
price paid by newcomers to your neighborhood, it increases the marketability
and market value of your property should you decide to sell. back
to top
I have an older home in an area where
they are building new homes. How will this affect my property value?
The newer homes will not have a direct affect
on your value. We will compare your home to similar properties in terms
of age, condition and size as well as a number of other variables. However,
as the desireability of a neighborhood increases, even older homes may
increase in value.
back to top
If you didn't increase my market value,
why did my taxes increase?
The County Assessor does not establish the
amount of taxes you pay. If the market value placed on your property by
the assessor remained the same as the previous year, the increase in your
taxes can be attributed to an increase in tax rates within your particular
tax district and tax rates can increase due to the public voting for bond
issues; such as, school bonds, jail, etc, or an increase in the budget
of a taxing entity. back to top
Do
you visit each home in the county?
No, not on an annual basis. However, Utah
law requires a review of property characteristics once every five years.
With modern technology, every property is appraised annually which helps
maintain equity in market values throughout Salt Lake County.
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How
can my property increase in value if it is getting older?
In order to establish a market value for your
property we must analyze the market in your neighborhood. As homes with
similar characteristics are sold, values are adjusted to follow the market.back
to top
Will
my value increase every year?
The value of your property is based on the
market in your neighborhood. If the values in your area, based on sales,
increase we must increase the value of similar properties to maintain
current market values as required by law. However, if the values were
to decrease based on sales, we again must make the necessary adjustments
and maintain the current market value by decreasing the values in the
neighborhood. back to top
 
Ad Valorem Taxation - according
to the value of the property.
Assessed Value - the taxable
value of real or personal property either of individual items of personal
property or parcels of real property or the aggregate total of such individual
taxable items or parcels within a jurisdiction
Assessed value of primary residential is 55% of market value. Assessed
value of all other real property( including cabins) is 100% of market
value.
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Assessment Ratio - the assessment
percentage applied to the market value of the property. Residential property's
assessment ratio is 55% and commercial and personal property ratios are
100% of market value.
Assessment Roll - a computerized
or non-computerized record required by law to be kept by the county assessor
and containing information about property within a taxing jurisdiction.
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Assessment Year - the year
beginning January 1 of each calendar year and ending on December 31.
Coefficient of Dispersion (C.O.D.)
- a statistical measure of assessment uniformity for a category
of property or for all property within a taxing jurisdiction. The statutory
level for residential property in Utah is 10% or less. Salt Lake County
is typically between 4 and 8 percent.
Cost Approach to
Value - the total dollar expenditure for labor, materials, legal
services, architectural design, financing, taxes during construction,
interest, contractor's overhead and profit and entrepreneurial overhead
and profit. back to top
County Board of Equalization
- the board which, upon hearing evidence, has the authority to correct
and adjust the assessment rolls in its respective county to conform to
fair market value. back to top
Equalization - the process
for making adjustments to taxable property values within a county by analyzing
the relationships between assessed values and fair market values. back
to top
Fair Market Value - the value
or price at which a willing buyer would purchase property and a willing
seller would sell property if both parties are knowledgeable about the
property and its uses and if neither party is under any undue pressure
to buy or sell.
Market Price - is the amount
actually paid or about to be paid in a particular transaction. back
to top
Market Value - the estimated
sale price that would result from careful consideration of all information
by a prudent, responsible buyer and seller under conditions of a fair
sale (an arm's length sale).
Neighborhood - The environment
of a subject property that has a direct and immediate effect on value.
Truth In Taxation Notice
- This refers to the assessment notice that is mailed to a property owner
concerning changes in the assessed value of the property. It contains
information such as the Market and Assessed values as well as the date
it was mailed and information about filing an appeal with the County Board
of Equalization if the property owners disagree with the mareket value
indicated on the notice.
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Parcel - a contiguous area
of land described in a single description by a deed or other instrument
or as one of a number of lots on a plat or plan, separately owned and
capable of being separately conveyed.
Property Status - The actual
taxable status of the property.
Reappraisal - The
County Assessor is given the task of maintaining an active and systematic
program to be sure that all county property is annually appraised.
Situs - where the property
is physically located. back to top
Tax Rate -Tax rates are set
by procedures established in the Utah Constitution. Rates are not set
by the County Assessor. There are many different rates in Salt Lake County
and those vary across the county depending on which school district, city
limit, special service districts, etc. the property is located. The tax
rate levied against a property makes a significant difference in the amount
of taxes paid. back to top
TAX RATE CALCULATION
Approved Budget ÷ Total Tax Base = Tax Rate
Tax Roll - a listing of all taxable property in the
county for a given year. Must be completed on or before May 22nd. back
to top
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