Utah (Summary)
Last Updated: March 2020
Tax Type: Current Use
Description: Qualifying agricultural property is assessed and taxed based upon its productive capability instead of the prevailing market value.
Law: Utah Code §§ 59-2-501 to 59-2-516 (Utah Farmland Assessment Act (FAA)); UT Admin Code R884-24P-42
Objective: These standards provide reference to accepted procedures and guidelines for assessment and taxation of agricultural land under the provisions of the Farmland Assessment Act of 1969, as amended. These standards are intended as a management tool to promote equitable administration of the Utah property assessment for land actively devoted to agricultural use.
Principal Forest Property Tax Incentive Program:
Program legal-common name: General property tax program (Farmland Assessment Act, "Greenbelt")
Program Requirements
Min/Max Acreage: at least 5 contiguous acres. Some exceptions apply. A parcel smaller than 5 acres may qualify for the FAA assessment if it is used in conjunction with a qualifying 5 or more contiguous acres that is located in the same county and has identical legal ownership.
Min. Stocking Growth: it must produce about half of what most loggers would expect to harvest in an economically feasible operation. A guideline for meeting production would be about 4 MBF of marketable timber per acre per year. This equates to about one truckload of approximately 25 tons.
Forest Management Plan: A harvest or forest management plan is required.
Duration of Enrollment: N/A
Evidence of Use: at least 2 years preceding the year of application
Penalties for Use Change: Rollback tax based on the difference between the tax paid while the land was assessed under FAA, and the amount of taxes that would have been paid if the land had received a market-based assessment over last five years
Program Administration
State: Productive values are established by the Utah Tax Commission with the assistance of a five-member Farmland Assessment Advisory Committee. The committee meets annually to review and recommend updates to the values for eligible land based on production potential. Utah State Tax Commission provides FAA value.
County Tax Assessor and Commissioner: The county assessor is to provide an application for assessment under FAA to an owner of property upon request. The county assessor receives and approves applications; also, the county assessor determines the eligibility of land assessed under the FAA. The county assessor is responsible for the classification of agricultural land using the guidelines provided by the State Tax Commission. Subsequently, the assessor values the FAA-classified land on an acreage value using the values established by the State Tax Commission
University: The committee relies on research currently provided by the Applied Economics Department of Utah State University. A new report is furnished annually to the committee, along with a thorough presentation of current and past agricultural economic conditions.
Landowners: Landowner annually affirms ownership, use, and resource conditions; two-year evidence of preferential use.
For a more in depth discussion of Utah property taxes click here!