Each month when a mortgage payment is made, a portion of the payment goes into a separate account called an escrow. This accounts purpose is to pay for homeowners’ insurance and property taxes each year when they are due. Home owners may know money is set aside each month for these expenses, but they might not understand how the property taxes are calculated or what they are used for.

Notices are mailed out the third week of October and property taxes are due at the end of November. These notices may include a proposed tax increase and the information for a public hearing if property taxes are going up.

Property taxes are calculated off of a “Taxable Value” of your home. In the state of Utah, the “Taxable Value” is based off of a fair market value minus any exceptions. Having the home occupied as a primary residence is one of those exceptions. Primary residence properties have a 45% exception, which means the taxable rate for the property is 55% of the “Market Value”.

In the state of Utah, property taxes are used for school districts (about 56%), county needs (17%), city and town needs (14%), and special district needs inside the county (13%).

To find out what your taxes are being used for in your area, visit the Treasurer page on your County’s website.