# Utah H.B. 20: Property Tax Code Recodification Utah H.B. 20, Property Tax Code Recodification, is a 2025 General Session House bill sponsored by Doug Welton (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-03-25 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB20-2025GS - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah H.B. 20 - State: Utah - Session: 2025 General Session - Title: Property Tax Code Recodification - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2024-12-16 - Last action: 2025-03-25, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Doug Welton (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Property Tax, Property Tax Relief, Revenue and Taxation - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 10 (205 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 18 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Homeowner credits adjust with housing prices: benefit, high. Beginning in 2024, homeowner credit maximums follow these base income ceilings: $13,884—$1,259; $18,515—$1,105; $23,141—$954; $27,770—$726; $32,401—$577; $36,754—$351; $40,840—$197. Beginning in 2025, both income ceilings and credit amounts adjust against the 2023 housing price index using the prio… - Disabled veterans get defined exemption access: benefit, medium. Veteran claimants include veterans with a permanent, total 100% service-connected disability acquired in the line of duty during training or conflict. Unmarried surviving spouses and minor orphans can qualify through such veterans or veterans killed in action or dying in duty. Covered property incl… - Hardship homeowners get tax relief access: benefit, medium. Property tax abatement is available to residents who meet Utah's constitutional poverty standard and cannot pay their residence taxes when due. They must be 65 or older, or younger with a disability or county-found extreme hardship. Household income must be below the homeowner credit limit, and the… - Military service can exempt home taxes: benefit, medium. Qualifying active-duty service provides a full exemption of a primary home's taxable value for the following calendar year. Active or reserve service members need at least 200 active-duty days outside Utah within a continuous 365-day period. The days need not be consecutive, must be completed in th… - Older homeowners can postpone property taxes: benefit, medium. Counties must defer taxes and tax notice charges for qualifying owners who are at least 75 by December 31. Household income cannot exceed twice the homeowner credit income limit; liquid resources cannot exceed 20 times last year's residence taxes. The home must be the primary residence on January 1… - Surviving spouses gain tax credit access: benefit, medium. Surviving spouses can qualify for renter or homeowner credits regardless of either spouse's age. They must have shared a household when the spouse died and be unmarried when filing. They must also meet the credit's income and other claimant requirements. Anyone who independently qualifies for both… - Trusts and alternative homes get relief: benefit, medium. Tax relief can cover an owned or rented Utah mobile home, manufactured home, or houseboat. A residence includes up to one acre needed for home use, but not furniture or appliances. Counties may grant a homeowner credit, deferral, or abatement for an applicant's share of trust-held property. A quali… - Counties refund tax relief overpayments: benefit, low. Counties must refund property tax overpayments of at least $1 after granting qualifying relief. Covered relief includes homeowner credits, qualifying abatements, veteran exemptions, and active-duty exemptions. Although the former indigent-abatement refund provision is repealed, the chapter-wide ref… - Tax relief decisions can be appealed: benefit, low. People with an interest in a covered final property tax relief decision can appeal to the State Tax Commission. They must file notice with the county auditor within 30 days after final action. The notice must explain the grounds for appeal. A separate path for 2023 deferral-eligible valuation dispu… - Rental assistance cannot support renter credits: cost, medium. Renters cannot count rental assistance payments as rent when calculating the renter's credit. Only rent not covered by rental assistance counts. The State Tax Commission can define government, charitable, and religious organizations when applying this rule. - Veteran trust exemption option is removed: cost, medium. The law removes the former veteran-specific county option for granting part of an exemption on trust-held property. That option treated a qualifying veteran as owning the share that a qualifying power returned to the veteran. The removed authority concerned the veteran exemption, rather than the se… - Improper tax relief claims bring charges: cost, low. Excessive, negligently prepared tax relief claims carry interest of 1% per month from the claim date until refund or repayment. Negligent claims also face a 10% reduction of the corrected claim. Fraudulent claims are denied, and amounts paid can be recovered with 1% monthly interest from the claim… - Renter credits follow income and rent: mixed, high. The renter's credit uses these base income ceilings and rent percentages beginning in 2024: $13,884—9.5%; $18,515—8.5%; $23,141—7%; $27,770—5.5%; $32,401—4%; $36,754—3%; $40,840—2.5%. Each rate applies to its income bracket, and the payment cannot exceed that bracket's homeowner credit maximum. Beg… - Homeowner deferrals require yearly applications: mixed, medium. Beginning January 1, 2026, discretionary county deferrals generally require a signed eligibility statement each year by September 1. Both spouses must sign when both live in a home they own as joint tenants. Counties must give one extra year to prior-year recipients and applicants with qualifying i… - Sharp value increases allow tax deferrals: mixed, medium. The recodified rules effective January 1, 2026 preserve five-year deferrals for qualifying assessed-value increases of 150% in 2023 or 2024. Increases solely from improvements, zoning, or legal-description changes do not qualify; separate qualifying increases in both years receive separate deferral… - Tax relief value cap tracks inflation: mixed, medium. The adjusted taxable-value limit is $479,504 for 2023 for relief subject to that cap. Each later year's limit equals the prior year's limit adjusted by the prior year's actual consumer price change. This lets the limit track prices while retaining a ceiling on relief subject to the cap. The cap is… - Tax relief filing extensions are reorganized: mixed, low. A chapter-wide rule lets the State Tax Commission or a county extend tax relief filing deadlines for good cause. Extensions under that rule cannot go beyond December 31 of the year the application is due. The law removes separate county good-cause extensions from September 1 to December 31 for vete… - Tax relief payments survive claimant deaths: mixed, low. When someone dies after filing a timely relief claim, the county or commission must pay another household member. Commission rules determine which household member receives it. If the claimant lived alone, payment may go to an executor or administrator. Without an appointed and qualified executor o… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Doug Welton (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Daniel McCay (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-03-05 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 73 | 0 | | | 2025-03-03 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 27 | 0 | | | 2025-03-03 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2025-02-14 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2025-02-13 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 25 | 0 | | | 2025-02-03 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 3 | 0 | | | 2025-02-03 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 3 | 0 | | | 2025-01-21 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 74 | 0 | | | | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | ## Actions (38) - 2025-03-25: Governor Signed - 2025-03-12: House/ to Governor (House) - 2025-03-12: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2025-03-11: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2025-03-11: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2025-03-05: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2025-03-05: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2025-03-05: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2025-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2025-03-05: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2025-03-05: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2025-03-05: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2025-03-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2025-03-05: House/ concurs with Senate amendment (House) - 2025-03-04: House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (House) - 2025-03-04: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2025-03-03: Senate/ to House with amendments (Senate) - 2025-03-03: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate) - 2025-03-03: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2025-02-14: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2025-02-14: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2025-02-13: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2025-02-13: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate) - 2025-02-04: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2025-02-04: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2025-02-03: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation (Senate) - 2025-02-03: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation (Senate) - 2025-01-24: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2025-01-24: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2025-01-23: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2025-01-22: House/ to Senate (House) - 2025-01-21: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2025-01-21: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2025-01-21: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2025-01-21: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2025-01-15: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2025-01-15: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2024-12-16: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-03-11: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/HB0020.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2025-01-24: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0020S02.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2025-01-17: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0020S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2024-12-16: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0020.pdf) ## Related bills - S.B. 199: Guardianship Amendments (signed) - H.B. 562: Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Amendments (signed) - H.B. 493: Medical Examiner Amendments (signed) - H.B. 482: Health and Human Services Reporting Requirements (signed) - S.B. 197: Property Tax Amendments (vetoed) - S.B. 3: Appropriations Adjustments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/HB0020.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0020S02.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0020S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0020.pdf) ## Related - [S.B. 199: Guardianship Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB199-2025GS) - [H.B. 562: Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB562-2025GS) - [H.B. 493: Medical Examiner Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB493-2025GS) - [H.B. 482: Health and Human Services Reporting Requirements](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB482-2025GS) - [S.B. 197: Property Tax Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB197-2025GS) - [S.B. 3: Appropriations Adjustments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB3-2025GS) - [Utah bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah/bills) - [Utah state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB20-2025GS (as of 2026-10-17).