Section 1802 – Tax deferral.

Effective 5/4/2022
59-2-1802. Tax deferral.

• (1)
  • (a) In accordance with this part and after giving notice to the taxpayer, a county may defer a tax on residential property, allowing the taxpayer to pay the tax at a later date.
  • (b) In determining a deferral, a county shall consider an asset transferred to a relative by an applicant for deferral, if the transfer took place during the three years prior to the day on which the applicant applied for deferral.

• (2) A county may grant a deferral described in Subsection (1) at any time:
  • (a) after the holder of each mortgage or trust deed outstanding on the property gives written approval of the application; and
  • (b) if the applicant is not the owner of income-producing assets that could be liquidated to pay the tax.

• (3) In accordance with this part, if the conditions described in Subsection (4) are satisfied, a county:
  • (a) on or after January 1, 2022, may defer a tax on an attached single-family residence or a detached single-family residence; or
  • (b) on or after January 1, 2025, shall defer a tax on an attached single-family residence or a detached single-family residence.

• (4) The conditions described in Subsection (3) are as follows:
  • (a) the owner of the single-family residence is:
    • (i) an eligible owner; or
    • (ii) a trust described in Section 59-2-1805 for which the grantor is an eligible owner;
  • (b) the single-family residence was the eligible owner’s primary residence as of January 1 of the year for which the eligible owner applies for a deferral;
  • (c)
    • (i) subject to Subsection (5), the value of the single-family residence for the year for which the eligible owner applies for a deferral is no greater than 100% of the median property value of attached and detached single-family residences within the county; or
    • (ii) the eligible owner has owned the single-family residence for a continuous 20 year period as of January 1 of the year for which the eligible owner applies for a deferral; and
  • (d) the holder of each mortgage or trust deed outstanding on the single-family residence gives written approval of the deferral.

• (5) The values described in Subsection (4)(c) are based on the county assessment roll for the county in which the single-family residence is located.

• (6) For purposes of Subsection (4)(c)(ii), if a single-family residence is transferred between an eligible owner and a trust described in Section 59-2-1805, ownership is considered continuous if the eligible owner is the grantor of the trust.

• (7) Taxes deferred by the county accumulate with interest as a lien against the residential property, as described in Subsection (8), until the owner sells or otherwise disposes of the residential property.

• (8) Deferred taxes under this section:
  • (a) bear interest at an interest rate equal to 50% of the rate described in Subsections 59-2-1331(2)(c) and (d); and
  • (b) have the same status as a lien as described in Sections 59-2-1301 and 59-2-1325.

• (9) If the owner of residential property that is granted deferral under this section is an indigent individual, during the period of deferral the county may not subject the residential property to a tax sale.

• (10)
  • (a) Upon written application from a county in a form prescribed by the commission, the commission shall reimburse the county for the amount of any tax that the county defers in accordance with Subsections (3) through (6).
  • (b) The commission may not reimburse a county for:
    • (i) an amount of a tax before the county grants the eligible owner a deferral of the tax; or
    • (ii) a tax assessed after December 31, 2026.

• (11) A county that receives money in accordance with this section for a deferred tax shall:
  • (a) distribute the money to the taxing entities in the same proportion the county would have distributed the revenue from the deferred tax; and
  • (b) repay the money:
    • (i) in an amount equal to the amount necessary to satisfy the lien described in Subsection (7) as of the earlier of:
      • (A) the day on which the county repays the money; or
      • (B) the day on which the lien described in Subsection (7) is satisfied; and
    • (ii) no later than June 30 of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the lien described in Subsection (7) is satisfied.

• (12) The commission shall deposit money received under this section into the General Fund.

Amended by Chapter 242, 2022 General Session