Does a rental property qualify for Utah's 45 percent primary residential exemption?

Yes, if it is a genuine long-term rental. Utah ties the exemption to the property being used as someone's primary residence, and a full-time tenant counts. Providing the county a signed one-year lease is how owners document it. Short-term and nightly rentals do not qualify, and neither do condos in rental pools.

Southern Utah Property Tax Calculator

Q: How much more does a second home pay in property tax in Utah?

Exactly 1.82 times the primary-residence bill, because the tax applies to 100 percent of value instead of 55 percent. On a $600,000 home in St. George that is roughly $3,958 instead of $2,177, which is still less than a primary residence costs in most large U.S. cities.

Q: How do Mesquite, Nevada property taxes compare to St. George, Utah?

Mesquite runs higher. A newly built $600,000 home in Mesquite tops out around $5,825 a year at the FY 2026-27 rate of 2.7737 per $100 of assessed value, against about $2,177 for a St. George primary residence, because Nevada has no equivalent of Utah's 45 percent primary residential exemption. Older Mesquite homes pay less due to Nevada's depreciation rules, established owner-occupied homes are capped at 3 percent annual increases, and Nevada has no state income tax.

Q: Which city in Washington County has the lowest property taxes?

Unincorporated areas are lowest, and St. George and Washington City are the lowest incorporated cities, within a few dollars of each other. Toquerville is currently the highest city, about $450 a year more on a $600,000 primary residence. Homes inside the Black Desert public infrastructure district pay a much higher combined levy, over two and a half times the St. George rate.

Every Washington County city at 2026 certified rates, plus the same home in eleven other cities, at your own price.

Every week I talk to someone moving here from California, or Washington, or Texas, and at some point they ask what property taxes run in Southern Utah. The short answer is lower than almost anywhere they are coming from. I built this calculator so you can see it in real numbers instead of taking a realtor's word for it.

Enter what you expect to pay for a home, then pick how you will use it. The tool runs the 2026 certified tax rates for every city in Washington County, then runs the same home through eleven other cities, from Salt Lake City to Mesquite to Miami, using each one's own published rates. The use toggle matters more here than anywhere, because of a Utah rule most people have never heard of.

Utah taxes a primary residence on only 55 percent of its market value. The other 45 percent is exempt. Second homes and nightly rentals pay on the full 100 percent. And here is the part that surprises even longtime owners: the exemption follows how the home is used, not who owns it. I own a townhouse in Hurricane that I rent out long term. I sent the county a copy of the signed one-year lease, and they approved the primary exemption on it, because my tenant lives there as a primary residence. Nightly rentals and condos in rental pools do not qualify, but a genuine long-term rental with a full-time tenant does.

Home price

$200K$650K$1.1M$1.55M$2M

Estimated first-year tax on a newly purchased single-family home. A long-term rental in Utah keeps the 55 percent taxable basis when a full-time tenant lives there under a signed lease; in every other state shown, rentals are taxed like second homes.

Washington County, city by city

The school district levy is countywide, so the differences below come from each city's own levy and special districts. The whole spread from cheapest to most expensive city is smaller than most people expect.

The same home in 11 other cities

Every figure uses that city's most recent officially adopted rates and its normal exemptions for each use. Bars are scaled against St. George.

How these numbers are built. Figures are estimated first-year taxes on a newly purchased home, computed from each area's most recently adopted official rates: 2026 certified rates for Washington County and Seattle, fiscal 2025-26 for the California cities, New York and Boston, 2025 adopted rates for Salt Lake City, Boise, Austin and Miami, and fiscal 2026-27 for Las Vegas and Mesquite. Primary-residence figures include the standard exemptions a typical new buyer receives. Fixed parcel-specific charges are excluded everywhere: Mello-Roos in California, parcel taxes, solid waste and stormwater fees. Those can add real money and vary street by street. New York is shown at its statutory ceiling because its assessment caps carry over when a home sells, so most buyers pay less. Las Vegas and Mesquite are shown at their new-construction ceilings because Nevada taxes depreciated replacement cost, so older homes typically pay less. Boston's residential exemption usually begins in a buyer's second tax year, so the year-one figure excludes it. Rate sources are linked on every row.

Questions I get about Southern Utah property taxes

Why are St. George property taxes so low?

Two reasons stack. Utah exempts 45 percent of a primary residence's value from taxation, so the rate only applies to 55 percent of what the home is worth. And Washington County's combined levies are modest to begin with: St. George's 2026 rate is 0.6596 percent of taxable value. Put together, a $600,000 primary residence pays about $2,177 a year here. The same home runs roughly $7,000 in Los Angeles and over $11,000 in Miami.

Does a rental property qualify for the 45 percent exemption?

Yes, if it is a genuine long-term rental. Utah ties the exemption to the property being used as someone's primary residence, and a full-time tenant counts. I did this with my own rental townhouse in Hurricane: I provided the county the signed one-year lease and the exemption was approved. Short-term and nightly rentals do not qualify, and neither do condos in rental pools. The county uses a residential declaration form, and after an ownership change you should expect to file it.

How much more does a second home pay in Utah?

Exactly 1.82 times the primary-residence bill, everything else equal, because the tax applies to 100 percent of value instead of 55 percent. On a $600,000 home in St. George that is roughly $3,958 instead of $2,177. Even at the full rate, that second-home figure is still less than what a primary residence costs in most of the cities in this comparison.

Which city in Washington County has the lowest property taxes?

Unincorporated county areas are lowest, and among the cities St. George and Washington City sit within a few dollars of each other at the bottom. Toquerville is currently the highest of the incorporated cities, and the gap from bottom to top is about $450 a year on a $600,000 primary residence. The one outlier to know about: homes inside the Black Desert public infrastructure district carry an additional levy that puts their total at more than two and a half times the St. George rate. Districts like that ride on top of city rates, which is worth checking on any new resort or master-planned community.

How do Mesquite, Nevada property taxes compare to St. George?

Higher, which surprises people. A newly built $600,000 home in Mesquite tops out around $5,825 a year, against $2,177 for a St. George primary residence, because Nevada has no equivalent of Utah's 45 percent primary exemption and Mesquite's combined rate runs higher. Nevada has counterweights: older homes pay less because the state depreciates the structure's value every year, established owner-occupied homes are capped at 3 percent annual tax increases, and Nevada has no state income tax. For some of my buyers that last one changes the whole comparison, so run the full budget, not just this line.

What will taxes be on the specific home I am looking at?

The county publishes an official estimate tool, and any listing I send clients includes the actual current tax. These calculator figures are for comparing places fairly, using published rates and a clean set of assumptions. If you want the real number for a specific address, ask me and I will pull it, including whether the current owner's exemption status matches how you plan to use the home, because a second home you buy from a primary resident will be taxed more than the listing history suggests.

Comparing a move here against staying put? Property tax is one line. Power is another, and it varies more than taxes do: my Southern Utah power cost calculator compares nine utilities the same way this page compares twelve tax systems. And if you want the full picture on a real budget, call or text me at 435-200-5508. I'm Lance Clifford, and I have sold real estate here for thirteen years.

Sources: Washington County 2026 certified tax rates; Utah State Tax Commission, primary residential exemption (Utah Code 59-2-103); per-city rate sources linked on each row above. Rates as of August 2026; most areas adopt new rates each fall. Estimates only, not tax advice.