Delinquent Property Taxes in Utah: Four Years, Then a May or June Auction That Can Take Part of the Lot
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Utah · Last updated October 21, 2026
Utah runs a tax auction that can end with a homeowner keeping the house and losing a strip of the yard. Delinquent property taxes are taxes an owner did not pay by the date the state fixed, after which the county adds a penalty and interest and can finally sell the land to collect them. The default route is a deed, not a lien: at the auction nobody buys a certificate and no interest rate is bid down. The county auditor offers the parcel itself at a tax sale held in May or June (Utah Code 59-2-1351), and the county governing body may accept either the highest bid for the entire parcel or a bid that pays the whole delinquency for the smallest portion of it, in which case the balance of the parcel is considered redeemed by the owner (Utah Code 59-2-1351.1). A bid below the taxes, tax notice charges, interest, penalty and administrative costs cannot be accepted at all. Taxes are due November 30 and are delinquent if paid or postmarked later (Utah Code 59-2-1331). If the parcel is not redeemed by March 15 following the lapse of four years from that delinquency, the treasurer files the tax sale listing (Utah Code 59-2-1343), and redemption then runs up to the auction and stops there (Utah Code 59-2-1346). A county may instead sue to foreclose its tax lien in district court, which the statute calls a cumulative remedy and which carries its own redemption right (Utah Code 59-2-1353, 59-2-1357, 59-2-1358). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Utah
Where are you with the unpaid property taxes?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
When can a Utah county sell my house for unpaid property taxes?
If the property is not redeemed by March 15 following the lapse of four years from the date the tax or tax notice charge became delinquent, the county treasurer must immediately file the tax sale listing with the county auditor (Utah Code 59-2-1343), and the auditor conducts the tax sale in May or June of that year (Utah Code 59-2-1351).
How much interest does Utah charge on delinquent property taxes?
A per annum rate set by formula, not a flat penalty and not an auction rate. Interest runs from the January 1 immediately following the delinquency date at 6 percent plus the federal funds rate target existing on that January 1, and that rate may not be less than 7 percent or more than 10 percent (Utah Code 59-2-1331).
When does the right to redeem end in Utah?
At the auction, on the default route. Property may be redeemed by any person on behalf of the record owner at any time before the tax sale, held in May or June following the lapse of four years from the delinquency (Utah Code 59-2-1346). A county that instead forecloses in court triggers a separate redemption right (Utah Code 59-2-1357).
When do Utah property taxes become delinquent each year?
Property taxes and tax notice charges are due on November 30 of each year following the date of levy, and a tax paid or postmarked after that date is delinquent (Utah Code 59-2-1331). A county legislative body may extend that due date to noon on December 30 by proclamation (Utah Code 59-2-1332).
What a Utah tax sale actually sells
A Utah delinquency begins once November 30 passes with the tax unpaid, which is all delinquent property taxes means here: taxes an owner did not pay on time, after which the county adds a penalty and interest and can eventually sell the land to collect (Utah Code 59-2-1331). Two county offices split the work. The treasurer bills, records the delinquency, takes redemption money and files the tax sale listing (Utah Code 59-2-1343, 59-2-1346). The auditor sets the sale date, conducts the sale, and signs the deed conveying fee simple once the governing body accepts a bid (Utah Code 59-2-1351, 59-2-1351.1). What stands out is how little of a parcel can be sold. A bidder may pay the entire bill for the smallest portion of the land, leaving the remainder considered redeemed, and a perimeter strip or an access-blocking strip must be rejected.
An Ogden duplex where a bidder wants the back of the lot, not the house
An Ogden duplex in Weber County passed its November 30, 2021 due date owing roughly 3,240 dollars, and nothing more was paid that winter. The penalty attached at 2.5 percent of the delinquency or 10 dollars, whichever was greater, and because nothing arrived by January 31, 2022, interest started running from January 1, 2022 at that year's formula rate (Utah Code 59-2-1331). Four years lapsed from the delinquency in December 2025. Nothing was redeemed by March 15, 2026, so the treasurer filed the tax sale listing and the auditor set the sale for May 2026 (Utah Code 59-2-1343, 59-2-1351). At the sale a bidder offers the full delinquency for the rear fifth of an acre instead of the whole lot. Whether such a bid is acceptable, and whether it would block access to the remainder, is for the auditor and the county governing body (Utah Code 59-2-1351.1).
Relevant Laws
Utah Code 59-2-1331 (due date, delinquency, penalty and the interest formula)
Makes all property taxes and tax notice charges due on November 30 of each year following the date of levy, with a substitute date when November 30 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, and provides that a property tax paid or postmarked after the due date is delinquent. Sets the penalty at 2.5 percent of the delinquent taxes and tax notice charges or 10 dollars, whichever is greater, reduced to 1 percent or 10 dollars if everything including the penalty is paid on or before the January 31 immediately following the delinquency date. Runs interest from the January 1 immediately following the delinquency date at 6 percent plus the federal funds rate target existing on that January 1, with a floor of 7 percent and a ceiling of 10 percent, and applies a separately calculated rate to each individual year's delinquency until paid.
Utah Code 59-2-1332 (county extension of the delinquency date)
Allows a county legislative body, on a petition of not less than 100 taxpayers or on its own motion for good cause, to extend the property tax due date from November 30 to noon on December 30 by proclamation, with published notice before November 1, and provides that the date for selling property for delinquent taxes or tax notice charges is then extended 30 days from the dates provided by law.
Utah Code 59-2-1332.5 (the county treasurer's annual notice of delinquency)
Requires the county treasurer to give notice of delinquency on or before December 31 of each calendar year, either by mailing written notice to each delinquent taxpayer and making an electronic list available to the public, or by publishing a list of delinquencies in one issue of a newspaper of general circulation. The notice must state the amount due, describe the property, say that a penalty will be imposed, and state that interest accrues as of January 1 following the delinquency unless the taxes and penalty are paid on or before January 31.
Utah Code 59-2-1343 (the four year clock and the tax sale listing)
Provides that if any property is not redeemed by March 15 following the lapse of four years from the date a property tax or tax notice charge became delinquent, the county treasurer shall immediately file a listing with the county auditor of all properties whose redemption period is expiring in the nearest forthcoming tax sale. Also provides that a tax or tax notice charge deferred under the deferral statute is delinquent only if full payment is not made before the end of the five year deferral period.
Utah Code 59-2-1346 (redemption, the deadline and the 10 dollar part payment)
Provides that property may be redeemed on behalf of the record owner by any person at any time before the tax sale, which is held in May or June following the lapse of four years from the date the property tax or tax notice charges became delinquent, and that a person redeems by paying the county treasurer all delinquent taxes, tax notice charges, interest, penalties and administrative costs accrued on the property. Requires the treasurer, at any time before the period of redemption expires, to accept and credit part payments on account of not less than 10 dollars, with the final payment in any amount, and sets the order in which payments are applied. Also allows a bona fide purchaser of a subdivided lot to redeem that lot's proportional share.
Utah Code 59-2-1347 (county adjustment or deferral of delinquent taxes)
Allows a county legislative body, on application by an interested person, to accept a sum less than the full amount due or to defer the full amount due where in its judgment the best human interests and the interests of the state and the county are served. Sets what the application must state, requires the written consent of any mortgage or trust deed holder before a deferral, records the deferred amount as a lien bearing interest, and makes the deferred amount due when the property is sold or otherwise conveyed.
Utah Code 59-2-1351 (sale date, place and notice of the tax sale)
Requires the county auditor, on receiving the tax sale listing, to select a sale date for real property whose redemption period is expiring and to conduct the tax sale in May or June of the current year, at the front door of the county courthouse or through an equivalent electronic process. Requires notice by certified and first class mail, or by first class mail and a shipping service with tracking and delivery confirmation, to the last known recorded owner, the occupant of any improved property and other interests of record as of the preceding March 15, with publication rules that differ by county class. The statutory notice form states that a bid for less than the total amount of taxes, tax notice charges, interest, penalty and administrative costs will not be accepted.
Utah Code 59-2-1351.1 (acceptable bids, the smallest portion rule and the deed)
Lets the county governing body accept the highest bid for the entire parcel, but forbids accepting any bid insufficient to pay the taxes, tax notice charges, penalties, interest and administrative costs. Alternatively allows a bid that pays that full amount for less than the entire parcel, in which case the accepted bid is the one taking the smallest portion, a bid for a perimeter strip or a strip that would prevent access to the remainder must be rejected, and the balance of the parcel is considered to have been redeemed by the owner. Also requires the Tax Commission to set minimum procedural standards by rule, pays all sale money into the county treasury, and requires the auditor to execute and record a deed conveying fee simple that is prima facie evidence of the regularity of all proceedings after the delinquency.
Utah Code 59-2-1351.3 (no purchaser at the sale, property struck off to the county)
Provides that any property offered for sale for which there is no purchaser shall be struck off to the county by the county auditor, who publicly declares the fee simple title of the property vested in the county, endorses the delinquency tax sale record accordingly and signs the record, and that fee simple title then vests in the county, with the record deposited with the county recorder and treated as recorded.
Utah Code 59-2-1351.5 (what the county may later do with a struck-off parcel)
Provides that all property acquired by the county under this part may be disposed of for a price and upon terms determined by the county legislative body, allows the county clerk to execute deeds vesting the title of all taxing entities in the purchaser, applies the money first to the cost of administering and supervising the property and apportions the rest to the taxing entities and tax notice charge entities, and allows the county to rent or lease the property after the tax sale.
Utah Code 59-2-1353 to 59-2-1358 (the county's court foreclosure route)
Section 59-2-1353 provides that in all cases where a county claims a lien on real estate for delinquent general taxes or tax notice charges which have not been paid for a period of four years, the county may foreclose the lien by an action in the district court of the county where the real estate is located, joining all persons owning or claiming an interest. Section 59-2-1356 requires the sheriff, if a foreclosure sale is made, to give the purchaser a certificate of sale as in the case of sales upon execution and to file a duplicate with the county recorder and auditor. Section 59-2-1357 gives any person interested in real estate sold at that foreclosure sale the same right to redeem, within the same time and on the same terms, as if the sale had been made upon execution. Section 59-2-1358 states the foreclosure is an additional or cumulative remedy and does not deprive the county of any other collection method.
Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 69C (redemption after a sale upon execution)
The rule the tax lien foreclosure route borrows its redemption terms from. It provides that real property may be redeemed unless the estate is less than a leasehold of a two-years' unexpired term, that the defendant or a junior lienholder may redeem, that the property may be redeemed within 180 days after the sale, and that the price to redeem is the sale price plus six percent, with a subsequent redemption at the redemption price plus three percent. It also sets out how a dispute over the redemption price is put to the court. Served from the Utah State Courts legacy rules viewer, so confirm the current rule text with the court before relying on it.
Utah Code 59-2-1366 (how redemption money is apportioned)
Provides that where property sold to the county is redeemed, or the certificate of sale is assigned, the original and subsequent taxes and 40 percent of the interest, penalty and costs of sale received are apportioned to the taxing entities in proportion to their respective taxes, the same rule applies to tax notice charge entities, and the balance is paid to the county. Where a sum less than the full amount is accepted in settlement, the proceeds go first to the original and subsequent taxes and tax notice charges.
Utah Code 59-2a-801 (five year deferral for property with a qualifying increase)
Requires a county to grant a deferral for real property whose owner applies on time and has a qualifying increase for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2023 or January 1, 2024. Sets the period of deferral at five years, requires the owner to pay 20 percent of the taxes and tax notice charges due during each year of the period, accumulates the deferred amount as a lien with the same legal status as the ordinary property tax lien, and provides that the county may not impose a penalty or interest during the period of deferral.
Salt Lake County Treasurer: excess funds after a tax sale
A county treasurer page stating that when a delinquent property is sold for more than the amount of property tax owed on it, the excess amount is given to the original owner, and that if the original owner cannot be contacted within 90 days of the tax sale the excess funds are sent to the Utah State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division. It also publishes a parcel by parcel list of excess amounts currently held.
Utah County Auditor: May tax sale excess funds
A county auditor page stating that any funds in excess of the amount for delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and administrative fees are treated as unclaimed property under Utah Code Title 67, that excess funds are held at least 90 days after the County Commission ratifies the bid, that a claim requires a petition to the Fourth District Court and written notice to the county Tax Administration Office under county ordinance 3.04.150, and that unclaimed funds are forwarded to the Utah State Treasurer's Office of Unclaimed Property.
Regional Variances
Utah delinquent property tax rules at a glance
Sale mechanism
Tax deed on the default route, with no lien certificate stage and no bid-down rate at the auction. The county auditor conducts the sale in May or June (Utah Code 59-2-1351) and, after the governing body accepts a bid, executes and records a deed conveying fee simple that is prima facie evidence of the regularity of all proceedings after the delinquency (Utah Code 59-2-1351.1). Where there is no purchaser, fee simple title vests in the county (Utah Code 59-2-1351.3).
Second route the county may take
Where a county claims a lien for general taxes or tax notice charges unpaid for four years, it may foreclose that lien by an action in district court instead, and the statute calls this an additional or cumulative remedy rather than a replacement (Utah Code 59-2-1353, 59-2-1358). If a foreclosure sale follows, the sheriff gives the purchaser a certificate of sale as on an execution sale (Utah Code 59-2-1356), and the redemption terms are those for an execution sale (Utah Code 59-2-1357).
What may be bid
Either the highest bid for the entire parcel, which may never be less than the taxes, tax notice charges, penalties, interest and administrative costs, or a bid paying that full amount for the smallest portion of the parcel, with the balance then considered redeemed by the owner. A perimeter strip bid, or one that would prevent access to the remainder, must be rejected (Utah Code 59-2-1351.1).
Delinquency date
Taxes and tax notice charges are due November 30 of the year following the levy, and a payment made or postmarked after that date is delinquent, with a substitute date when November 30 is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday (Utah Code 59-2-1331). A county legislative body may extend the date to noon on December 30, which also moves the sale date 30 days (Utah Code 59-2-1332).
Penalty and interest before any sale
A penalty of 2.5 percent of the delinquent taxes and tax notice charges or 10 dollars, whichever is greater, cut to 1 percent or 10 dollars if everything including the penalty is paid on or before the following January 31. Interest then runs from the January 1 immediately following the delinquency, and once a delinquency exceeds one year each year's amount bears interest until settled through redemption or tax sale (Utah Code 59-2-1331).
Time before sale
Four years. If the parcel is not redeemed by March 15 following the lapse of four years from the delinquency, the treasurer must immediately file the tax sale listing with the auditor (Utah Code 59-2-1343), and the auditor then holds the sale in May or June of that year (Utah Code 59-2-1351).
Redemption period and clock
The clock runs from the date the property tax or tax notice charge became delinquent, not from the sale and not from any certificate. Property may be redeemed by any person on behalf of the record owner at any time before the tax sale (Utah Code 59-2-1346), and a tax deferred under the deferral statute is delinquent only if unpaid when the five year deferral ends (Utah Code 59-2-1343). Nothing in that part gives a redemption after the auditor's sale. On the court foreclosure route the redemption terms are the execution sale terms instead, which allow redemption within 180 days after the sale at the sale price plus six percent (Utah Code 59-2-1357; Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 69C).
Redeemer's charge
A simple annual rate set by formula for each delinquent year, not a monthly penalty, a flat percentage or an investor's return. The redeemer pays all delinquent taxes, tax notice charges, interest, penalties and administrative costs (Utah Code 59-2-1346), with interest at 6 percent plus the federal funds rate target existing on the January 1 following that year's delinquency, never less than 7 percent and never more than 10 percent (Utah Code 59-2-1331).
Other redemption costs
The penalty, any tax notice charges and the county's administrative costs, which include the recorder's fee for the auditor's deed (Utah Code 59-2-1346, 59-2-1351.1). The statute sets no statewide dollar figure for administrative costs: the Tax Commission fixes minimum procedural standards by rule and the county legislative body sets the rest by ordinance, so the county treasurer quotes the amount.
Notice to the owner
The treasurer gives notice of delinquency on or before December 31 each year, by mailed notice plus an electronic public list or by newspaper publication (Utah Code 59-2-1332.5). Before the sale the auditor mails notice by certified and first class mail, or first class mail plus a tracked shipping service, to the last known recorded owner, the occupant of improved property and other interests of record as of the preceding March 15, with publication rules that vary by county class (Utah Code 59-2-1351).
Where to redeem
The county treasurer takes the money (Utah Code 59-2-1346), while the county auditor receives the tax sale listing, sets and conducts the sale and signs the deed (Utah Code 59-2-1343, 59-2-1351, 59-2-1351.1). Readers dealing with a Utah delinquency need both offices, and the sale desk is not the payment desk.
Surplus proceeds
A bid may exceed the debt, and the statute pays all sale money into the county treasury with settlement to the taxing entities (Utah Code 59-2-1351.1, 59-2-1366). The overage itself is handled county by county as unclaimed property: Salt Lake County returns the excess to the original owner and sends it to the Utah State Treasurer Unclaimed Property Division if that owner cannot be contacted within 90 days, while Utah County requires a Fourth District Court petition under county ordinance.
Payment plan
No conventional instalment contract, but three routes. The treasurer must accept part payments on account of not less than 10 dollars at any time before the redemption period expires (Utah Code 59-2-1346). A county legislative body may accept less than the full amount or defer it (Utah Code 59-2-1347). A five year deferral at 20 percent a year, with no penalty or interest during the deferral, covers property with a qualifying 2023 or 2024 increase (Utah Code 59-2a-801).
Frequently Asked Questions
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