Utah First-Time Home Buyer Guide

Four main tools: Utah Housing's FirstHome loan with up to 6% down payment assistance, the $20,000 new-construction program (SB 240), the $2,500 Veteran grant, and city programs like Own in Ogden ($10,000 to $20,000). Most require a 620-660 credit score and county income limits. Note the Veteran grant closed for FY2026 once funds were exhausted; confirm current availability with the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs before counting on it. We match buyers to the right stack in one conversation.

There's no single statewide cap. FirstHome limits are set by county and household size. In Salt Lake County for 2026 that's about $126,100 for a 1-2 person household and $145,000 for 3 or more, with a purchase-price ceiling near $666,600; Summit and Wasatch run higher. Utah Housing's FHA/VA and Freddie Mac HFA Advantage paths use a single $165,200 statewide income cap with no price limit. Confirm your county's current figure on Utah Housing's limits matrix.

For Utah Housing's FirstHome loan: no principal residence owned in the past three years, prior ownership before that doesn't disqualify you. Single parents and qualifying Veterans can also be treated as first-time buyers under federal rules.

Utah's constitution exempts 45% of a primary residence's fair market value from property tax, you're taxed on only 55% of what your home is worth. Second homes and investment properties get no exemption and are taxed on 100% of value. One exemption per household, with a 183-day occupancy test.

No, the effective rate on primary residences runs about 0.5-0.6% of market value, roughly half the national median and among the ten lowest states. On a $550,000 Salt Lake County home, that's typically around $2,800, $3,300 a year.

There's no sale-triggered reassessment, every home is assessed at market value annually, so buying doesn't reset your tax the way it does in California. Utah's Truth in Taxation law (since 1985) also forces public hearings before any taxing entity collects more revenue from existing properties.

Utah exempts a substantial amount of a disabled Veteran's home value, up to $535,459 of taxable value at the most recent published cap, prorated by VA disability rating (a 50% rating gets half). The cap adjusts with inflation each year; apply through your county and confirm the current figure there.

Yes, the circuit-breaker credit gives homeowners 66+ with household income under roughly $44,000 up to about $1,400 off their bill, plus a possible 20% cut in taxable value. Applications go through your county by September 1; thresholds adjust annually.

Typically 2-3% of the purchase price, roughly $9,000, $13,500 on a $450,000 home, covering lender fees, title, escrow, and prepaids. Utah runs cheaper than most states because it has no transfer tax at all.

No. Utah is one of about a dozen states with no real estate transfer tax. Beyond small flat recording fees, nothing is owed to the state or county for recording your purchase.

No. Utah is a title-and-escrow state: a title company handles closing, escrow, and recording. By custom the seller pays for your owner's title policy and you pay the lender's policy, though it's negotiable.

$832,750 in every Utah county except two: Summit and Wasatch, the Park City and Heber markets, where it rises to $1,150,000. Above your county's limit is jumbo territory; it's the loan amount after your down payment that decides.

$637,100 for a single-family home, above the $541,287 floor that applies in most other Utah counties. Summit County carries the state's highest FHA limit at $1,163,800.

Often not. Summit and Wasatch counties are high-cost, so conforming financing extends to $1,150,000 there in 2026. Above that, we move you into jumbo financing built for the Park City market.

A flat 4.45% for 2026, the state's sixth consecutive annual cut, down from 5% in 2018 (confirm the current rate at filing; tax pages lag). Social Security is included in taxable income but offset by a credit that fully covers benefits up to roughly $54,000 single / $90,000 joint (thresholds move, confirm at incometax.utah.gov), and Utah has no estate or inheritance tax.

Standard policies exclude earthquake damage, and the Wasatch Fault runs through the Salt Lake City, Provo corridor, coverage is optional, typically a few hundred dollars a year with a 10-20% deductible. Homeowners premiums overall average about $1,260, $1,450, among the ten cheapest states.

Yes. VA loans statewide for eligible Veterans, USDA Rural Development loans across most of Utah's land area (including commuter towns like Tooele, Grantsville, Stansbury Park, and much of Cache Valley, metro cores excluded), and Utah Housing's 100% financing option that lets qualified buyers borrow their full down payment.