What is Utah’s Sales Tax

The base sales tax rate in Utah is 4.7% and this applies to the whole state of Utah, however, the rate you pay or have to collect may be different since there are a variety of different sales tax rates depending on the county you are in. So, the way Utah’s sales tax is calculated is the base rate of 4.7% Utah sales tax throughout the whole state plus the additional percentage rate each county charges, equals the total Utah sales tax rate you will pay or have to collect from your customers if you are a business.

Any retail, furniture, electronics, auto repair, or restaurant-related business you visit in Utah should charge you the prevailing rate of Utah’s sales tax according to the county they are located in, and this may also include accommodations such as hotels and motels and some service-related businesses.

While paying sales tax is mostly applicable to the sale of products, it can also apply to some service-related businesses such as hotels, taxi and limo services, admissions charges to places of amusement, sporting and entertainment events, and pet grooming salons, as an example. If you are unsure whether your business should collect Utah sales tax, you may want to visit the Utah State Tax Commission website.

Paying Utah’s sales tax as a consumer is a seamless process that you do not need to worry too much about when visiting a restaurant or retail store, booking a hotel, or taking a taxi or limo ride. On the other hand, as a business owner or someone looking to start a business in Utah, it is a whole different matter.

If you are responsible for collecting sales tax from your customers, you need to know exactly what your responsibilities are, and you need to follow the rules of Utah sales tax collection, making sure you pay the State of Utah regularly for the total amount of Utah sales tax you collect. In some instances, this may apply to online businesses, and if you participate in the Amazon FBA program, you may be subject to sales tax collection depending on where your products are warehoused and the volume of sales you have each month/year.

Utah Sales Tax Rate

The base rate of sales tax in Utah is 4.7%, but the most common range of Utah sales tax, including the county sales tax rate, is 6%-7.25%. For your convenience, we have included a table below that lists the Utah sales tax rate for each county within the state. The table combines the base Utah sales tax rate of 6.25% and the local county rates to give you a total tax rate for each county. Utah has several different counties, 29 in total.

What you will find in the U.S., which is different from some other countries, is that when you see the price of a product such as a t-shirt in a retail store, or food on a menu in a restaurant, it is usually plus state and county sales tax.

So, when you checkout your items in a store or request the bill (check) at a restaurant, you will likely pay the price you saw on the label or on the menu + state and county sales tax. This often takes foreigners and those not used to this system by surprise because, in many other countries, the price you see is the price you pay, and the price quoted includes any sales tax or value-added tax (VAT).

Utah Sales Tax

To get a basic understanding of how Utah imposes a state sales and use tax on most products and some services purchased in the state you can make a quick calculation of the amount of Utah sales tax you will pay based on the product price and sales tax rate charged within the county you are purchasing from.

So, if you are paying Weber County sales tax, the rate would be 7.25%. A $300 motor product purchase (as an example) could cost you $21.75 in sales tax and would be $321.75 in total.

State of Utah Sales Tax for Businesses

There is specific terminology surrounding whether, as a business, you need to collect Utah sales tax. This is called “Sales Tax Nexus.” It basically means, does your business have a “significant presence” in the state.

Any of the following criteria may be considered by the state of Utah as qualifying a seller/business to have sales tax nexus:

• Selling tangible personal property, if your products are transferred electronically, or services for storage, use, or consumption within the state of Utah, either in the previous calendar year or the current calendar year.
• Utah considers vendors who make $100,000 in sales or more in the previous four quarters or more than 200 transactions in the state eligible for sales tax nexus.
• If a business has or utilizes an office, distribution house, sales house, warehouse, service enterprise, or any other place of business for that matter.
• If you maintain inventory/stock or goods within Utah.
• If a business regularly solicits orders, despite those orders being accepted in Utah or not – unless the solicitation or advertising was done by direct mail, email, the internet, telephone, or other, similar means.
• If a business regularly engages in activity related to leasing or servicing property in Utah.

To learn exactly what the Utah State Tax Commission determines to be sales tax nexus in Utah, head over to their specific Business Activity and Nexus PDF and check out their website too so you can see what you are expected to collect from your customers.

Sales Tax in Utah by County

The table below lists the 29 Utah counties that charge sales tax within the state. Utah’s sales tax is based on the base rate plus the county rate and any other special exceptions, so the rates below are indicative of the total Utah sales tax you will pay or have to collect from your customers.

Unlike many other states, Utah has adopted a unique way of determining its sales tax rates within the state. Most states will have a base sales tax rate, and then each county within the state will then charge additional sales tax when added to the base state sales tax rate will equal the rate within that specific area, whether that be county or city.

However, it doesn’t work exactly like this in Utah, the sales tax is more confusing due to the Utah sales tax having a local-level tax rate option (up to 1% allowed by law), mass transit, rural hospital, arts and zoo, highway, county option (up to 0.25%), county option transportation, town option (which is mostly unused at this time by most towns) and resort taxes. So, altogether there are 17 different types of tax jurisdictions that are applicable in Utah!

Check out the Avalara breakdown of Utah’s sales tax rates for information about all of the other factors in determining the Utah sales tax rates on their website.

Utah State Tax Commission Contact Details

Most communication with the Utah Tax Commission can be conducted easily through their online services which are available 24/7, or via telephone which is possible between regular business hours of 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Mountain Daylight Time) Monday through to Friday (with the exception of national and state holidays). Here are the main contact methods:

Utah is home to multiple Tax Commission offices, here are the addresses and contact details for each one:

Salt Lake City Tax Commission Office:
210 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84134
Phone: 801-297-2200 or
Toll-Free: 800-662-4335
TDD: 801-297-2020
Fax: 801-297-7699

Ogden Taxation Commission Office:
2540 Washington Blvd., 6th Floor
Ogden Regional Center
Ogden, Utah 84401
Phone: 801-626-3460
Fax: 801-626-3446

Provo Taxation Commission Office:
150 East Center #1300
Provo, Utah 84606
Phone: 801-374-7070
Fax: 801-374-7089

Washington County Taxation Commission Office:
Taxpayer Services Div – District III
100 South 5300 West
Hurricane, Utah 84737
Phone: 435-251-9520
Fax: 435-251-9529

Various online services are available 24/7 on the website, including electronically filing a return, making a payment, setting up payment plans, checking the status of a refund, or making a general inquiry on your account.

If you would like to email the Utah Taxation Commission, you must specifically find the email address on the website for the department you would like to contact.