Utah Code

Utah Code § 59-2-102 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026

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As used in this chapter:

"Acquisition cost" means any cost required to put an item of tangible personal property into service.

"Acquisition cost" includes:

the purchase price of a new or used item;

the cost of freight, shipping, loading at origin, unloading at destination, crating, skidding, or any other applicable cost of shipping;

the cost of installation, engineering, rigging, erection, or assembly, including foundations, pilings, utility connections, or similar costs; and

sales and use taxes.

"Aerial applicator" means aircraft or rotorcraft used exclusively for the purpose of engaging in dispensing activities directly affecting agriculture or horticulture with an airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration certifying the aircraft or rotorcraft's use for agricultural and pest control purposes.

"Air charter service" means an air carrier operation that requires the customer to hire an entire aircraft rather than book passage in whatever capacity is available on a scheduled trip.

"Air contract service" means an air carrier operation available only to customers that engage the services of the carrier through a contractual agreement and excess capacity on any trip and is not available to the public at large.

"Aircraft" means the same as that term is defined in Section 72-10-102.

"Airline" means an air carrier that:

operates:

on an interstate route; and

on a scheduled basis; and

offers to fly one or more passengers or cargo on the basis of available capacity on a regularly scheduled route.

"Airline" does not include an:

air charter service; or

air contract service.

"Assessment roll" or "assessment book" means a permanent record of the assessment of property as assessed by the county assessor and the commission and may be maintained manually or as a computerized file as a consolidated record or as multiple records by type, classification, or categories.

"Base parcel" means a parcel of property that was legally:

subdivided into two or more lots, parcels, or other divisions of land; or

combined with one or more other parcels of property; and

subdivided into two or more lots, parcels, or other divisions of land.

"Certified revenue levy" means a property tax levy that provides an amount of ad valorem property tax revenue equal to the sum of:

the amount of ad valorem property tax revenue to be generated statewide in the previous year from imposing a multicounty assessing and collecting levy, as specified in Section 59-2-1602; and

the product of:

eligible new growth, as defined in Section 59-2-924; and

the multicounty assessing and collecting levy certified by the commission for the previous year.

For purposes of this Subsection (9), "ad valorem property tax revenue" does not include property tax revenue received by a taxing entity from personal property that is:

assessed by a county assessor in accordance with Part 3, County Assessment; and

semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

For purposes of calculating the certified revenue levy described in this Subsection (9), the commission shall use:

the taxable value of real property assessed by a county assessor contained on the assessment roll;

the taxable value of real and personal property assessed by the commission; and

the taxable year end value of personal property assessed by a county assessor contained on the prior year's assessment roll.

"County-assessed commercial vehicle" means:

any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that is not apportioned under Section 41-1a-301 and is not operated interstate to transport the vehicle owner's goods or property in furtherance of the owner's commercial enterprise;

any passenger vehicle owned by a business and used by its employees for transportation as a company car or vanpool vehicle; and

vehicles that are:

especially constructed for towing or wrecking, and that are not otherwise used to transport goods, merchandise, or people for compensation;

used or licensed as taxicabs or limousines;

used as rental passenger cars, travel trailers, or motor homes;

used or licensed in this state for use as ambulances or hearses;

especially designed and used for garbage and rubbish collection; or

used exclusively to transport students or their instructors to or from any private, public, or religious school or school activities.

"Eligible judgment" means a final and unappealable judgment or order under Section 59-2-1330:

that became a final and unappealable judgment or order no more than 14 months before the day on which the notice described in Section 59-2-919.1 is required to be provided; and

for which a taxing entity's share of the final and unappealable judgment or order is greater than or equal to the lesser of:

$5,000; or

2.5% of the total ad valorem property taxes collected by the taxing entity in the previous fiscal year.

"Escaped property" means any property, whether personal, land, or any improvements to the property, that is subject to taxation and is:

inadvertently omitted from the tax rolls, assigned to the incorrect parcel, or assessed to the wrong taxpayer by the assessing authority;

undervalued or omitted from the tax rolls because of the failure of the taxpayer to comply with the reporting requirements of this chapter; or

undervalued because of errors made by the assessing authority based upon incomplete or erroneous information furnished by the taxpayer.

"Escaped property" does not include property that is undervalued because of the use of a different valuation methodology or because of a different application of the same valuation methodology.

"Fair market value" means the amount at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

For purposes of taxation, "fair market value" shall be determined using the current zoning laws applicable to the property in question, except in cases where there is a reasonable probability of a change in the zoning laws affecting that property in the tax year in question and the change would have an appreciable influence upon the value.

"Geothermal fluid" means water in any form at temperatures greater than 120 degrees centigrade naturally present in a geothermal system.

"Geothermal resource" means:

the natural heat of the earth at temperatures greater than 120 degrees centigrade; and

the energy, in whatever form, including pressure, present in, resulting from, created by, or which may be extracted from that natural heat, directly or through a material medium.

"Goodwill" means:

acquired goodwill that is reported as goodwill on the books and records that a taxpayer maintains for financial reporting purposes; or

the ability of a business to:

generate income that exceeds a normal rate of return on assets and that results from a factor described in Subsection (16)(b); or

obtain an economic or competitive advantage resulting from a factor described in Subsection (16)(b).

The following factors apply to Subsection (16)(a)(ii):

superior management skills;

reputation;

customer relationships;

patronage; or

a factor similar to Subsections (16)(b)(i) through (iv).

"Goodwill" does not include:

the intangible property described in Subsection (20)(a) or (b);

locational attributes of real property, including:

zoning;

location;

view;

a geographic feature;

an easement;

a covenant;

proximity to raw materials;

the condition of surrounding property; or

proximity to markets;

value attributable to the identification of an improvement to real property, including:

reputation of the designer, builder, or architect of the improvement;

a name given to, or associated with, the improvement; or

the historic significance of an improvement; or

the enhancement or assemblage value specifically attributable to the interrelation of the existing tangible property in place working together as a unit.

"Governing body" means:

for a county, city, or town, the legislative body of the county, city, or town;

for a special district under Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities - Special Districts, the special district's board of trustees;

for a school district, the local board of education;

for a special service district under Title 17D, Chapter 1, Special Service District Act:

the legislative body of the county or municipality that created the special service district, to the extent that the county or municipal legislative body has not delegated authority to an administrative control board established under Section 17D-1-301; or

the administrative control board, to the extent that the county or municipal legislative body has delegated authority to an administrative control board established under Section 17D-1-301; or

for a public infrastructure district under Title 17D, Chapter 4, Public Infrastructure District Act, the public infrastructure district's board of trustees.

"Gross vehicle weight rating" means the maximum weight a vehicle can carry, including the weight of the vehicle itself, passengers, cargo, fuel, and trailer tongue weight as reported by the manufacturer, except that if a gross vehicle weight rating is not reported by the vehicle's manufacturer, the division may determine the gross vehicle weight rating using the best available information.

"Improvement" means a building, structure, fixture, fence, or other item that is permanently attached to land, regardless of whether the title has been acquired to the land, if:

attachment to land is essential to the operation or use of the item; and

the manner of attachment to land suggests that the item will remain attached to the land in the same place over the useful life of the item; or

removal of the item would:

cause substantial damage to the item; or

require substantial alteration or repair of a structure to which the item is attached.

"Improvement" includes:

an accessory to an item described in Subsection (19)(a) if the accessory is:

essential to the operation of the item described in Subsection (19)(a); and

installed solely to serve the operation of the item described in Subsection (19)(a); and

an item described in Subsection (19)(a) that is temporarily detached from the land for repairs and remains located on the land.

"Improvement" does not include:

an item considered to be personal property in accordance with rules made under Section 59-2-107;

a moveable item that is attached to land for stability only or for an obvious temporary purpose;

manufacturing equipment and machinery; or

essential accessories to manufacturing equipment and machinery;

an item attached to the land in a manner that facilitates removal without substantial damage to the land or the item; or

a transportable factory-built housing unit as defined in Section 59-2-1502 if that transportable factory-built housing unit is considered to be personal property under Section 59-2-1503.

"Intangible property" means:

property that is capable of private ownership separate from tangible property, including:

money;

credits;

bonds;

stocks;

representative property;

franchises;

licenses;

trade names;

copyrights; and

patents;

a low-income housing tax credit;

goodwill; or

a clean or renewable energy tax credit or incentive, including:

a federal renewable energy production tax credit under Section 45, Internal Revenue Code;

a federal energy credit for qualified renewable electricity production facilities under Section 48, Internal Revenue Code;

a federal grant for a renewable energy property under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-5, Section 1603; and

a tax credit under Subsection 59-7-614(5).

"Livestock" means:

a domestic animal;

a fish;

a fur-bearing animal;

a honeybee; or

poultry.

"Low-income housing tax credit" means:

a federal low-income housing tax credit under Section 42, Internal Revenue Code; or

a low-income housing tax credit under Section 59-7-607 or Section 59-10-1010.

"Metalliferous minerals" includes gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and uranium.

"Mine" means a natural deposit of either metalliferous or nonmetalliferous valuable mineral.

"Mining" means the process of producing, extracting, leaching, evaporating, or otherwise removing a mineral from a mine.

"Mobile flight equipment" means tangible personal property that is owned or operated by an air charter service, air contract service, or airline and:

is capable of flight or is attached to an aircraft that is capable of flight; or

is contained in an aircraft that is capable of flight if the tangible personal property is intended to be used:

during multiple flights;

during a takeoff, flight, or landing; and

as a service provided by an air charter service, air contract service, or airline.

"Mobile flight equipment" does not include a spare part other than a spare engine that is rotated at regular intervals with an engine that is attached to the aircraft.

In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the commission may make rules defining the term "regular intervals."

"Nonmetalliferous minerals" includes oil, gas, coal, salts, sand, rock, gravel, and all carboniferous materials.

"Part-year residential property" means property that is not residential property on January 1 of a calendar year but becomes residential property after January 1 of the calendar year.

"Personal property" includes:

every class of property as defined in Subsection (30) that is the subject of ownership and is not real estate or an improvement;

any pipe laid in or affixed to land whether or not the ownership of the pipe is separate from the ownership of the underlying land, even if the pipe meets the definition of an improvement;

bridges and ferries;

livestock; and

outdoor advertising structures as defined in Section 72-7-502.

"Property" means property that is subject to assessment and taxation according to its value.

"Property" does not include intangible property as defined in this section.

"Public utility" means:

the operating property of a railroad, gas corporation, oil or gas transportation or pipeline company, coal slurry pipeline company, electrical corporation, sewerage corporation, or heat corporation where the company performs the service for, or delivers the commodity to, the public generally or companies serving the public generally, or in the case of a gas corporation or an electrical corporation, where the gas or electricity is sold or furnished to any member or consumers within the state for domestic, commercial, or industrial use; and

the operating property of any entity or person defined under Section 54-2-1 except water corporations.

"Public utility" does not include the operating property of a telecommunications service provider.

Subject to Subsection (32)(b), "qualifying exempt primary residential rental personal property" means household furnishings, furniture, and equipment that:

are used exclusively within a dwelling unit that is the primary residence of a tenant;

are owned by the owner of the dwelling unit that is the primary residence of a tenant; and

after applying the residential exemption described in Section 59-2-103, are exempt from taxation under this chapter in accordance with Subsection 59-2-1115(2).

In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the commission may by rule define the term "dwelling unit" for purposes of this Subsection (32) and Subsection (35).

"Real estate" or "real property" includes:

the possession of, claim to, ownership of, or right to the possession of land;

all mines, minerals, and quarries in and under the land, all timber belonging to individuals or corporations growing or being on the lands of this state or the United States, and all rights and privileges appertaining to these; and

improvements.

"Relationship with an owner of the property's land surface rights" means a relationship described in Subsection 267(b), Internal Revenue Code, except that the term 25% shall be substituted for the term 50% in Subsection 267(b), Internal Revenue Code.

For purposes of determining if a relationship described in Subsection 267(b), Internal Revenue Code, exists, the ownership of stock shall be determined using the ownership rules in Subsection 267(c), Internal Revenue Code.

"Residential property," for purposes of the reductions and adjustments under this chapter, means any property used for residential purposes as a primary residence.

"Residential property" includes:

household furnishings, furniture, and equipment if the household furnishings, furniture, and equipment are:

used exclusively within a dwelling unit that is the primary residence of a tenant; and

owned by the owner of the dwelling unit that is the primary residence of a tenant; and

if the county assessor determines that the property will be used for residential purposes as a primary residence:

property under construction; or

unoccupied property.

"Residential property" does not include property used for transient residential use.

In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the commission may by rule define the term "dwelling unit" for purposes of Subsection (32) and this Subsection (35).

"Split estate mineral rights owner" means a person that:

has a legal right to extract a mineral from property;

does not hold more than a 25% interest in:

the land surface rights of the property where the wellhead is located; or

an entity with an ownership interest in the land surface rights of the property where the wellhead is located;

is not an entity in which the owner of the land surface rights of the property where the wellhead is located holds more than a 25% interest; and

does not have a relationship with an owner of the land surface rights of the property where the wellhead is located.

"State-assessed commercial vehicle" means:

any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that operates interstate or intrastate to transport passengers, freight, merchandise, or other property for hire; or

any commercial vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer that operates interstate and transports the vehicle owner's goods or property in furtherance of the owner's commercial enterprise.

"State-assessed commercial vehicle" does not include vehicles used for hire that are specified in Subsection (10)(c) as county-assessed commercial vehicles.

"Subdivided lot" means a lot, parcel, or other division of land, that is a division of a base parcel.

"Tax area" means a geographic area created by the overlapping boundaries of one or more taxing entities.

"Taxable value" means fair market value less any applicable reduction allowed for residential property under Section 59-2-103.

"Taxing entity" means any county, city, town, school district, special taxing district, special district under Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities - Special Districts, or other political subdivision of the state with the authority to levy a tax on property.

"Tax roll" means a permanent record of the taxes charged on property, as extended on the assessment roll, and may be maintained on the same record or records as the assessment roll or may be maintained on a separate record properly indexed to the assessment roll.

"Tax roll" includes tax books, tax lists, and other similar materials.

"Telecommunications service provider" means the same as that term is defined in Section 59-12-102.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 30 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1990–2026 · leading case: In Re West Side Prop. Assocs., 2000 UT 85 (Utah 2000).

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In Re West Side Prop. Assocs., 2000 UT 85 (Utah 2000). · cites it 48× “Does Salt Lake County's assessment of property tax on a building omitted from West Side Property Associates' tax assessment notices for 1992 through 1996, when other buildings and the land were assessed, constitute an escaped property assessment as defined by Utah Code Ann. §…”

T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 2011 UT 28 (Utah 2011). · cites it 12× “§ 59-2-102(16)(a) (defining "goodwill" to include "acquired goodwill that is reported as goodwill on the books and records: (A) of a taxpayer; and (B) that are maintained for financial reporting purposes").”

Beaver Cnty. v. Prop. Tax Div. of the Utah State Tax Comm'n, 2006 UT 6 (Utah 2006). · cites it 12× “Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (11)(a) (2004).”

Alta Pac. Assocs., Ltd. v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 931 P.2d 103 (Utah 1997). · cites it 8× “" Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (8). It follows that they would be expected to make reasonable decisions in light of this information, and accordingly, it is not credible to assume that they would be oblivious to the value-enhancing impact of significantly higher federally…”

Bd. of Equalization v. Utah State Tax Comm'n Ex Rel. Benchmark, Inc., 864 P.2d 882 (Utah 1993). · cites it 8× “” Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (7) defines “fair market value” as the “amount at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.”

Cache Cnty. v. Prop. Tax Div. of the Utah State Tax Comm'n, 922 P.2d 758 (Utah 1996). · cites it 6× “See Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (19). Although it admitted that intangibles were statutorily exempted from property taxation, Daggett County argued that the software did not fit within the statutory definition.”

Crossroads Plaza Ass'n v. Pratt, 912 P.2d 961 (Utah 1996). · cites it 10× “” 3 Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (20). “Improvements” include “all buildings, structures, fixtures, fences, and improvements erected upon or affixed to the land, whether the title has been acquired to the land or not.”

Schmidt v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 1999 UT 48 (Utah 1999). · cites it 7× “The change to section 59-2-102 occurred in 1998 and does not affect this case.”

Questar Pipeline Co. v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 850 P.2d 1175 (Utah 1993). · cites it 4× “” The parties further agree that it was the Commission’s task to determine the “fair market value” of the subject property as that term was defined in Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (2) 1 at the time of the assessment in April 1988: “Fair market value” means the amount at which…”

Beaver Cnty. v. WilTel, Inc., 2000 UT 29 (Utah 2000). · cites it 8× “The Division also sought a determination that “intangibles, as that phrase is used in Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (19), means other intangible ‘property.”

SF Phosphates Ltd. v. Auditing Div., Utah State Tax Comm'n, 972 P.2d 384 (Utah 1998). · cites it 4× “■ Phosphates argues that the term “mining” must have one definition for all tax-related purposes and urges us to adopt the broad definitions of the term contained in Utah Code Ann. §§ 59-2-102 (15) and -5-201(3).”

Dennis v. Summit Cnty., 933 P.2d 387 (Utah 1997). · cites it 9× “Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (22). As a result, plaintiffs paid property taxes based upon 100% of the fair market value of their residential properties, instead of 55% of the fair market value as provided by the tax exemption.”

Show all 30 citing cases →

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(12) — 2 cases

In Re West Side Prop. Assocs., 2000 UT 85 (Utah 2000). “Does Salt Lake County's assessment of property tax on a building omitted from West Side Property Associates' tax assessment notices for 1992 through 1996, when other buildings and the land were assessed, constitute an escaped property assessment as defined by Utah Code Ann. §…”

Osborn v. Tax Comm'n, 2009 UT App 222 (Utah Ct. App. 2009).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(16)(a) — 1 case

T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 2011 UT 28 (Utah 2011). “§ 59-2-102(16)(a) (defining "goodwill" to include "acquired goodwill that is reported as goodwill on the books and records: (A) of a taxpayer; and (B) that are maintained for financial reporting purposes").”

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(17) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(17)(b) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(19) — 2 cases

Cache Cnty. v. Prop. Tax Div. of the Utah State Tax Comm'n, 922 P.2d 758 (Utah 1996). “See Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (19). Although it admitted that intangibles were statutorily exempted from property taxation, Daggett County argued that the software did not fit within the statutory definition.”

Salt Lake City S. R.R. v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 1999 UT 90 (Utah 1999).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(20) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(20)(c) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(22) — 2 cases

Dennis v. Summit Cnty., 933 P.2d 387 (Utah 1997). “Utah Code Ann. § 59-2-102 (22). As a result, plaintiffs paid property taxes based upon 100% of the fair market value of their residential properties, instead of 55% of the fair market value as provided by the tax exemption.”

Durbano Props. v. Tax Comm'n, 2023 UT 6 (Utah 2023).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(24)(b) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(25) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(27) — 1 case

Bd. of Equalization of Summit Cnty. v. State Tax Comm'n, 98 P.3d 782 (Utah Ct. App. 2004).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(30)(a) — 1 case

Larson v. Pleasant Grove City, 2023 UT 2 (Utah 2023).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(34)(a) — 1 case

Durbano Props. v. Tax Comm'n, 2023 UT 6 (Utah 2023).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(6)(a) — 1 case

First Sec. Mortg. Co. v. Salt Lake Cnty., 866 P.2d 1250 (Utah Ct. App. 1993).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(7)(a)(i) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(8) — 4 cases

Schmidt v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 1999 UT 48 (Utah 1999). “The change to section 59-2-102 occurred in 1998 and does not affect this case.”

Beaver Cnty. v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 916 P.2d 344 (Utah 1996).

Action TV v. Cnty. Bd. of Equalization, 986 P.2d 108 (Utah Ct. App. 1999).

Mallinckrodt v. Salt Lake Cnty., 983 P.2d 566 (Utah 1999).

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(8)(a) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(8)(a)(i) — 1 case

— Utah Code § 59-2-102(9) — 2 cases

Schmidt v. Utah State Tax Comm'n, 1999 UT 48 (Utah 1999). “The change to section 59-2-102 occurred in 1998 and does not affect this case.”

Action TV v. Cnty. Bd. of Equalization, 986 P.2d 108 (Utah Ct. App. 1999).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.