Utah's Tax Changes: 62 Bills in Our 2015–2026 Inventory
Every bill we could confirm that raised a state tax or fee, or gave a city, county or district the power to tax. Counted from fiscal notes, bill text and the Legislature's own budget reports.
Published Oct. 11, 2026 · The Weber County Hive · We report public records. You decide.
The count
Our inventory holds 62 bills from 2015 through 2026 that changed Utah taxes or fees, or gave taxing authority to someone else. It includes rate increases, new taxes, fee changes, a change in who collects an existing tax, tax-increment arrangements, and one law later repealed. Each entry shows its status and what kind of change it made.
To pass, a bill needs a majority of all members of each house: at least 38 of 75 in the House and 15 of 29 in the Senate (Utah Const. Art. VI, Sec. 22). Those are the minimums, not each bill's tally. Each bill's own vote totals are listed where we found them recorded.
Many bills do more than one thing. Each bill is counted once, in its main group, and its other changes are listed in the "Also" line.
24
State taxes
raised, widened or collected in new ways by the Legislature
10
State fees
raised or authorized by the Legislature itself
28
Taxing power given away
to cities, counties, districts and authorities
62
In the inventory
bills confirmed to have become law
This is a floor, not a ceiling. Another 62 possible bills turned up that we could not confirm from a source we opened. They are listed under Not yet counted with the reason for each, and they are not in the totals. Small fee changes inside the yearly budget acts are not counted either.
A tax increase is not automatically good or bad. Several of these paid for roads, emergency services or school equity, and some were part of bills that cut other taxes. This page counts them and shows the record. It does not grade them.
Year by year
The Legislature's own increases were heaviest from 2017 to 2020. From 2021 to 2024 it raised almost no state taxes itself, but gave more taxing power to local bodies. In 2025 and 2026 it did both.
State taxState feeTaxing power given to local bodies
How a tax goes up in Utah
There are three routes in this count. The first two are the Legislature voting a state tax or fee. The third is the Legislature giving another body the power, and that body deciding later, sometimes with a local vote or hearing and sometimes without one.
Utah Legislature38 of 75 House + 15 of 29 Senate
▼
1. Raises a state tax24 bills
2. Raises a state fee10 bills
3. Gives taxing power away28 bills
▼
Cities and countieslocal option sales taxes
Districts and authoritiesInland Port, MIDA, Fairpark, PIDs
Zones that keep tax growthHTRZ, FHIZ, HOPZ, Salt Palace, sports venues: your property tax growth goes to the zone for 15 to 40 years
▼
You pay
All 62 bills
Tap any bill to see what it did, the money from its fiscal note, vote totals where recorded, the sponsors and every source.
Described vs. the record
Eight bills are labeled. Each label compares wording on the record (a bill title, a sponsor's words, a press statement) with what the fiscal note or bill text shows. The labels say nothing about anyone's intent.
Words to know
Tap a card to see what it means.
Where the taxing districts are
These are the named districts and zones from the count that sit in one place. Pins are placed at the general area, not exact boundaries. Statewide tools any city can use (HTRZ, FHIZ, HOPZ, county sales tax options) are not pinned.
Questions to ask, and whom to ask
Your state representative and senatorWhich of these bills did you vote for, and why? When a zone keeps tax growth for 25 to 40 years, who checks whether the promised benefit happened?
Your county auditor or treasurerHow much of our county's property tax growth goes to zones, community reinvestment agencies and districts each year, and for how long?
Your city councilHas our city created a housing and transit zone, a first-home zone, a home-ownership zone or a reinvestment area? What does it keep, and when does it end?
The Legislative Fiscal AnalystIs there one yearly report that totals the tax growth kept by every zone and district in the state?
Bill-Tracker, with case files on S.B. 2001/H.B. 185, S.B. 333, H.B. 507 and S.B. 242
Not yet counted
Show the leads and why each isn't counted yet
Behind this piece
195
Records and pages read and cited
124
Bills checked
62
Bills checked but not counted
~600
Searches and page reads (estimate)
Sources
Main sources and how they were read
Legislative Fiscal Analyst, "Budget of the State of Utah and Related Appropriations" reports, 2015–2026, revenue-change tables (read by text extraction; some columns came out misaligned, so dollar figures come from the narrative and fiscal notes where possible).
Fiscal notes for each bill, le.utah.gov/lfa/fnotes and pf.utleg.gov.
Enrolled and substitute bill text and bill status pages, le.utah.gov. Some pages blocked automated reading; those votes come from LegiScan, FastDemocracy, the Utah Taxpayers Association watchlists or news reports, as each row notes.
Utah League of Cities and Towns session summaries; Utah Taxpayers Association session reviews and watchlists.
News coverage (KSL, Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, KUER, FOX 13, Utah News Dispatch, St George News, Standard-Examiner, Cedar City News) for how bills were described and for some votes.
Utah Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 22 (majority of all members elected to each house).