Catch a Break on Your Taxes

It’s a tax break right there for the taking — but many Utah residents aren’t taking it.

The property tax circuit breaker program offers tax relief to both homeowners and renters who are at least 66 years old and make no more than $40,840 in household income.

Depending on your income, that could mean a benefit worth as much as $1,259 a year.

The program requires homeowners to apply to their county of residence by Sept. 1, while renters have to submit an application to the Utah State Tax Commission between April 29 and Dec. 31.

It’s a step that plenty of eligible people aren’t taking.

According to the tax commission, in 2022 just over 12,000 people filed claims for the program’s benefits. Of those, 2,564 received the renter refund and 9,607 received the homeowner credit.

“We definitely have more than 12,000 people in the state who are qualified for these programs,” says Joe Hirabayashi, advocacy director for AARP Utah. A 2022 report by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah estimated that only 20 percent of residents who were eligible for the circuit breaker claimed it.

Hirabayashi says the number of people in the state who are largely dependent on Social Security to get by shows there is a ready audience for the program. “But no one knows about it,” Hirabayashi says. “That’s the biggest thing.”

He says that’s partly due to its application time frame, which falls outside the normal tax season. Indeed, for many residents, once April 15 passes, taxes are out of sight, out of mind.

For information on these tax relief programs and how to apply, go to tax.utah.gov/relief/circuitbreaker.

For more information on the topic from AARP Utah, go to aarp.org/utah-circuit-breaker.