Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: For 2026, as published by the Utah State Auditor under § 78B-5-503(2)(e): $6,400 per individual if the property is not the primary residence; $53,700 per individual if it is the primary residence. Jointly owned property: each joint owner gets their own exemption, capped per household at $12,800 (non-primary) or $107,500 (primary residence). The statute prints 2019 base amounts ($5,000, $42,000, $10,000 and $84,000) that are adjusted for inflation each January.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Utah requires, from its own documents: Utah quitclaim deed requirements.
This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under Utah Code § 78B-5-503, a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
How it works in Utah
- Filing rule not addressed in the cited source. Confirm with a local attorney or your county recorder before relying on this being automatic.
- Married couples and joint owners: Each joint owner (including each spouse) gets their own exemption, but the combined household total is capped at $12,800 (non-primary) or $107,500 (primary residence) for 2026, as indexed by the Utah State Auditor.
If you sell the home
Sale proceeds, up to the exemption amount that applied at the time of sale, stay exempt for one year after the person entitled to the exemption receives them.
What it does not protect against
Property-tax and assessment liens, purchase-money security interests and judicial liens, judicial liens for unpaid child/dependent support, and consensual liens created by mutual contract.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from the base amounts printed in Utah Code § 78B-5-503(2)(a) (the 2019 figures, which the State Auditor indexes each January, see above): “(a) An individual is entitled to a homestead exemption consisting of property in this state in an amount not exceeding: (i) $5,000 in value if the property consists in whole or in part of property that is not the primary personal residence of the individual; or (ii) $42,000 in value if the property claimed is the primary personal residence of the individual.” Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.
Figures verified against Utah Code § 78B-5-503 (le.utah.gov, current version effective May 14, 2019) and the Utah State Auditor January 2026 published Homestead Exemption values on September 30, 2026.