State Framework
Understand the statewide rules, tax layer, and authority given to cities and counties.
State guide
Utah Short-Term Rental Laws: State Tax Layers and Local STR Approval
Utah short-term rental rules explained through the statewide transient-room tax layer, address-specific rate lookup, and the different Moab, Park City, Salt Lake City, and St. George approval paths.
- 100+ U.S. cities
- Official sources
- Address used only for local rules
Compliance layers
Four Layers to Verify Before Your Utah Property Goes Live.
Local Permit
Match the address to the correct city or town permit, notice, renewal, and operating rules.
Tax Obligations
Check state and local licensing, filing, and marketplace collection responsibilities.
County Records
Verify the separate rental-registration or property-record steps for the relevant county.
Direct answer
Utah STR rules at a glance
Utah applies a statewide 1.07% transient-room tax to qualifying temporary lodging, but the guest-facing rate is not one statewide number. Counties and municipalities can add transient-room layers, rates can change quarterly, and local zoning and licensing decide whether the property may operate.
- State tax layer
- Utah's statewide transient-room component is 1.07%.Additional county and city/town transient-room taxes may apply; the displayed state component is not a complete address rate.
- Rate boundary
- Use the current Utah jurisdiction row for the property address.The Tax Commission says rates vary by location and may change quarterly.
- Operating permission
- A tax result does not authorize a Utah STR.Local zoning, license, inspection, approved-area, and operating rules remain separate.
Do not copy one Utah city rate to another
Use the address to identify the governing county and municipality, then open the local STR guide. Moab, Park City, Salt Lake City, and St. George use materially different permission and operating paths.
Warning
Local decision rule
Choose the Utah tax and permit authority from the address
Resolve the parcel, county, city limits, zoning district, and current transient-room rate before listing. The same Utah state tax framework can lead to different local applications, fees, inspections, and annual operating limits.
Resolve the county and city boundary
Save the current Tax Commission rate row and the local jurisdiction identified for the property; do not rely on a marketing locality.
RequiredCheck local STR eligibility
Open the controlling city's zoning and licensing path before advertising; state tax registration is not a local operating approval.
RequiredSeparate guest taxes from license and inspection fees
Keep transient-room tax, sales tax, local option taxes, business licenses, inspections, and platform collection evidence as separate records.
Required
Concrete local examples
Four Utah cities show four different STR decisions
The assigned child pages are not interchangeable city permutations; each supplies a different decision that the state hub should route into.
- Moab
- Residential-zone STR use and business without a license are listed as local code-compliance priorities.Use the Moab nightly-rental guide for the zoning and license path.
- Park City
- The local nightly-rental workflow connects address/zoning, licensing, inspection, renewal, and complaint handling.The city source describes under-30-day rentals as nightly rentals and directs operators to city channels.
- Salt Lake City
- Approved zones, one license per licensee/unit, a two-night minimum, and a 200-night annual limit change eligibility and operations.The local page also requires owner/contact and self-certification materials.
- St. George
- The City licensing portal identifies an approved Short Term Rental Property List as a prerequisite for the short-term-rental license.Open the current portal's approved-areas resource before relying on a prior list or applying; a portal result is not approval until the current area and license requirements are satisfied.
Moab Short-Term Rental Laws
Check Moab zoning, nightly-rental license, code compliance, and local tax sources.
Park City Short-Term Rental Laws
Check the Park City nightly-rental, inspection, renewal, and complaint path.
Salt Lake City Short-Term Rental Laws
Check approved zones, license documents, stay limits, and local contact rules.
St. George Short-Term Rental Laws
Open the current approved-area resource and city licensing path.
Failure conditions
Utah STR mistakes that change the answer
The most common error is collapsing a statewide tax component, an address-specific rate, and local operating permission into one result.
Using the 1.07% state component as the total rate
Add only current jurisdiction components supported by the Tax Commission rate table; do not publish a synthetic Utah total.
RequiredUsing a city guide outside its boundary
Moab, Park City, Salt Lake City, and St. George rules are local examples. Re-resolve the property address before reusing a workflow.
RequiredTreating a tax account or platform listing as permission
Complete the local zoning, license, inspection, approved-area, and renewal path before accepting guests.
Required
From rules to action
Turn short-term rental rules into your next clear move.
Tell Pine what you’re trying to do. Pine can organize the official requirements into a practical plan—and help with the research, calls, emails, and follow-ups that come next.
Start with a common question
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Utah's statewide short-term lodging tax?
The Utah State Tax Commission identifies a 1.07% statewide transient-room component, but counties and municipalities can add layers and the current rate varies by location.
Can I use one Utah combined rate?
No. Use the current Tax Commission rate table for the property jurisdiction and preserve the address match; rates may change quarterly.
Does the Utah tax result prove an STR is allowed?
No. Local zoning, approved areas, licenses, inspections, stay limits, and renewal rules control operating permission.
Why are the Utah city guides different?
Moab, Park City, Salt Lake City, and St. George use different local boundaries, license workflows, zoning or approved-area checks, and operating limits.