When the sale is held
Not applicable. There is no certificate sale. The delinquency simply runs. If the parcel is still unredeemed on March 15 following the lapse of four years from the delinquency date, the county treasurer files it on the tax sale listing and it goes to the auditor's May or June tax sale.
When taxes go delinquent
Utah property taxes are due November 30 each year and are delinquent the moment a payment lands or is postmarked after that date. A delinquency draws a penalty of 2.5 percent of the amount owed or 10 dollars, whichever is greater, cut to 1 percent or 10 dollars if everything is paid by the following January 31. Unpaid amounts then bear interest from the January 1 after the delinquency at a rate of 6 percent plus the federal funds rate target in effect on that January 1, never below 7 percent and never above 10 percent. Each year's delinquency carries its own rate, and all of it accrues to the county rather than to any investor, because Utah sells no certificate. The tax itself has the effect of a judgment against the person, and the lien on real property attaches on January 1 of each year.
What happens after the sale
A parcel that has not been redeemed by March 15 following the lapse of four years from the date the property tax or tax notice charge became delinquent. The county treasurer must then file it with the county auditor on the tax sale listing, and the auditor sells it at the nearest tax sale, held in May or June. Because Utah taxes go delinquent right after November 30, that four-year lapse plus the March 15 cutoff puts a parcel in the sale with five tax years unpaid, which is why county offices describe these as five-year delinquencies. A tax or tax notice charge deferred under Utah Code 59-2a-801 is delinquent only if it is unpaid at the end of the five-year deferral period. Do not confuse this sale with the separate public auction of seized PERSONAL property under Utah Code 59-2-1303, which sells goods and manufactured or mobile homes carried on the personal property roll rather than real estate, or with a county surplus property auction, which disposes of county vehicles and equipment and is not a tax sale at all.
Leftover parcels between sales
There is no over-the-counter certificate list in Utah, because there are no certificates. What exists instead is land the county already owns. Any parcel offered at the tax sale with no purchaser is struck off to the county, fee simple title vests in the county, and the conveyance is recorded. Utah Code 59-2-1351.5 then lets the county legislative body dispose of that property for a price and on terms it sets, with the county clerk executing the deed in the county's name and passing the title of all taxing entities. The same section lets the county rent or lease the property, and lease its minerals, oil and gas, with a royalty of at least 12.5 percent on oil and gas. Nothing escheats to the state: the county simply holds the land until it decides to sell. Because each county legislative body sets its own price and terms, there is no statewide list and no statewide process. Ask the county auditor or clerk what the county holds from prior tax sales and how it disposes of it, and check whether the county routes those parcels through a surplus property program rather than the next tax sale.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the Utah county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Utah.
Verified Sep 10, 2026 against Utah statutes.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.