Once again, property tax relief for low-income seniors is under attack at the Utah Legislature. SB78 will radically and unnecessarily reform the Circuit Breaker senior homeowner property tax relief program. The legislation targets the wrong program for cost savings and will severely impact our senior population.
The low-income senior homeowners credit is one of the least costly programs in Circuit Breaker property tax relief, accounting for only 8.57% of the overall program cost.
It is not growing unsustainably, as claimed. Program participation levels have decreased by 1.45% since 2020, keeping funding levels consistent and sustainable. Last year’s cost increase was only $16,816, and the $6.4 million total cost provided an average of $672 in critical relief to 9,526 senior households. Relief levels are capped, and applicants must qualify each year as low-income households.
Unlike homeowners credit, other programs within Circuit Breaker relief are growing dramatically. One had a cost increase of 59% in just the last two years, resulting in a $22 million increase in property taxes statewide. The program’s cost of $59 million accounted for 86.7% of all county-funded property tax relief in Utah in 2024. Just the $7.7 million cost increase in that program in 2024 would have more than paid for the entire low-income senior program. Last year, just shy of 29,000 households in that program received an average of $2,042 in relief.
In Davis and Weber counties, where 9,449 households received that program’s relief last year, there have been benefit increases of over $745, or over 40%, in just the last two years. Applicants have no income limits, and relief amounts are not capped. In this program, three times as many households are receiving three times the amount of relief as compared to the low-income senior homeowners credit. Is it fair and sensible to be attacking low-income seniors while unlimited relief goes out to those who are very well-off?
SB78 is described by sponsor Dan McCay as “SB197 2.0,” referencing last year’s bill that was roundly criticized and was one of only six bills vetoed by the governor. In his veto letter, Gov. Cox called for a more comprehensive look at tax policy rather than zeroing in on low-income seniors, but that hasn’t happened. County treasurers are again strongly opposed and have research showing an annual cost to Utah homeowners of only $3.33 per year to help low-income seniors. It will not save tax dollars and may even raise costs, all while creating a bureaucratic nightmare for the county offices that administer the program. New participation requirements will also lock out senior homeowners from possible future participation.
The figures from Utah State Tax Commission reports cited above show that SB78 targets the wrong program to solve any funding issues. The sponsor is creating new and very confusing deferral programs, which are being formulated behind closed doors and only revealed piecemeal as the legislation winds through the process.
These changes will negatively impact seniors throughout Utah and needlessly create problems for county offices. The deferral program created by the sponsor two years ago was an absolute failure, with only four households qualifying over two years, and it ended up being sunsetted due to its ineffectiveness. Seniors in Utah deserve to have this critical program, and the sponsor has shown he doesn’t have the compassionate expertise needed to revise it.
Please call your legislators. Oppose SB78.