Councilpersons have asked the Summit County Assessor’s Office to aggressively pursue those who rent their properties nightly while receiving tax breaks from claiming the homes as their primary residences.
People who own primary residences in Utah only pay taxes on 55 percent of the value of their homes. The owners of second homes in Utah are taxed for 100 percent of the value of their properties.
The owners of primary residences cannot profit from using those properties as vacation rentals, county officials say.
“That’s an obvious indication they are not using it as a primary residence,” said David Thomas, a deputy Summit County attorney.
But many property owners in Summit County who shouldn’t be receiving the tax breaks are claiming their properties as their primary homes. The owners of second homes in Utah are taxed for 100 percent of the value of their properties.
Several people have been caught renting out their homes nightly while receiving the tax breaks and a Snyderville Basin couple caught running the scheme has offered to expose others breaking the law in the Park City area. For a “finder’s fee” the couple said they will reveal property owners in Summit County who were engaged in similar illegal acts.
“We continue to have one of our citizens request to get involved with bird-dogging potential perpetrators,” Summit County Councilman Chris Robinson said.
Instead, members of the County Council have asked the Assessor’s Office to track down violators.
“I think there is a perception that we are letting a lot of people slide,” Summit County Councilwoman Claudia McMullin said. “This is a topic that comes up over and over.”
McMullin said she receives many complaints from people in the Park City area angry about their neighbors renting their properties nightly. The Summit County Assessor’s Office also fields gripes about the short-term rentals.
“I get calls like that all the times,” said Ashley Rowser, an Assessor’s Office employee.
Councilpersons want the Summit County Attorney’s Office to prosecute some of those who rent their homes for the short term while claiming a residential tax exemption.
During the Sundance Film Festival, or Christmas vacation, the owners of primary homes cannot legally rent their properties nightly to generate huge profits, some officials say.
“It is one the scenarios that we are trying to stop,” McMullin said. “I’m trying to stop all of the scenarios through education and enforcement.”
But Summit County Attorney David Brickey has a different take on the law. He said residents may maintain their primary tax exemptions even if they are renting their homes for only a few days.
“If it’s only two weeks, that’s a one-time occurrence,” Brickey said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I don’t know that it is a violation of the letter or the spirit of the law. What they are doing is they are saying that this is their primary residence and we are leaving for two weeks and allowing someone else to use it It’s still a primary residence whether they go somewhere and rent while they go on a cruise during Sundance.”
But short-term rentals during the film festival are what councilpersons hope to stop. The residential tax breaks were removed from several properties in Summit County this year after officials determined the dwellings were not the owners’ primary residences.
Still, there was not enough evidence to prosecute those offenders, Summit County Assessor Barbara Kressor said.
Homeowners must sign an affidavit stating they are the primary resident in the house before receiving a residential property tax exemption. Thomas said those who improperly claim the tax exemption while renting out their property nightly could face a misdemeanor.