Salt Lake County closing costs
The county-specific transfer tax and deed recording fees for Salt Lake County, Utah - the local details that change your total beyond the statewide rate.
- Effective transfer tax
- 0%
- ≈ $0 on a $400,000 home
- Typical lender + 3rd-party fees
- $8,652
- median of 9,668 purchase loans · HMDA 2023
Salt Lake County compared with Utah counties
In the verified Utah county records we have, Salt Lake County's effective transfer-tax rate ranks #1 of 3 by highest rate. At $400,000, the county-specific transfer tax is $0, which is the same as the state-level calculation before city surtaxes.
- County rank
- #1 of 3
- within verified Utah county pages
- Tax at $400,000
- $0
- state baseline $0
- HMDA fee sample
- 9,668
- purchase loans in 2023
Salt Lake County transfer-tax data: official source linked on this page, reviewed 2026-Q2.
Transfer tax in Salt Lake County
Utah imposes NO real estate transfer/documentary tax at the state, county, or city level (one of only a handful of such states), and a 2024 constitutional amendment / SJR002 prohibits the state or any political subdivision from imposing a new real-property transfer tax (effective Jan 1, 2025) — so Salt Lake City and other cities in the county have none. Recording fees are uniform statewide at $40 flat per document. Customarily the buyer pays the recording fee for the deed; the seller typically pays for recording any release/reconveyance of their existing mortgage. Title/escrow handling is split per contract.
Recording fees in Salt Lake County
Flat $40.00 per document/instrument covering up to 10 legal descriptions; +$2.00 for each additional legal description over 10 (Utah Code 17-21-18.5, applied by the Salt Lake County Recorder). Subdivision/condominium plat maps: $50.00 per sheet plus $2.00 per lot or unit designation. No per-page surcharge and no separate affordable-housing surcharge. Cash or check only.
Official recorder: Salt Lake County recorder ↗ — the authoritative source for the current recording fee schedule.
What lenders actually charge in Salt Lake County
Across 9,668 home-purchase mortgages originated in Salt Lake County in 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services such as appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — were $8,652, of which about $5,275 was the lender’s own origination charges. That is reported loan-level data from every lender under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act — not a national average — so it reflects what buyers in this county actually paid. Lender fees vary widely, so comparing a few rate quotes is the single biggest lever on your closing total.
Source: FFIEC HMDA Data Browser ↗ (2023 purchase originations, FIPS 49035, ODC-BY 1.0). Median total loan costs exclude prepaids and escrow.
Estimate your Salt Lake County closing costs
Pre-set to Utah. County-level taxes above may add to this estimate.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the transfer tax in Salt Lake County?
Salt Lake County (Utah): the applicable real-estate transfer tax works out to about 0%. Utah imposes NO real estate transfer/documentary tax at the state, county, or city level (one of only a handful of such states), and a 2024 constitutional amendment / SJR002 prohibits the state or any political subdivision from imposing a new real-property transfer tax (effective Jan 1, 2025) — so Salt Lake City and other cities in the county have none. Recording fees are uniform statewide at $40 flat per document. Customarily the buyer pays the recording fee for the deed; the seller typically pays for recording any release/reconveyance of their existing mortgage. Title/escrow handling is split per contract.
What are recording fees in Salt Lake County?
Flat $40.00 per document/instrument covering up to 10 legal descriptions; +$2.00 for each additional legal description over 10 (Utah Code 17-21-18.5, applied by the Salt Lake County Recorder). Subdivision/condominium plat maps: $50.00 per sheet plus $2.00 per lot or unit designation. No per-page surcharge and no separate affordable-housing surcharge. Cash or check only.
How much are closing costs in Salt Lake County?
Closing costs in Salt Lake County follow Utah's structure plus this county's specific transfer-tax and recording fees. Use the calculator below for an estimate; for the exact recording schedule, the county recorder is the authoritative source.
What do lenders charge in fees in Salt Lake County?
In 2023, the median total loan costs — lender fees plus third-party services like appraisal and title, excluding prepaids and escrow — across 9,668 home-purchase mortgages in Salt Lake County were about $8,652, of which roughly $5,275 was the lender's own origination charges. This is reported loan-level data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act; actual fees vary by lender, so comparing quotes matters.
Closest Utah county comparisons
Sibling links are ordered by nearby verified effective transfer-tax rate, so each county page connects to genuinely comparable counties.