Tax Education 101

TAX EDUCATION 101 - Know Where Your Taxes Go, person doing taxes

Know How Your Taxes Work in South Jordan

Between property tax, sales tax, franchise taxes and more, there’s a lot to know about where your tax money goes. This page is dedicated to pointing the public to resources about how the City of South Jordan funds the services it provides—everything from street maintenance and plowing to parks and public safety. Want to dig in deeper to South Jordan's funding? Check out our Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Book (PDF).

Tax Education Articles

  1. Tax Education 101

    Learn what your City taxes pay for... and what they don't. Read on...
  2. City Hall Winter, snow

    How Budgeting Works in South Jordan

    As the new year begins, City staff along with the City Council begin in earnest to put together the City’s budget for the next fiscal year, which will begin July 1st. Read on...
  3. Police Officer with Dog

    Property Taxes Fund Public Safety

    Did you know that City property taxes fund our Police and Fire Departments? In fact, South Jordan City uses those property taxes to pay for 100% of your Police Department and approximately 19% of your Fire Department. Read on...
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Property Taxes

Quick Property Tax Facts (As of 2024)

Here are some other fun facts to remember about how property taxes work in Salt Lake County and what portion the City receives.

  • South Jordan’s property tax rate is lower than that of more than half the other cities in the county.
  • The City receives only $0.14 of every dollar paid in property tax, which accounts for nearly a quarter of its budgeted general fund revenues.
  • The Jordan School District receives the largest amount of your tax dollars, 40%, followed by the State Basic School levy at 15%, the County at 14%, the City at 14%, and the Salt Lake County Library at 5%.
  • Before the city can increase the certified tax rate, there is a required process called Truth in Taxation, through which residents can give feedback.

Learn more on the Salt Lake County Property Tax website.

Sales Tax

Sales tax is the largest revenue source for the City of South Jordan, making up approximately 40% of the overall general fund revenues. Sales tax revenues are forecasted utilizing existing collection trends, state budget forecasts, and other economic data that may influence the level of sales within the city.

Change in population is one factor that currently influences the distribution of sales tax revenue in South Jordan City. From the 2000 census to the 2010 census, population growth in South Jordan (71%) far exceeded the population vs. Utah State as a whole (29%). This population growth resulted in South Jordan receiving a larger amount of tax revenue, as the Utah State Tax Commission uses new population estimates to distribute sales tax revenue.

Quick Sales Tax Facts

  • As of October 1, 2025, the sales tax rate in South Jordan City is 7.45% (see tax breakout below).

    Common Rates
    Transit and Highways
    		Arts & Zoo

    Combined Sales Tax Rate
    State Sales & Use TaxLocal Sales & Use TaxCounty Option Sales TaxMass Transit TaxAdd'l Mass Transit TaxCounty Option TransportationTransportation InfrastructureCounty Public TransitBotanical, Cultural, Zoo Tax
    4.85%1.00%0.25%0.30%0.25%0.25%0.25%0.20%0.10%7.45%

  • The tax on food and food ingredients is 3.0% statewide. This includes the state rate of 1.75%, local option rate of 1.0% and county option rate of 0.25%.
  • Sales tax collected is appropriated by the City Council for the general fund.

Franchise Taxes

Quick Franchise Tax Facts

Franchise Fees are collected from the following utilities based on the respective rates resulting in the actual annual collections for FY2022-23:

  • Energy Sales & Use Tax (electric & gas), 6% (FY2022-23, $6 million)
  • Telecommunications Tax, 3.5% (FY2022-23, $495,685)
  • Cable Television Franchise Tax, 5% (FY2022-23, $479,528)

General Fund

The general fund is the operating fund of the City for general service departments. The general fund has an operating budget of $69 million. This fund encompasses the bulk of activities that are traditionally considered basic governmental services such as public safety, public works, engineering and development services, recreation, and general government. 

Function
Percent
Description
Public Safety44%
Police/Animal Control/Fire
Public Works
17%
Fleet/Streets/Streetlighting/Parks/Cemetery
General Government
16%
City Manager/ACM/HR/Finance/City Commerce/City Attorney
Planning & Engineering
10%
Planning/Engineering/Building
Admin. Services
9%
Communications/Facilities/Court/IT
Recreation4%Recreation Programs/Seniors/Museum/Special Events/Arts