About a year ago, Silver Creek Village resident Danny Guanipa went before the Summit County Council to ask for a tax break.
The bus driver needed relief because months after buying his affordable condominium he discovered his tax bill was twice as high as expected.
The problem: Guanipa was not listed as a full-time, primary resident in Summit County’s tax records.
That’s despite the fact that qualifying to buy an affordable home requires it.
“I did everything correctly, following the rules, and I did all the papers. I filled out all the papers as a primary resident,” Guanipa told councilmembers in May 2025. “It’s affordable housing: so if I was a non-primary resident, I wouldn't get the loan.”
What Guanipa didn’t do, however, was file the paperwork required by Summit County tax officials to verify he lived in his condo. Because of that, he was taxed as if it was a vacation home.
And he’s not the only one.
About 16% of affordable, for-sale homes countywide are categorized as second homes according to data the Summit County Assessor’s Office collected in February.
That’s because Summit County treats every residence like a second home by default. It’s every homeowner’s responsibility to certify with the county that they’re a full-timer.
The county council’s denial of Guanipa’s appeal cost him $818, but it also sparked a monthslong policy debate. Some affordable housing advocates called for change.
Angelica Espinoza, the housing navigator at Mountainlands Community Housing Trust, told KPCW the status quo “undermines the intent of affordable housing programs and creates significant confusion for homeowners.”
However, Summit County Assessor Stephanie Paice says requiring the government to make exceptions for some homeowners, and not others, may strain public resources.
During last year’s discussions, she told the Summit County Housing Authority that administering the primary residential exemption is a tall order as is.
And local officials take measures to educate taxpayers about potential discounts.
“There is also some personal responsibility on the part of the homeowner,” Paice later told KPCW.
The tax discount for primary residents
Since 1982, the Utah Constitution has given full-time residents across the state a 45% discount on their annual property tax bill. Put another way, their property tax rate applies to 45% of their home’s value.
The discount became known as the “primary residential exemption.” It shifts the tax burden away from primary residences onto commercial properties and ostensibly wealthier second homeowners.
Now, about 60% of Summit County’s property tax revenue comes from second homes.
From a revenue perspective, it doesn’t matter how many residents qualify for the primary residential exemption.
Utah law guarantees local governments the same lump sum each year, even if individual property tax bills vary.
One size fits all?
Ian Poor is a mortgage lender who dug into the tax issue after his client, Guanpia, had his refund denied. He’s also one of those calling for change.
Using publicly available records, he found numerous others in affordable housing paying twice what they should in taxes year after year.
“For a lot of people, we're talking thousands of dollars,” Poor told KPCW. “For one homeowner, it was upwards of $15,000 going back to 2010, maybe even earlier than that, that the property had been classified as a second home, and the homeowner had no idea.”
And like Guanipa, many had certified their status as full-time residents once to qualify for a house — but not with county tax officials.
“We need to set a new policy that can accommodate these scenarios,” Poor said. “I feel like we're throwing a huge net out there to catch tuna, and we're pulling in a lot of dolphins. And we know we're pulling in dolphins. We're looking right at them.”
Advocates believe change is possible in Summit County because it was possible in Wasatch County.
Espinoza said she has worked with the Wasatch County Assessor’s Office. For 2026, Wasatch County homeowners in affordable housing will automatically receive the 45% discount.
But a blanket exemption might not work in Summit County because deed restrictions vary.
Deeds in Redstone’s Fox Point neighborhood and in Bear Hollow, for example, are 20 years old. And they don’t have the same owner-occupancy requirements that newer developments do.
Summit County staff are concerned an automatic discount for affordable housing could allow for fraud in those neighborhoods.
Theoretically, a homeowner could then rent their unit on Airbnb or VRBO, collect a profit and pay half the tax.
The board of the newly formed Summit County Housing Authority considered that possibility when it discussed changing the policy last year.
Economic Development and Housing Director Jeff Jones expressed optimism that a new policy could exclude properties with antiquated deeds.
But at an August 2025 housing authority meeting, board members voted 5-1 to increase resident education, not recommend policy changes.
When education comes up short
Molly Sugure owns an affordable condo in Silver Creek Village like Guanipa.
She didn’t know she was paying taxes as a second homeowner until KPCW contacted her. Sugrue said simply qualifying for affordable housing was complicated.
“I do remember it taking a lot of time, and a lot of paperwork,” she said. “I definitely signed something that said, like, ‘You are the sole occupant.’”
She believes she may have seen notices about the tax discount in the mail.
“So I feel a little silly for not paying more attention to them. But they kind of came sandwiched in between things that said, ‘Reaching out to you because we're redoing your roof’ — and that's not true,” Sugrue explained. “Unfortunately, I kind of wrote them off as just another advertisement.”
Paice’s February data shows there are 501 affordable for-sale homes in Summit County. They are managed by either Park City Municipal’s housing department, Mountainlands Community Housing Trust or Habitat for Humanity of Summit & Wasatch Counties.
Of those, 79 were classified as “non-primary” and therefore taxed like a second home. Paice notifies the city, Mountainlands and Habitat annually about the properties not getting the discount.
She said 26 of Park City’s 225 affordable units are taxed as second homes; 44 of Mountainlands’ 258; and 9 of Habitat’s 18 units. All told KPCW they also try to educate residents.
“Each year we follow up with those who have yet to file the application for exemption, however we can only provide the application and education to understand what is required of them,” Espinoza, from Mountainlands, said in an email. “Even so we have owners who for some reason do not apply. Ultimately, this is up to the property owner.”
The tax notice homeowners will receive this summer has a stamp and a colored insert to grab residents’ attention and get them to apply for primary status. The notice is written in English, with instructions about how to get help in Spanish.
Summit County sends new homeowners a similar piece of mail after their purchase too.
“[The homeowners] receive the application and instructions as a courtesy with ownership change, plus twice more throughout the year — first with their notice of valuation in July and again with their tax bill in November,” Paice told KPCW.
It’s unclear exactly how many of the 16% of “non-primary” affordable homes are in fact occupied by their owner full-time. But even just one property owner’s costs can stack up.
For the past three years, Sugrue’s tax bill has been about $1,200, when it should be $600. There’s a lot she says she could do with that money.
“I mean, it's my car insurance payment for six months. It's probably more than that,” Sugrue said. “I am a nurse. I find it kind of hard living in Park City to contribute a ton to my savings, so any little bit helps.”
Homeowners can check their primary or non-primary status online. If it’s non-primary, click here to apply for primary status.
Local tax officials have made sure Summit County has the most lenient deadline in Utah to apply for primary status each year: Nov. 30.
