Utah lawmakers concluded the 2026 legislative session by delivering another reduction to the state income tax, bringing the flat rate from 4.5% to 4.45% and putting a hundred million dollars back into the pockets of families and small businesses. This year marks the sixth such cut in as many years, giving Utahns a cumulative rate reduction of 0.55 percentage points – down from 5% in 2018.
Top lawmakers also wisely abandoned a plan that would have raised taxes on refineries and interfered with interstate commerce. Instead, Sen. Brady Brammer and Rep. Calvin Roberts succeeded with legislation that will cut the gas tax outright from 38 cents to 32 cents – saving Utah families real dollars every time they fill up at the pump, while mitigating fallout from high oil prices in the wake of the U.S. war on Iran.
“Americans for Tax Reform commends the leadership of Speaker Mike Schulz, Senate President Stuart Adams, Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, Senator Lincoln Fillmore, Senator Dan McKay, and the dozens of other GOP lawmakers who made tax reform a top priority during the 2026 session,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
“With six pro-growth income tax cuts in the rearview mirror, Utah can become even more competitive by enacting a trigger to zero income tax during next year’s legislative session, joining the eight zero-income-tax states and the five others that are already phasing out their income taxes,” continued Norquist.
This year, Senator Fillmore sponsored legislation to eliminate the Utah income tax. SB 116 would have taken revenue above the prior year’s projections and dedicated it for permanent rate reductions, ultimately phasing out the state income tax over time.
Fillmore’s bill recognizes that Utah cannot afford to rest on its laurels, as the race to zero is heating up around the country. Five states have enacted trigger-to-zero legislation, with South Carolina becoming the most recent this month. Missouri’s House of Representatives has also passed phaseout legislation, and the Senate is widely expected to pass this top priority of Governor Mike Kehoe in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, gubernatorial candidates in Georgia and Ohio have made income tax elimination a key plank in their campaigns, and legislative leaders in another dozen states are committed to going to zero.
For now, Utah residents and families will continue to benefit from the cumulative effect of consistent tax cuts. Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars stay in the hands of productive individuals and families in the private sector, who know how to spend their money better than the government does. Thanks to this year’s tax cut and the hard work of the Utah legislature, the Beehive State will boast a stronger economy and become an even better place to work, live, and raise a family.
