Credit card processing and merchant services in Utah
Utah taxes grocery food at a lower combined rate than other goods, and state guidance says a surcharge must be disclosed before the customer pays. Both affect your POS setup.
Card surcharges
Surcharging allowedNo Utah statute caps them; disclose the exact fee before purchase and stay within the Visa and Mastercard caps.
Sales tax
4.85% state rate, plus local
Last checked
October 6, 2026
Utah splits its sales tax in a way your POS has to handle. The state rate is 4.85% on most taxable sales, with local option, county option and other local taxes added on top, according to the State Tax Commission. Grocery food is different: the state rate on it is 1.75%, and with local and county option taxes the combined grocery rate is 3% everywhere in Utah. A grocery or convenience store needs at least two tax codes, and every item has to be mapped to the right one.
Surcharging comes with a disclosure expectation. We found no Utah statute that caps surcharges, but the Division of Consumer Protection's guidance on surcharges and fees says businesses must tell consumers exactly how much they'll pay, including any fee or surcharge, before the purchase, and that adding a line to the receipt afterward isn't enough. It also warns against calling a fee a credit card processing fee if it's more than the actual processing cost. Check the Division's current guidance before you launch.
Those points line up with the card network rules. Visa caps a surcharge at your merchant discount rate or 3% and Mastercard at your average effective rate or 4%, and neither allows one on debit or prepaid cards. No statewide Utah law that we could find requires a business to take cash, either.
Before adding any fee, find out what you pay now. A free statement review shows your effective rate, and our Salt Lake City, West Valley City, West Jordan and Provo pages cover those cities.
What Utah merchants should know
Credit card surcharges and fee disclosure
We found no Utah statute that bans or caps credit card surcharges. The Division of Consumer Protection's guidance says businesses must tell consumers exactly how much they'll pay, including any fees or surcharges, before the purchase. A line item on a receipt after payment isn't enough, and a fee shouldn't be called a credit card processing fee if it exceeds the actual cost of processing. Check the current guidance before you rely on it.
The card networks add their own limits: your cost or 3% for Visa, your cost or 4% for Mastercard, and no surcharge on debit or prepaid cards.
Sources: Utah Division of Consumer Protection, Surcharges and fees; Visa, U.S. Merchant Surcharge Q and A (PDF); Mastercard, Credit card surcharge rules and fees for merchants
Sales tax and grocery food
Utah's state sales and use tax rate is 4.85%, with local option, county option and other local taxes added on top. Grocery food has a state rate of 1.75%, and with local option and county option taxes the combined rate on grocery food is 3% throughout Utah.
Source: Utah State Tax Commission, Publication 25: Sales and use tax general information
Payment services we provide
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Security and compliance
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What a CVV is, where it sits on Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover cards, why you can never store it, and what a CVV mismatch means for an online sale.
Fees and pricing
Tiered pricing for credit card processing, explained
Tiered pricing sorts card sales into qualified, mid-qualified and non-qualified rates. Why sales slip into the pricey tiers, and how to spot it on a statement.
Common questions
What is the sales tax on groceries in Utah?
3% combined, everywhere in Utah. The State Tax Commission says the state rate on grocery food is 1.75%, and local option and county option taxes bring the total to 3% throughout the state. Other taxable goods carry the 4.85% state rate plus local taxes, so your POS needs separate tax codes.
Is a receipt line enough to disclose a surcharge in Utah?
No, according to the Division of Consumer Protection. Its guidance says customers must know exactly how much they'll pay, including any fee or surcharge, before they buy, and that a line item on the receipt afterward isn't sufficient. Post the fee where customers see it before checkout, and show it on screen before they tap.
Can I call my surcharge a credit card processing fee in Utah?
Only if it actually goes toward your processing costs and doesn't exceed them. The Division of Consumer Protection's guidance warns against labeling a fee that way when it isn't applied to processing costs or when it's more than the actual cost. Visa and Mastercard also cap the fee at your cost.
Do Utah businesses have to accept cash?
We found no statewide Utah law that requires it. Check your city's ordinances before going cashless. If you stop taking cash, any card fee becomes something every customer pays, so building it into your prices is usually simpler.
Other states we serve besides Utah
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Washington, DC
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Disclaimer: general information, not professional advice
This page is general educational information, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Rules and rates vary by place and change, so confirm them with the official source and a qualified professional before you act. Full terms are in our Terms of Service.
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