Monopoly GO: Tax and Utility Events Explained

Tax & Utility is one of several scoring setups that Monopoly Go rotates through for its solo banner events — the big milestone events that sit at the top of your game board and typically run for two or three days at a time. Each scoring type has its own set of tiles that count for points, and this one is the simplest to describe and the hardest to actually score in: you only get points from landing on tax or utility tiles. There are just four of those tiles on the whole board, which can make this event a bit tricky to play especially if you love auto roll. Once you know how to play one Tax & Utility event, you know how to play all of them, because the underlying rules don't change from event to event — only the theme, the milestones and the rewards.

This guide covers how the scoring actually works, why this event type is tougher than most for free to play players, and when it's worth trying a big multiplier versus keeping things steady. If you've landed here from one of our individual event pages, everything here applies to that event — we keep the event pages lean so we can give you the milestones, rewards, and our specific take on how far to push, and we leave the full strategy breakdown in one place.

How scoring works

Points come from landing on one of two tile types: tax or utility. The breakdown is simple:

• Tax tiles — 4 points
• Utility tiles — 4 points

Whatever base points you score, they're then multiplied by whichever dice multiplier you used for that throw. So a tax tile landed with a x10 multiplier is 40 points, and the same tile landed with a x5 is 20 points. That's the whole scoring system.

There are four scoring tiles on the board in total: two tax tiles and two utility tiles (electricity company and water works). That's it. No chance tiles, no community chest, no corners, no railroads counting for banner points. Just four tiles on a forty-square board, which works out to one scoring tile for every ten squares on average — but that average is misleading, because the tiles aren't evenly distributed.

Where the scoring tiles actually sit

Here's where Tax & Utility events get interesting, and where the strategy really matters. The two tax tiles sit close together in the final stretch of the board, near the Go corner. The two utility tiles are more scattered — one is on the left-hand side of the board between Jail and Free Parking, and the other is on the right-hand side between Free Parking and Go to Jail. They're nowhere near each other, and they're nowhere near the tax tiles either.

What that means practically: the section of the board around Go is still the single best place to spend a big multiplier, because that's where the two tax tiles cluster. But unlike Chance, Tax & Utility events, you don't have the chance tiles nearby as a safety net if you miss — it's tax or nothing in that stretch. And the two utility tiles on their own are genuinely risky targets. They score the same 4 points as a tax tile, but there's nothing near them to bail you out if your roll lands a square or two off.

This is why Tax & Utility events are tougher than other scoring setups. You're working with half as many scoring tiles as most event types, and the layout punishes you harder for a bad roll.

When to go big and when to hold back

My general rule for Tax & Utility events is: low multiplier for most of the board, and save the big rolls for the approach to the Go corner where the two tax tiles sit. That section is still your best shot at banking points efficiently, even without the chance tiles you'd normally have as a backup.

A few things worth knowing:

• Be more conservative than you would be in other event types. With only four scoring tiles, missed rolls cost you more here than in any other setup. A x10 multiplier that doesn't land on a scoring tile in a Chance, Tax & Utility event might still clip a chance tile for 20 points, but the same miss in a Tax & Utility event gives you nothing. Factor that in before you push your multiplier up.
• The Go corner is still the money spot. Two tax tiles close together mean you've got two chances to score in a short stretch. That's better odds than the isolated utility tiles, even though the point value is identical.
• Utility tiles are only worth chasing on a low multiplier. Don't burn a x10 trying to hit a single utility tile with no backup. If you happen to be rolling past one on a x4, fine, take the shot. But don't go hunting for them aggressively.
• Railroads still matter for the tournament. Even though railroads don't score for this event type, they still score for the tournament running alongside. If your big roll toward a tax tile misses and you land a railroad, you haven't wasted it — you've just scored tournament points instead of banner points. It's not a total loss.
• Auto roll is especially bad for this event type. With so few scoring tiles, the gap between smart rolling and auto rolling is huge.

Stacking with whatever else is running

There is always a tournament running alongside a Tax & Utility event, and that tournament scores on railroads. Railroads sit at four points on the board, one at the midway point of each side, ten squares apart. Because the tax tiles cluster near the Go corner, and there's a railroad just before them and just after them, any big roll aimed at the tax tiles also has a decent chance of hitting the railroad if you miss. That's your safety net — the tax tiles for banner points, the railroad for tournament points, both in the same stretch of the board.

If there's a partner event or a racer event running at the same time, you may also see partner tokens or flags appearing as extra items on the board, which gives you yet another reason to be rolling carefully through the high-value section.

Dig events work differently. There are no pickaxes physically on the board to land on — instead, the pickaxes (or laser guns, wands, whatever the current dig event uses) sit inside the milestone rewards of both the banner event and the tournament. So every point you score in the Tax & Utility event is dragging you towards a dig event reward, even though the dig event itself isn't represented on the board you're rolling on. Because Tax & Utility events are harder to score in, the dig event rewards tucked inside your banner milestones actually become a more important part of your overall haul — you may be grinding this event mainly for the pickaxes rather than for the dice.

Boost events that matter for this event type

A few of the flash boosts that can appear during a Tax & Utility event are worth timing your play around:

• Mega Heist — extra cash and extra tournament points from Bank Heists. If your big rolls miss and you land on railroads (and they often will), Mega Heist makes those railroad landings more valuable.
• Cash Boost — straightforward, more game cash per roll. Good if you're saving up for landmark upgrades.
• Builder's Bash — discounts on landmark upgrades, which pairs really well with Color Wheel Boost if you can line them up. Load up on hotels during Bash, then spin the wheel during the Color Wheel window.

Check our daily events schedule for predicted boost times today, and our Boost Events Explained page if you want the full breakdown of what each one does.

FAQs

Why are Tax & Utility events harder than other event types?

Because there are only four scoring tiles on the entire board, compared to six or more in most other scoring setups. Missed rolls cost you more here, and you can't rely on nearby chance tiles or community chest tiles to bail you out of a bad approach. Free to play players need to be more patient with their dice in this event type than in any other.

Should I bother with the utility tiles?

Only if you are 6-7 tiles away then maybe you could chance it, but I tend not to. Don't chase them with a big multiplier — they're isolated and the risk of missing is too high for the 4 points you'd score on a hit. The tax tiles near Go are always the better target.

Is auto roll okay for Tax & Utility events?

No, this is the worst event type for auto roll. With only four scoring tiles on the board, you need to be picking your moments carefully, and auto roll will burn through your dice on dead rolls. Turn it off for any Tax & Utility event you actually care about clearing.

Wrapping up

Every Tax & Utility event on Monopoly Go plays roughly the same way. Four scoring tiles, two clustered near Go and two isolated on the sides, and a scoring system that punishes wasted rolls more than any other event type. Be patient, save your big multipliers for the approach to the Go corner, and remember that the tournament and dig event rewards in your milestone list are still pushing forward even when the banner scoring itself feels sparse. Head back to the specific event page you came from for the milestones, rewards list, and my take on how far to push in that particular event, or check our daily events schedule to see what's currently live.