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Tax Sale Atlas

Boyd County, KY tax sales

How tax lien sales work in Boyd County, seat of Catlettsburg: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.

New to tax sales? Read how Kentucky tax sales work or look terms up in the glossary.

Next sale
One annual sale, held in mid-August.
County office
606-739-5116
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Boyd County sells delinquent taxes

From lien to deed

Kentucky holds no county tax deed auction. Title moves only through a lawsuit. The owner of a certificate of delinquency may sue to collect the debt, to enforce the KRS 134.420 lien, or both, at any time after one year has passed from the date the taxes became delinquent, and the action must be brought within eleven years of that date. A third-party purchaser has extra duties first: a notice to the delinquent taxpayer within 50 days of receiving the certificate, that notice repeated every six months, and a further notice to the taxpayer and every mortgagee at least 45 days before filing suit.

Tax certificate sale (lien)

Run by
Boyd County Clerk
Frequency
annual
Typical timing
One annual sale, held in mid-August.
Next expected
between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Delinquent tax bill list, Boyd County Clerk
When it runs
One annual sale, held in mid-August. The Kentucky Department of Revenue schedule titled "County Clerk Delinquent Property Tax Sale Dates 2026" lists "BOYD 8/12/26". Kentucky sales cannot begin before July 14, each county's date is finalized by May 15, and the Clerk advertises Boyd County's date at least 30 days before the sale.
Registration and deposit

Register with the Boyd County Clerk for every year's sale, even to buy a single certificate. Registration paperwork is due to the Clerk no later than 15 days before the sale, the list of current-year certificates you intend to buy no later than 10 days before, and the deposit no later than 5 days before; the Clerk prints these deadlines in the sale advertisement. Deposits run 100 percent of each priority certificate plus the Clerk's recording fees, and 25 percent of each current-year certificate with no priority claim. Clerk registration fees are $5 per priority bill and $10 per current-year bill, capped at $250 for the year. Anyone planning to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or to invest more than $10,000 must also hold a Kentucky Department of Revenue certificate of registration: a $250 fee and a 60-day wait from the date the application is received.

Sale format and venue
Boyd County sells certificates of delinquency in person. Registered purchasers report to the County Clerk's office in Catlettsburg on sale day and are directed to the sale room from there, so plan to attend or send an agent. No online bidding platform is used for this sale. The Clerk first assigns certificates to purchasers holding a priority claim from a prior year, then sells the remainder in rounds. Selection order is set by a random drawing at the start of the sale, anyone arriving after the drawing goes to the bottom of the order, and each round moves in lots sized to the county's total bill count. Purchasers do not bid a price or a rate; they take turns selecting bills, and only from the current-year list they filed at registration. A purchaser who takes less than a full lot in three consecutive rounds is treated as having withdrawn. Payment for everything acquired is due at the close of the sale, with the registration deposit applied first. Owners can pay right up to the moment of sale, so the available list shrinks through sale day and the Clerk announces deletions at the start.

Boyd County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Boyd County tax sale 2026 searches, use the county-run sources below rather than a copied parcel list, and confirm the parcel, registration cutoff, deposit, and payment deadline against the county before you bid.

  1. Get the advertised list

    Use Delinquent tax bill list, Boyd County Clerk for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.
  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.
  3. Sale day

    One annual sale, held in mid-August. The auction platform is still being verified. Confirm the next sale date and registration window with the county before you bid.
  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Boyd County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Boyd County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent tax bill list, Boyd County Clerk. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.
  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Register with the Boyd County Clerk for every year's sale, even to buy a single certificate. Registration paperwork is due to the Clerk no later than 15 days before the sale, the list of current-year certificates you intend to buy no later than 10 days before, and the deposit no later than 5 days before; the Clerk prints these deadlines in the sale advertisement. Deposits run 100 percent of each priority certificate plus the Clerk's recording fees, and 25 percent of each current-year certificate with no priority claim. Clerk registration fees are $5 per priority bill and $10 per current-year bill, capped at $250 for the year. Anyone planning to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or to invest more than $10,000 must also hold a Kentucky Department of Revenue certificate of registration: a $250 fee and a 60-day wait from the date the application is received.

  3. Check the state rules that change the bid

    Read the Kentucky due-diligence checklist before bidding. Redemption, liens that survive a tax deed, title cleanup, and payment deadlines can change what a parcel is worth.
  4. Set a walk-away number

    Work out what the parcel is actually worth with the rural land value estimator, then turn it into a ceiling with the tax deed max-bid calculator.

Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases

A certificate that goes unpaid at the annual sale may be paid to the county clerk at any time afterward by any person, unless it is under a payment plan with the Department of Revenue or the county attorney or is known to be in litigation. You need a current Department of Revenue certificate of registration if you will hold more than three certificates in this county, more than five statewide, or invest more than 10,000 dollars statewide in the calendar year, and you register with the county clerk and pay the county fee if you have not already done so that year. Separately, 90 days after the sheriff files the tax claims, any person may pay a certificate the taxing jurisdictions still own. Certificates that arrive too late for one year's sale are held for the next one.

New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.

Use the arrow keys to switch between these sections.

County offices

Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)

Boyd County Clerk

606-739-5116

2800 Louisa Street, Catlettsburg, KY 41129

Official website

County notes

  • The Boyd County Clerk runs the certificate of delinquency sale, not the Sheriff. The Sheriff collects current-year tax bills and turns the uncollected ones over to the Clerk at the close of business on April 15, at which point they become certificates of delinquency and a lien on the property.
  • Prior-year certificate holders pick first. Holding a certificate on a property from an earlier year gives you priority on that property's current-year certificate, but only if you list it on the registration you file with the Clerk. Unclaimed priority bills drop into the general pool and any registered purchaser can take them.
  • Boyd County's own website does not carry a certificate sale page. Confirm the date and the registration deadlines with the Clerk at 606-739-5116, against the Department of Revenue's annual statewide schedule, and in the Clerk's newspaper advertisement, which must run at least 30 days before the sale.
  • Delinquent bills are handled at the Clerk's main office at 2800 Louisa Street in Catlettsburg, and the county directs prior-year tax questions to 606-739-5116, option 4. The Clerk also keeps branch counters at 1505 Carter Avenue, Suite 100 in Ashland and 1315 Cannonsburg Road.
  • The Boyd County Attorney administers delinquent collection under KRS Chapter 134 by agreement with the Department of Revenue and can place a taxpayer on an installment plan. A bill under a plan in good standing before the Clerk's sale is pulled from the pool, so expect the advertised list to shrink before sale day.
  • Boyd County's bills are carried on the statewide delinquent tax bill site that Kentucky clerks use to advertise certificates of delinquency, where the county's list posts ahead of each year's sale. The site is informational only; the Clerk is the sole authority on the amount due on any bill at the time of sale.

Kentucky rules

Max interest rate
12% per year, fixed by statute (nothing is bid)
Minimum return
No statutory floor; every certificate earns the same statutory rate
Redemption
Kentucky's redemption window is a property of where the parcel is in the process, not a single statewide clock, and it runs in four tracks. Track one, and by far the most common, is an outstanding certificate of delinquency: the delinquent taxpayer or anyone holding a legal or equitable estate in the property may pay the third-party purchaser the total amount due at any time, and the purchaser may accept payment from anyone at any time. No statute closes that window, so it stays open until a court forecloses. Track two is a foreclosure sale that brought less than two thirds of the property's appraised value, where the defendant and the defendant's representatives may redeem within six months of the day of sale. Track three is a foreclosure sale that brought two thirds or more of the appraised value, where no right of redemption exists at all; the purchaser takes the property outright. Track four is land the state, county, and taxing districts acquired through a KRS 134.546 action, which the taxpayer may redeem at any time before the commissioner delivers a deed to a purchaser. A third-party purchaser must also offer a monthly installment plan on written request for certificates bought after June 1, 2012, if the purchaser is one who has to register with the department.
Surplus proceeds
If nobody bids at the foreclosure sale, the master commissioner deeds the property to the person or persons the record shows own the certificate or certificates of delinquency, each taking a pro rata interest matching the size of their certificate. Where the state, county, or a taxing district ends up owning the land, the commissioner's designated agent may advertise and sell it at public sale after posting notice at the courthouse door for fifteen days and publishing under KRS Chapter 424, the department keeps an administration fee of 15 percent of the sale price, and the balance is paid to the county and taxing districts within thirty days.
Governing statute
KRS Chapter 134

A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.

See the full Kentuckyrules and every county →

Frequently asked questions

Does Boyd County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tax lien certificates. In Kentucky investors buy the lien, not the property; the County Clerk runs the sale.

When is the Boyd County tax certificate sale?

One annual sale, held in mid-August. The Kentucky Department of Revenue schedule titled "County Clerk Delinquent Property Tax Sale Dates 2026" lists "BOYD 8/12/26". Kentucky sales cannot begin before July 14, each county's date is finalized by May 15, and the Clerk advertises Boyd County's date at least 30 days before the sale. Always confirm the exact date with the County Clerk before the sale.

I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?

Often yes, by paying the overdue taxes, interest, and costs before the deadline. Kentucky's redemption rule: No fixed deadline while the certificate is outstanding. Six months after a judicial sale that brings less than two thirds of the appraised value, and none at all when it brings two thirds or more. Call the Boyd County Clerk as early as possible for your exact payoff and options; deadlines are strict. Free help: lawhelp.org lists legal aid programs, and consumerfinance.gov lists HUD-approved housing counselors.

Where can I find the Boyd County tax sale list?

Boyd County posts its tax sale list at kydtax.smllc.us. Lists go up ahead of each sale and keep changing until the sale date, so confirm every parcel against the county's legal advertisement before you bid.

Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state sources.

Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.

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