Fayette County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Fayette County, seat of Lexington: 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
- between mid July and late August, 2026
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (859) 253-3344
On this page
How Fayette 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
- Fayette County Clerk
- Frequency
- annual
- Next expected
- between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register with the Fayette County Clerk by close of business roughly ten days before the sale; the 2026 deadline was July 14. Registration takes the Clerk's registration form, a notarized affidavit that you are not participating alongside a related person or entity, and a copy of your Kentucky Department of Revenue Certificate of Registration where state registration applies. Fees are $5 per certificate on a priority list and $10 per certificate on a current-year list, capped at $250, with no second fee for a bill that appears on both lists. Priority lists are due at the registration deadline with 100 percent payment plus a $30 lien assignment recording fee per bill. The current-year list and a 25 percent deposit are due about a week later, and that spreadsheet must be ordered by tax bill number in the sequence you want to buy. Forms and spreadsheets go by email to [email protected]; postmarks are not accepted and company checks are refused, so use certified funds. Registration expires each December 31 and cannot be transferred or assigned.
Sale format and venue
Fayette County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Fayette 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.
Get the advertised list
Use Delinquent tax list and sale documents for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
between mid July and late August, 2026 The sale is live and in person; there is no online bidding platform. Confirm the venue and hour with the county office before you go.Confirm with the office
If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Fayette County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Fayette County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent tax list and sale documents. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register with the Fayette County Clerk by close of business roughly ten days before the sale; the 2026 deadline was July 14. Registration takes the Clerk's registration form, a notarized affidavit that you are not participating alongside a related person or entity, and a copy of your Kentucky Department of Revenue Certificate of Registration where state registration applies. Fees are $5 per certificate on a priority list and $10 per certificate on a current-year list, capped at $250, with no second fee for a bill that appears on both lists. Priority lists are due at the registration deadline with 100 percent payment plus a $30 lien assignment recording fee per bill. The current-year list and a 25 percent deposit are due about a week later, and that spreadsheet must be ordered by tax bill number in the sequence you want to buy. Forms and spreadsheets go by email to [email protected]; postmarks are not accepted and company checks are refused, so use certified funds. Registration expires each December 31 and cannot be transferred or assigned.
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.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
unsold certificates
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)
County notes
- The Sheriff collects current-year property taxes and transfers the unpaid bills to the County Clerk in mid-April. From that point the Clerk handles payoffs and runs the certificate of delinquency sale; the Sheriff has no role in the sale.
- The published list of certificates available for sale goes up on the Clerk's website in late June, about 30 days ahead of the sale, and is refreshed every Monday through the week before the sale. Bills paid in the meantime drop off, so work from the newest file.
- Notice that the list is coming runs in the Lexington Herald-Leader in mid-June. An advertising cost of about $5 per certificate is added on June 1 and rides on the payoff amount.
- Anyone whose purchases would leave them holding more than three certificates of delinquency in Fayette County, more than five statewide, or investing more than $10,000 statewide in a calendar year must file an application with the Kentucky Department of Revenue at least 60 days before buying. For the July 2026 sale that filing was due May 26.
- Research bills and pull payoff figures through the Clerk's delinquent tax search at fayettedeeds.com, where payment status updates as money posts.
- Payments at the counter take cash, money order, or a cashier's or certified check payable to the Fayette County Clerk. Personal, business, and counter checks are not accepted, and the office cannot take partial payments; payment arrangements go through the Fayette County Attorney at (859) 254-4941.
Kentucky rules
- 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.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does Fayette County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Fayette County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Fayette County tax sale list?
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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