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Tax Sale Atlas

Jefferson County, KY tax sales

How tax lien sales work in Jefferson County, seat of Louisville: 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
Registration
Two registrations are required.
County office
502-574-5884
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Jefferson 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)

In person
Run by
Jefferson County Clerk, Professional License and Delinquent Tax Department
Frequency
annual
Registration
Two registrations are required.
Next expected
between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Delinquent Property Listing and eligible tax sale bills
When it runs
Once a year in mid-July, at 3:00 p.m. The Clerk's delinquent tax page describes bills sold "during the annual Tax Lottery sale each July." The KRS 424.130 legal notice states the delinquent property tax bills "will be offered for sale on July 17, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in Room 106 at 527 W Jefferson Street (Metro Hall), Louisville, KY 40202." The Kentucky Department of Revenue statewide clerk calendar lists Jefferson County for 7/17/26.
Registration and deposit

Two registrations are required. Register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue under KRS 134.129 at least 60 days before the sale, then complete the Jefferson County Clerk's separate registration. The Clerk requires the signed Tax Sale Registration Form, a notarized affidavit that the purchaser is not related to any other participant, a copy of the Department of Revenue registration certificate, and a purchase list in Microsoft Excel on the Clerk's Bill Submission Template. Clerk registration fees are $5.00 per bill on the Priority list and $10.00 per bill on the Lottery list, capped at $250.00 in total and non-refundable. Prior-year certificate holders using the Priority sale submit their list at least 10 days before the sale with payment in full by wire or certified funds. Lottery participants submit their list in priority order at least 5 days before the sale with a 25% deposit by certified funds, and the balance falls due once the sale is complete. Lists go to [email protected]. Pay by wire, certified check, or cashier's check payable to the Jefferson County Clerk.

Sale format and venue
There is no online bidding platform and no competitive bidding. Registered purchasers submit a ranked list of the bills they want, and at 3:00 p.m. on the sale date the Clerk draws the names of everyone registered to set the order of purchase. The drawing is held in Room 106 at Metro Hall, 527 W Jefferson Street, and the sale is then processed electronically overnight. Bills are sold in lots of one in every round, and each purchaser receives the next available bill on their list until the bills are sold or the lists run out. One representative may witness the drawing for several entities. A registered purchaser who does not attend is still included but is moved to the bottom of the order, with a random drawing among multiple no-shows. Prior-year certificate holders buy first through the Priority sale, and those bills are pulled from the lottery pool before the drawing. A $30.00 assignment and lis pendens recording fee applies to each bill. The Clerk's notice states interest accrues at 12% per annum on the certificate from the date of issuance. Only real estate bills are sold, and tangible bills are not.
Source: Jefferson County Clerk, Delinquent Property Listing and Tax Sale Legal Notice· Verified Aug 23, 2026

Jefferson County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Jefferson 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 Property Listing and eligible tax sale bills for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Two registrations are required. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. 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.

  4. Confirm with the office

    If the list, platform, and notice disagree, use Jefferson County Clerk, Professional License and Delinquent Tax Department as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Jefferson County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent Property Listing and eligible tax sale bills. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Two registrations are required. Register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue under KRS 134.129 at least 60 days before the sale, then complete the Jefferson County Clerk's separate registration. The Clerk requires the signed Tax Sale Registration Form, a notarized affidavit that the purchaser is not related to any other participant, a copy of the Department of Revenue registration certificate, and a purchase list in Microsoft Excel on the Clerk's Bill Submission Template. Clerk registration fees are $5.00 per bill on the Priority list and $10.00 per bill on the Lottery list, capped at $250.00 in total and non-refundable. Prior-year certificate holders using the Priority sale submit their list at least 10 days before the sale with payment in full by wire or certified funds. Lottery participants submit their list in priority order at least 5 days before the sale with a 25% deposit by certified funds, and the balance falls due once the sale is complete. Lists go to [email protected]. Pay by wire, certified check, or cashier's check payable to the Jefferson County Clerk.

  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)

Jefferson County Clerk, Professional License and Delinquent Tax Department

502-574-5884

Jefferson County Clerk, Attn: Delinquent Tax Department, 527 W Jefferson St, Room 100, Louisville, KY 40202

Official website

County notes

  • The Clerk's sale conveys a certificate of delinquency, which the Clerk's notice describes as a lien upon the real estate described on the face of the tax bill, recorded in the manner of a lis pendens. It is not a deed.
  • Louisville Metro Council and the Louisville and Jefferson County Landbank Authority run a Tax Delinquency Diversion Program under KRS 99.727 that blocks third-party purchase of delinquent bills in designated census blocks for five years. Metro Council renewed the program in December 2022 by Resolution No. 152, Series 2022, so a large share of previously protected bills stays off the market. Protected bills carry the suit flag "TDDP", and the Clerk publishes a separate list of the bills released from the program that are eligible for the July sale.
  • The Clerk cites the volume of bills in Jefferson County as the reason the sale runs as a ranked-list lottery instead of a live bidding auction. Formatting is strict: lists with incorrect formatting, extra columns, hidden data, or macros are rejected, and the purchaser has 24 hours to return a corrected file on the Clerk's template.
  • CCLIX.us is the Clerk's delinquent tax application for looking up unpaid bills, paid bills, and bills already sold to third parties. It is a records system, not an auction site. The Clerk also publishes bills for tax years 2000 onward through its file transfer site and links TaxMaster.net for reviewing delinquent taxes on a property.
  • The Clerk cautions that the tax claim files originate with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and are not always the final determination of liability, since bills stay subject to review and exoneration by the county attorney. Certified figures are available in person at the Professional License and Delinquent Tax Department in Room 100A of Metro Hall, 527 W. Jefferson Street.
  • Payment for delinquent taxes must be by certified check, cashier's check, or money order. Refunds are wired only when the deposit was wired and the wire details were supplied at the time of Clerk registration.
  • The Clerk's main switchboard is (502) 574-5700, and the delinquent tax department line is 502-574-5884. Questions about CCLIX.us training go to [email protected], and sale lists go to [email protected].

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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County tax certificate sale?

Once a year in mid-July, at 3:00 p.m. The Clerk's delinquent tax page describes bills sold "during the annual Tax Lottery sale each July." The KRS 424.130 legal notice states the delinquent property tax bills "will be offered for sale on July 17, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in Room 106 at 527 W Jefferson Street (Metro Hall), Louisville, KY 40202." The Kentucky Department of Revenue statewide clerk calendar lists Jefferson County for 7/17/26. The sale is held in person. 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 Jefferson County Clerk, Professional License and Delinquent Tax Department 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 Jefferson County tax sale list?

Jefferson County posts its tax sale list at jeffersoncountyclerk.org. 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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