Mason County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Mason County, seat of Maysville: 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
- Late July, near the front of Kentucky's sale window.
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Two separate registrations are required, and both must be finished before sale day.
- County office
- 606-564-3341
On this page
How Mason 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
- Mason County Clerk's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Late July, near the front of Kentucky's sale window.
- Registration
- Two separate registrations are required, and both must be finished before sale day.
- Next expected
- between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Two separate registrations are required, and both must be finished before sale day. First register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue: mail the Application for Certificate of Registration to Purchase Certificates of Delinquency with a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer to the Office of Property Valuation, P.O. Box 1727, Frankfort, KY 40602-1727. You are not eligible to buy until 60 days after the Department receives the application, and the Department set a May 15 cutoff for applications covering the sales that begin in mid July, so file in the spring. State registration is required of anyone buying more than 3 certificates in one county, more than 5 statewide, or more than $10,000 in certificates. Second, register with the Mason County Clerk, which every bidder must do even to buy a single certificate. The Clerk's printable forms page carries the third party purchaser instructions and application form. Under 103 KAR 5:180 the county registration material 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: 100 percent of the value of each certificate on your priority list and 25 percent of the value of each certificate on your current year list. Clerk fees run $5 for each priority certificate and $10 for each current year certificate, capped at $250 for the calendar year. With a late July sale, the county paperwork deadline falls in the first half of July. Call the Clerk at 606-564-3341 for the exact advertised deadlines and the accepted forms of payment.
Sale format and venue
Mason County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Mason 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 Mason County delinquent tax bill listing (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Late July, near the front of Kentucky's sale window. 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 Mason County Clerk's Office as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Mason County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Mason County delinquent tax bill listing (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Two separate registrations are required, and both must be finished before sale day. First register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue: mail the Application for Certificate of Registration to Purchase Certificates of Delinquency with a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer to the Office of Property Valuation, P.O. Box 1727, Frankfort, KY 40602-1727. You are not eligible to buy until 60 days after the Department receives the application, and the Department set a May 15 cutoff for applications covering the sales that begin in mid July, so file in the spring. State registration is required of anyone buying more than 3 certificates in one county, more than 5 statewide, or more than $10,000 in certificates. Second, register with the Mason County Clerk, which every bidder must do even to buy a single certificate. The Clerk's printable forms page carries the third party purchaser instructions and application form. Under 103 KAR 5:180 the county registration material 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: 100 percent of the value of each certificate on your priority list and 25 percent of the value of each certificate on your current year list. Clerk fees run $5 for each priority certificate and $10 for each current year certificate, capped at $250 for the calendar year. With a late July sale, the county paperwork deadline falls in the first half of July. Call the Clerk at 606-564-3341 for the exact advertised deadlines and the accepted forms of payment.
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 County Clerk is Stephanie G. Schumacher. The office sits at 27 West 3rd Street in Maysville, is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and takes calls at 606-564-3341. The fax is 606-564-8979.
- Mason County's sale date lands at the front of Kentucky's July window, which pulls both deadlines forward. The Department of Revenue will not clear a purchaser until 60 days after it receives the state application, so a spring filing is the only way to be eligible for a late July sale.
- The Sheriff collects the current year tax bills and turns over anything unpaid at the close of business on April 15, when the bills become certificates of delinquency held by the Clerk. Prior year certificates can be bought from the Clerk at any time once you are registered; current year certificates are not available until the sale date itself.
- Mason County publishes its delinquent bill list on the statewide clerk DTax site rather than on the Clerk's own domain. The Clerk's forms page links it as Current Delinquent Taxes, and the listing shows bill number, tax year, owner name, property address, map ID and amount due.
- Use the current Department of Revenue application when registering at the state level: mail it with the $250 fee to Office of Property Valuation, P.O. Box 1727, Frankfort, KY 40602-1727, and send questions to 502-564-8368 or [email protected]. An older instruction sheet naming a different Frankfort post office box and contact still circulates on county clerk forms pages.
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 Mason County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Mason County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Mason 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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