McCracken County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in McCracken County, seat of Paducah: 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
- Register with the McCracken County Clerk by the deadline the Clerk advertises each year.
- County office
- (270) 444-4701
On this page
How McCracken 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
- McCracken County Clerk
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Register with the McCracken County Clerk by the deadline the Clerk advertises each year.
- Next expected
- between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
- Sale list
- Delinquent tax bill list (PDF)
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Register with the McCracken County Clerk by the deadline the Clerk advertises each year. For the 2025 certificate sale, the registration form, purchase lists, deposit and registration fee were all due by close of business on August 11, 2026. Forms and lists may be emailed to [email protected], with purchase lists submitted as an Excel file; deposits and fees are mailed to McCracken County Clerk, PO Box 609, Paducah, KY 42002, or delivered to 300 Clarence Gaines St, Paducah, KY 42001 by other carriers. Submit two separate ranked lists: priority certificates, meaning current year bills on parcels where you already hold a prior year certificate, and current year certificates with no prior claim. Each line needs the tax bill number, taxpayer name and amount due, and priority lines also need the bill number and tax year of the certificate you already hold. The deposit equals the full amount due on all priority certificates plus 25 percent of the total due on all current year certificates, payable in cash, cashier's check or money order. The registration fee is $5 per priority certificate plus $10 per current year certificate, capped at $250, non-refundable, paid as a separate payment that may be a personal or company check. The fee is calculated on the number of certificates listed, not the number actually purchased. Include a copy of your Kentucky Department of Revenue certificate of registration as a third party purchaser, and sign the notarized statement that you are not bidding in concert with a related person or entity.
Sale format and venue
McCracken County tax sale list and auction calendar
For McCracken 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 bill list (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
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 McCracken County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in McCracken County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent tax bill list (PDF). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Register with the McCracken County Clerk by the deadline the Clerk advertises each year. For the 2025 certificate sale, the registration form, purchase lists, deposit and registration fee were all due by close of business on August 11, 2026. Forms and lists may be emailed to [email protected], with purchase lists submitted as an Excel file; deposits and fees are mailed to McCracken County Clerk, PO Box 609, Paducah, KY 42002, or delivered to 300 Clarence Gaines St, Paducah, KY 42001 by other carriers. Submit two separate ranked lists: priority certificates, meaning current year bills on parcels where you already hold a prior year certificate, and current year certificates with no prior claim. Each line needs the tax bill number, taxpayer name and amount due, and priority lines also need the bill number and tax year of the certificate you already hold. The deposit equals the full amount due on all priority certificates plus 25 percent of the total due on all current year certificates, payable in cash, cashier's check or money order. The registration fee is $5 per priority certificate plus $10 per current year certificate, capped at $250, non-refundable, paid as a separate payment that may be a personal or company check. The fee is calculated on the number of certificates listed, not the number actually purchased. Include a copy of your Kentucky Department of Revenue certificate of registration as a third party purchaser, and sign the notarized statement that you are not bidding in concert with a related person or entity.
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)
McCracken County Clerk, PO Box 609, Paducah, KY 42002 (carrier deliveries: 300 Clarence Gaines St, Paducah, KY 42001)
Official websiteCounty notes
- McCracken County sells certificates of delinquency through the County Clerk, not deeds and not through the Sheriff. A purchased bill becomes a lien against the property that the holder may move to foreclose one year after the certificate is created.
- Prior year certificate holders buy first. Listing a current year bill as a priority certificate requires that you already hold a certificate on the same property, and those lines are settled before the current year lottery positions are worked.
- The Clerk publishes the delinquent bill list as a PDF and advertises it in The Paducah Sun. The list carries the bill number, owner, property address, map ID and amount due, and it flags bills tied to a bankruptcy.
- Older county pages still describe the sale as normally held in October. Treat the Clerk's delinquent tax page as the operative source for the date; the 2025 certificate sale ran on August 21, 2026.
- Direct questions about the sale to the Clerk's delinquent tax line at (270) 444-4701 or [email protected]. The office will not give legal advice to third party purchasers, so review the Kentucky Department of Revenue third party purchaser material before registering.
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 McCracken County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the McCracken County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the McCracken 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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