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Tax Sale Atlas

Monroe County, KY tax sales

How tax lien sales work in Monroe County, seat of Tompkinsville: 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
Tax sale scheduled for September 23, 2026.Wednesday · 2026
Format
In person
Registration
Two registrations, both required, and there is no online bidding.
County office
(270) 487-5471
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Monroe 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
Monroe County Clerk
Frequency
annual
Next sale
Tax sale scheduled for September 23, 2026.
Registration
Two registrations, both required, and there is no online bidding.
Next expected
between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
Sale list
Monroe County delinquent tax bill list (D-Tax)
When it runs
Late September, a single afternoon session held in the Clerk's office. The Kentucky Department of Revenue's 2026 statewide county clerk sale calendar lists Monroe County at September 23, 2026. The Clerk's own delinquent tax notice sets the pattern and the hour: "The sale of delinquent tax bills by the Monroe County Clerk's Office will be September 24, 2025, at 1:00pm CST in the Clerk's Office. Any Certificate of Delinquency which is not paid in full by that date may be sold to a third party purchaser." Certificates of delinquency are created on or about April 16 each year once the Sheriff turns the uncollected current-year bills over to the Clerk, so the pool builds from mid-April to the sale.
Registration and deposit

Two registrations, both required, and there is no online bidding. State level first: a purchaser who plans to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000 must hold a Certificate of Registration from the Kentucky Department of Revenue. The application carries a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, and the Department asks that applications arrive by May 15 to clear in time for every county's sale. County level second, and it applies even if you want a single bill: file the Clerk's registration form, a copy of the state certificate where one is required, a list of the priority certificates you already hold from prior years, a separate list of the current-year bills you want, the per-bill fees, and the deposits. Deposits are 100 percent of face value on every priority bill and 25 percent of the total on the non-priority list. Per-bill fees are $5 for each priority certificate and $10 for each current-year certificate, capped at $250 per purchaser per year. The registration deadline is set by the Clerk and advertised at least 30 days ahead of the sale date, so call the Delinquent Tax Department at (270) 487-5471 for the current form, the accepted forms of payment, and the cutoff.

Sale format and venue
Kentucky sells certificates of delinquency rather than deeds, and Monroe County holds its sale live in the Clerk's office at the courthouse, not on an auction site. Registered purchasers report to the Clerk's office on the sale day for instructions. Bills claimed by a prior-year certificate holder are allocated first; whatever remains is offered to registered purchasers in rounds, with the selection order fixed by a random drawing at the start of the sale and each purchaser choosing only from the current-year list they filed at registration. Arrive before the drawing, since a late purchaser goes to the bottom of the order. The 2026 list carries roughly 165 real property bills, which puts Monroe in the smallest statutory bracket, so certificates may be sold in lots of up to five per turn and many clerks sell one at a time for the first two or three rounds. Payment is settled at the close of the sale with deposits applied first, and any unused deposit is refunded. Bills left unsold after the sale may be bought from the Clerk at any time afterward, with a $10 per bill registration fee until the $250 annual cap is met. Taxpayers can pay right up to the moment the sale starts, so expect the list to shrink between the published version and the call.
Source: Delinquent Taxes page, Monroe County Clerk· Verified Aug 23, 2026

Monroe County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Monroe 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 Monroe County delinquent tax bill list (D-Tax) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Two registrations, both required, and there is no online bidding. Full requirements are in the sale card above.

  3. Sale day

    Tax sale scheduled for September 23, 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 Monroe County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Monroe County

  1. Start with the live sale list

    Pull the current advertised parcels from Monroe County delinquent tax bill list (D-Tax). Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Two registrations, both required, and there is no online bidding. State level first: a purchaser who plans to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000 must hold a Certificate of Registration from the Kentucky Department of Revenue. The application carries a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, and the Department asks that applications arrive by May 15 to clear in time for every county's sale. County level second, and it applies even if you want a single bill: file the Clerk's registration form, a copy of the state certificate where one is required, a list of the priority certificates you already hold from prior years, a separate list of the current-year bills you want, the per-bill fees, and the deposits. Deposits are 100 percent of face value on every priority bill and 25 percent of the total on the non-priority list. Per-bill fees are $5 for each priority certificate and $10 for each current-year certificate, capped at $250 per purchaser per year. The registration deadline is set by the Clerk and advertised at least 30 days ahead of the sale date, so call the Delinquent Tax Department at (270) 487-5471 for the current form, the accepted forms of payment, and the cutoff.

  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)

Monroe County Clerk's Office

(270) 487-5471

Monroe County Courthouse, 200 N Main St., Suite D, Tompkinsville, KY 42167

Official website

County notes

  • The Clerk publishes the current delinquent bill list as a PDF through D-Tax, the service Kentucky clerks use to show third party purchasers which bills are available for sale. Each line gives the bill number, tax year, owner name, property address, map ID and amount due. The Clerk's office, not the published list, is the final word on the dollar amount owed at the time of sale.
  • Bills flagged as pending on the published list are under a payment arrangement and are unlikely to reach the sale. Payment plans are handled by the Monroe County Attorney's Office at (270) 487-5568, and a bill already sold at a past sale is no longer eligible for one.
  • A third party who bought a certificate on a property in a prior year has first claim on the current-year certificate for the same property, but only if that claim is listed with the Clerk at registration. An unclaimed priority drops into the general pool and any registered purchaser can take it.
  • Kentucky county clerk sales cannot begin before July 14 and most counties finish by late August. Monroe County sits in the later September window.
  • The Clerk's office is at the Monroe County Courthouse, 200 N Main St., Suite D, Tompkinsville, open Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm and Saturday 8:00am to 12:00pm. Brandi Birge is the County Clerk. Fax is (270) 487-5976.
  • Payoff on an unsold certificate is made to the Clerk's office. Money order is the only form accepted by mail; cash, check and credit card are accepted in person, and credit card payments can be taken by phone, with additional fees on card payments.

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 Monroe 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 Monroe County tax certificate sale?

Late September, a single afternoon session held in the Clerk's office. The Kentucky Department of Revenue's 2026 statewide county clerk sale calendar lists Monroe County at September 23, 2026. The Clerk's own delinquent tax notice sets the pattern and the hour: "The sale of delinquent tax bills by the Monroe County Clerk's Office will be September 24, 2025, at 1:00pm CST in the Clerk's Office. Any Certificate of Delinquency which is not paid in full by that date may be sold to a third party purchaser." Certificates of delinquency are created on or about April 16 each year once the Sheriff turns the uncollected current-year bills over to the Clerk, so the pool builds from mid-April to the sale. 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County tax sale list?

Monroe 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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Call Monroe County Clerk's Office