Morgan County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Morgan County, seat of West Liberty: 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 16, 2026.Wednesday · 2026
- Format
- In person
- Registration
- Registration is a two-step process and both steps have to be finished before sale day.
- County office
- (606) 743-3949
On this page
How Morgan 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
- Morgan County Clerk
- Frequency
- annual
- Registration
- Registration is a two-step process and both steps have to 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
Registration is a two-step process and both steps have to be finished before sale day. First, register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue if you plan to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000. The application and its $250 fee must reach the Department by May 15 to cover that year's county sales, and you become eligible to purchase 60 days after the application is received. Second, register separately with the Morgan County Clerk by the deadline the county advertises. That county step applies even if you want only one certificate, and the state thresholds do not excuse it. The Clerk's filing takes the county's own registration form, a copy of the state registration certificate, your list of priority certificates, a separate list of current-year certificates you have no priority claim on, registration fees up to $250 a year plus $10 per bill once that cap is reached, a deposit of 100 percent of the value of each priority certificate, and a deposit of 25 percent of the total on the non-priority list. The Clerk decides which forms of payment are accepted, so call before you assemble the deposit.
Sale format and venue
Morgan County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Morgan 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 Advertised delinquent tax bills, Morgan County Clerk for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Sale day
Tax sale scheduled for September 16, 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 Morgan County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Morgan County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Advertised delinquent tax bills, Morgan County Clerk. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Registration is a two-step process and both steps have to be finished before sale day. First, register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue if you plan to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or invest more than $10,000. The application and its $250 fee must reach the Department by May 15 to cover that year's county sales, and you become eligible to purchase 60 days after the application is received. Second, register separately with the Morgan County Clerk by the deadline the county advertises. That county step applies even if you want only one certificate, and the state thresholds do not excuse it. The Clerk's filing takes the county's own registration form, a copy of the state registration certificate, your list of priority certificates, a separate list of current-year certificates you have no priority claim on, registration fees up to $250 a year plus $10 per bill once that cap is reached, a deposit of 100 percent of the value of each priority certificate, and a deposit of 25 percent of the total on the non-priority list. The Clerk decides which forms of payment are accepted, so call before you assemble the deposit.
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
- Morgan County holds one of Kentucky's later certificate sales, in mid-September rather than the July and August window most counties use. The extra weeks help with title work on the list, but the Department of Revenue registration deadline still falls in May, so the state application cannot wait for the county advertisement.
- The Clerk publishes the advertised delinquent bills through an American Land Records listing linked from the Clerk's home page rather than as a document on the county site. The newspaper advertisement is where the county registration deadline and the sale-day specifics appear, and it runs at least 30 days ahead of the sale.
- The Sheriff collects current-year property taxes and transfers the uncollected bills to the Clerk after April 15. Direct every question about the certificate sale, registration, and deposits to the Clerk's office, not the Sheriff.
- The Clerk's office is at 450 Prestonsburg Street in West Liberty, the county seat. Call (606) 743-3949 for the county registration form and the current fee and deposit amounts, since the Clerk sets which forms of payment are accepted.
- Kentucky caps what one third-party purchaser may take in a county through the round-based lot system rather than an open-outcry auction, so a large buyer cannot sweep the list. Build a ranked target list before registering, because you may only select bills that appear on the list you filed.
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 Morgan County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Morgan County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Morgan 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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