Skip to content
Tax Sale Atlas

Muhlenberg County, KY tax sales

How tax lien sales work in Muhlenberg County, seat of Greenville: 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
County office
(270) 338-1441
Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 23, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify
On this page

How Muhlenberg 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
Muhlenberg County Clerk
Frequency
annual
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
The Kentucky Department of Revenue's 2026 sale calendar sets the Muhlenberg County certificate of delinquency sale for August 19, 2026, and the Clerk's published bill list is figured to that same date. Kentucky clerks pick one sale date a year, no earlier than July 14, and the state notes that most sales fall "from mid-July through the end of August". The date and the registration cutoffs are advertised in the local newspaper and on the Clerk's website at least 30 days before the sale, so confirm the current year's date with the office before you travel.
Registration and deposit

Every third party purchaser must register with the Muhlenberg County Clerk to bid, no matter how small the purchase. Buyers who plan to take more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or to invest more than $10,000 must also hold a Kentucky Department of Revenue certificate of registration first. The state application is Form 62A370A with a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, and the Department asks that it arrive "no later than May 15, 2026, to ensure you will be able to participate in every county's tax sale", with buying eligibility starting 60 days after the Department receives it. At the county level, 103 KAR 5:180 sets three staged cutoffs counted back from the August 19 sale date: the registration packet is due no later than 15 days before the sale, the list of current certificates you intend to buy no later than 10 days before, and the deposit no later than 5 days before. The packet takes the Clerk's own registration form, a copy of the state certificate, a separate list of priority certificates, county fees of $5 per priority bill and $10 per current bill capped at $250 a year, and deposits of 100 percent of the priority certificates plus 25 percent of the non-priority list. Call the Clerk at (270) 338-1441 for the county form and the accepted forms of payment.

Sale format and venue
Muhlenberg County sells certificates of delinquency in person through the County Clerk rather than through an online auction, and no bidding platform serves this sale. Registered purchasers report to the Clerk's office on sale day for instructions on where the sale will be held. Priority goes first to a third party that holds a prior year certificate on the same parcel and listed that claim in its registration; an unlisted priority claim drops the certificate into the general pool where anyone may take it. Remaining certificates are then sold in rounds, with the selection order drawn at random at the start and reused each round, and a purchaser who arrives late is placed at the bottom of that order. Lot sizes scale with the size of the sale, and the roughly 650 bills advertised for the 2026 sale put Muhlenberg in the band that permits lots of up to 10, though many clerks sell one certificate at a time for the first two or three rounds. A purchaser who takes less than a full lot in three consecutive rounds is treated as having withdrawn. Winning buyers pay the balance at the close of the sale, including the Clerk's recording and assignment fees, and any unused deposit is refunded within 10 business days. Owners may pay a bill right up to the moment of sale, so the available list keeps shrinking until bidding opens. Certificates left unsold may be bought from the Clerk at any time afterward, with a $10 per bill registration fee up to the same $250 annual cap.
Source: Delinquent Taxes, Muhlenberg County Clerk· Verified Aug 23, 2026

Muhlenberg County tax sale list and auction calendar

For Muhlenberg 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 tax bill list (PDF) for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.

  2. Register to bid

    Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.

  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 Muhlenberg County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.

Before you bid in Muhlenberg County

  1. 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.

  2. Confirm registration and deposit

    Every third party purchaser must register with the Muhlenberg County Clerk to bid, no matter how small the purchase. Buyers who plan to take more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or to invest more than $10,000 must also hold a Kentucky Department of Revenue certificate of registration first. The state application is Form 62A370A with a $250 fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, and the Department asks that it arrive "no later than May 15, 2026, to ensure you will be able to participate in every county's tax sale", with buying eligibility starting 60 days after the Department receives it. At the county level, 103 KAR 5:180 sets three staged cutoffs counted back from the August 19 sale date: the registration packet is due no later than 15 days before the sale, the list of current certificates you intend to buy no later than 10 days before, and the deposit no later than 5 days before. The packet takes the Clerk's own registration form, a copy of the state certificate, a separate list of priority certificates, county fees of $5 per priority bill and $10 per current bill capped at $250 a year, and deposits of 100 percent of the priority certificates plus 25 percent of the non-priority list. Call the Clerk at (270) 338-1441 for the county form and the accepted forms of payment.

  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)

Muhlenberg County Clerk

(270) 338-1441

100 South Main Street, Greenville, KY 42345

Official website

County notes

  • The delinquent bill list is published as a PDF through the state DTax service and is regenerated as owners pay, so pull a fresh copy before each registration cutoff. The 2026 file ran 14 pages and about 650 bills, with amounts figured to the August 19 sale date.
  • The Clerk's delinquent taxes page carries the bill list and the state registration link. For the sale date and the county registration cutoffs, use the Department of Revenue's annual sale date calendar, the newspaper advertisement, or call the office at (270) 338-1441.
  • The Sheriff collects current year tax bills and answers questions on them until April 15, when the uncollected bills transfer to the County Clerk and become certificates of delinquency.

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 Muhlenberg 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 Muhlenberg County tax certificate sale?

The Kentucky Department of Revenue's 2026 sale calendar sets the Muhlenberg County certificate of delinquency sale for August 19, 2026, and the Clerk's published bill list is figured to that same date. Kentucky clerks pick one sale date a year, no earlier than July 14, and the state notes that most sales fall "from mid-July through the end of August". The date and the registration cutoffs are advertised in the local newspaper and on the Clerk's website at least 30 days before the sale, so confirm the current year's date with the office before you travel. 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 Muhlenberg 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 Muhlenberg County tax sale list?

Muhlenberg 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.

More Kentucky counties

Browse all 120 Kentucky counties

Compare sale calendars, platforms, and rules across the state, or read the guides before you bid.

Kentucky tax salesDue diligence guide
Call Muhlenberg County Clerk