Pulaski County, KY tax sales
How tax lien sales work in Pulaski County, seat of Somerset: 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
- Once a year in early August.
- Format
- In person
- County office
- (606) 679-2042
On this page
How Pulaski 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
- Pulaski County Clerk
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Once a year in early August.
- Next expected
- between mid July and late August, 2026 (window; exact date posts closer to the sale)
- Sale list
- Delinquent tax bill listing
When it runs
Registration and deposit
Third party purchasers file the clerk's registration packet with the required lists, fees and deposit at least 10 calendar days before the sale. Pulaski County sets both the registration deadline and the priority bill deadline at July 27, 2026. The packet asks for a notarized state registration form, a list titled Priority Certificates of Delinquency covering parcels where the buyer already holds a prior-year certificate, and a separate list of current-year certificates the buyer wants. The county registration fee is $5.00 per priority certificate plus $10.00 per current certificate, capped at $250.00, paid separately from the deposit. The deposit is 100 percent of the priority certificates plus 25 percent of the current certificates, by certified funds or company check. Anyone planning to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or to invest more than $10,000 in a calendar year must first register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue, which charges its own $250 fee and allows purchasing 60 days after the application is received.
Sale format and venue
Pulaski County tax sale list and auction calendar
For Pulaski 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 listing for the current advertised parcels, then recheck it before the auction.Register to bid
Ask the county office how and when to register; many counties close registration days or weeks before the sale.Sale day
Once a year in early August. 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 Pulaski County Clerk as the source to confirm which parcels are actually offered.
Before you bid in Pulaski County
4 checks
Start with the live sale list
Pull the current advertised parcels from Delinquent tax bill listing. Lists can change before the sale, so recheck the county source before you price a parcel.Confirm registration and deposit
Third party purchasers file the clerk's registration packet with the required lists, fees and deposit at least 10 calendar days before the sale. Pulaski County sets both the registration deadline and the priority bill deadline at July 27, 2026. The packet asks for a notarized state registration form, a list titled Priority Certificates of Delinquency covering parcels where the buyer already holds a prior-year certificate, and a separate list of current-year certificates the buyer wants. The county registration fee is $5.00 per priority certificate plus $10.00 per current certificate, capped at $250.00, paid separately from the deposit. The deposit is 100 percent of the priority certificates plus 25 percent of the current certificates, by certified funds or company check. Anyone planning to buy more than three certificates in one county, more than five statewide, or to invest more than $10,000 in a calendar year must first register with the Kentucky Department of Revenue, which charges its own $250 fee and allows purchasing 60 days after the application is received.
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
- Pulaski County runs a single annual certificate of delinquency sale at the courthouse in Somerset, conducted in the room rather than through an online auction site, so a buyer or an authorized agent has to attend in person.
- Competition here is for position, not for yield. The clerk draws a lottery to fix the order of purchase and then works through rounds with a per-round cap on how many bills each buyer may claim, so the practical question is how deep in the order you land and which bills survive to your turn.
- Prior-year certificate holders take the current year's certificate on the same parcel ahead of everyone else. A third party purchaser new to the county should expect the parcels with repeat delinquency to be spoken for before the open rounds begin.
- Money moves before sale day. The registration packet, the fee and the full deposit are due 10 calendar days ahead, which is July 27 for the 2026 sale, so the target list and the funding have to be settled well before the auction.
- Current-year bills reach the clerk the week after April 15, when the sheriff turns over what he could not collect, and the sale itself falls 90 to 135 days after that transfer under KRS 134.128. The bills are advertised in the local newspaper between 30 and 45 days before the sale.
- The clerk's delinquent tax page explains the process using the prior year's sale date, so take the live date, deadlines and deposit terms from the registration packet linked on the Real Estate Tax Sale page or from the Department of Revenue sale date list.
- The county's delinquent listing is a running PDF carrying a generation date, with bill number, tax year, owner name, property address, map ID and amount due for each unpaid bill, and it flags bills with a payment pending.
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 Pulaski County, Kentucky sell tax liens or tax deeds?
When is the Pulaski County tax certificate sale?
I own a property in this sale. Can I stop it?
Where can I find the Pulaski 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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