When the sale is held
One sale a year in each county, on a date the Department of Revenue assigns. The department sends each county clerk a proposed date by May 1, settles changes by May 15, and publishes the final statewide schedule after that. Each county's sale must fall at least 90 and not more than 135 days after the sheriff files the unpaid tax claims with the clerk on April 15, which puts the ordinary window between roughly mid July and late August. A clerk who expects certificates on unmined coal, oil, gas, or other separately assessed mineral reserves to arrive too late may ask the department to hold that county's sale up to 195 days after the filing date, which is why the tail of the statewide schedule runs into October.
When taxes go delinquent
Kentucky property taxes are due on or before December 31 of the assessment year. Paying in full by November 1 earns a 2 percent discount, payment between November 2 and December 31 is at face, payment during January carries a 5 percent penalty, and payment after January 31 carries a 10 percent penalty. Any real property tax claim still unpaid on April 15, or three months and fifteen days from the due date under an alternative collection schedule, is filed by the sheriff with the county clerk and becomes a certificate of delinquency. The state and every county, city, and taxing district hold a lien on the assessed property for eleven years following the date the taxes became delinquent, and that lien takes priority over any other obligation the property is liable for.
What happens after the sale
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.
Leftover parcels between sales
Any certificate of delinquency that goes unpaid at the annual sale may be paid to the county clerk at any time afterward by any person, provided it is not under a payment plan with the department or the county attorney and is not known to be in litigation. The buyer must hold a current Department of Revenue certificate of registration if KRS 134.129 requires one, and must register with the county clerk and pay that county's registration fee, up to the 250 dollar annual maximum, if not already registered there for the calendar year. There is a separate and earlier route into certificates the taxing jurisdictions still own: ninety days after the sheriff files the tax claims with the clerk, any person may pay the total amount due on such a certificate. Certificates that reach the clerk too late to make the annual sale are held until the next year's sale, and in the meantime only the KRS 134.127(1)(a) insiders may pay them.
These dates are the statewide statutory schedule. The exact auction date, registration deadline, and platform are set county by county, so confirm them on the Kentucky county pages before you plan a bid. For the mechanics of the sale itself, see how to buy in Kentucky.
Verified Aug 23, 2026 against Kentucky statutes.
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.