Property tax in Clark County, Kentucky

Who sends the property tax bill in Clark County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Clark County Sheriff's Office (tax collection). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Clark County Property Valuation Administrator (PVA), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.

The sheriff's bill covers state, county and school taxes. State law lets a city either collect its own property tax or contract with the sheriff to collect it, so owners inside a city should check whether the city sends a separate city bill. The sheriff does not set values; questions about your assessment go to the PVA. Card and online payments carry a merchant service fee. Checks, money orders and cash are accepted in person, and checks or money orders can also go in the drop box off West Broadway in front of the sheriff's office. Last year the sheriff also took checks and money orders, with the bill and for the exact amount, at the downtown Traditional Bank branch at 30 West Broadway. If a mortgage company or a new owner should pay the bill, forward it to them right away.

When are property taxes due in Clark County?

For the 2026 bill, Clark County has one due date: December 31, 2026. Kentucky sends one bill a year, with no installments. The sheriff mails bills around October 1 and posts them online; the 2026 schedule has not been posted yet, and these dates follow state law, which the sheriff's schedule matched last year. Paying in full by November 1, 2026 takes 2% off the bill; from November 2 through December 31, 2026 the face amount is due. November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, and the county has not said whether a Monday payment still gets the discount, so pay by Friday, October 30 to be safe. December 31, 2026 is a Thursday. The sheriff honors a U.S. Postal Service postmark on mailed payments, but not a private postage meter date. Last year the sheriff's office was closed on December 31 for the New Year holiday, so do not count on paying in person that day. If bills go out late, state law lets the Department of Revenue set a later schedule, and the dates printed on your bill then replace these. State law makes an unpaid bill delinquent on January 1. Paid from January 1 through January 31, 2027, it carries a 5% penalty. From February 1, 2027 the penalty is 10%, and the sheriff adds a collection fee equal to 10% of the tax plus 10% of that penalty. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, and the county has not said whether a Monday payment still avoids the higher charge. Bills still unpaid at the close of business on April 15, 2027 go to the Clark County Clerk. Last year's sheriff's notice said a 20% County Attorney's fee, a 10% County Clerk's fee and interest of 1% a month are added there, and the unpaid bill can be sold to a third-party buyer.

From Clark County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Clark County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Clark County's average effective rate of 0.71% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Property tax in Clark County at a glance

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Clark County compare in Kentucky?

Among Kentucky's 120 counties, Clark County has the 48th highest effective property-tax rate: 47 rank higher and 72 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Kentucky. Nationally, it ranks 1850th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Kentucky county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Clark County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Clark County's 10,640 owner-occupied homes, 11.7% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 27.9% pay at least $2,000, and 14.3% pay under $800. Another 4.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,488 and owners without one pay $1,340. That is within 10% either way, so in Clark County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

How does the Clark County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,451 is about 1.8% of the median income of Clark County homeowner households, $81,173 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 70.7% of Clark County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Clark County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,307 in 2015-2019 to $1,451 in 2020-2024, a 11% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 41.5%, from $145,400 to $205,800. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Clark County

Clark County borders 6 counties.

How is a home assessed in Clark County?

Kentucky assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Clark County included. How Kentucky assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Clark County?

Only for older and disabled owners. Kentucky's homestead exemption is age and disability based; an owner-occupant under 65 who is not totally disabled gets none. That is the Kentucky rule, and it applies in Clark County. Kentucky's exemptions and relief programs in full.

Clark County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Kentucky ones (checked September 23, 2026).

How to appeal your Clark County property assessment

In Clark County you appeal to the Clark County Board of Assessment Appeals (appeals are filed with the Clark County Clerk). The deadline: First ask the PVA for a conference, before the tax roll inspection period ends. That period normally begins the first Monday in May and ends the third Monday in May. If the conference does not settle it, file a written appeal with the Clark County Clerk no later than one workday after the inspection period ends, normally the third Tuesday in May, stating your reasons and your opinion of the property's fair cash value. The window for 2026 assessments has passed; the next one normally opens in May 2027. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.

How Kentucky's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.

Kentucky rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Kentucky page.

Work out your own numbers

• How much house can I afford?

  Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Clark County's tax rate to hand.

• Mortgage calculator

  Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.

• Kentucky income tax

  Brackets, standard deduction and what Kentucky actually taxes.

• Sales tax in Clark County

  The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.