Property tax in Fayette County, Kentucky
In Fayette County, the property tax bill comes from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, Property Tax Division. The 2026 bill is due December 31, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Fayette County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Fayette County, Kentucky is $2,542 a year, which is about 0.87% of the county's median home value of $293,500. That effective rate is higher than the typical Kentucky county (0.68%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Fayette County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, Property Tax Division. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Fayette 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.
Lexington and Fayette County share one merged government, so there is no separate city property tax bill: the sheriff's single bill covers the state, the schools, the Urban County Government's general and urban services taxes, and other districts such as Lextran and the health department. Pay online through the state's payment portal, which charges a convenience fee, by mail, in person at the sheriff's Property Tax Division in Room 236 of the Fayette District Courthouse at 150 North Limestone, or at a Republic Bank branch through January 31. If your mortgage company asked for your bill, you get an informational letter instead. If you have not received a bill by early October, call the sheriff for a duplicate.
When are property taxes due in Fayette County?
For the 2026 bill, Fayette County has one due date: December 31, 2026. Kentucky sends one bill a year, and the sheriff does not accept installment payments. The sheriff has not yet posted its 2026 dates; for 2025 it mailed bills the last week of September and followed the state's regular schedule. Under that schedule, paying in full by November 1, 2026 takes 2% off the bill, and 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. 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. An unpaid bill is delinquent from January 1. Paid from January 1 through January 31, 2027, it carries a 5% penalty. From February 1 through April 15, 2027 the penalty is 10% plus the sheriff's 10% add-on fee, 21% in all. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, and the county has not said whether a Monday payment still avoids the higher charge. Bills not paid by April 15 are transferred to the Fayette County Clerk for collection, and further interest and fees are added.
From Fayette 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 Fayette County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Fayette County's average effective rate of 0.87% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $2,553 / year
Property tax in Fayette County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $2,542 |
| Median home value | $293,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.87% |
| Typical Kentucky county rate | 0.68% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
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 Fayette County compare in Kentucky?
Among Kentucky's 120 counties, Fayette County has the 11th highest effective property-tax rate: 10 rank higher and 109 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1418th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Kentucky county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Fayette County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Fayette County's 75,121 owner-occupied homes, 37.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 62.8% pay at least $2,000, and 6.1% pay under $800. Another 2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 4,551 | 6.1% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 10,711 | 14.3% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 11,193 | 14.9% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 19,101 | 25.4% |
| $3,000 or more | 28,077 | 37.4% |
| No property tax paid | 1,488 | 2% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,574 and owners without one pay $2,469. That is within 10% either way, so in Fayette County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Fayette County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $2,542 is about 2.4% of the median income of Fayette County homeowner households, $105,044 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 53.8% of Fayette 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 Fayette County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,823 in 2015-2019 to $2,542 in 2020-2024, a 39.4% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 54.6%, from $189,800 to $293,500. 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 Fayette County
Fayette County borders 6 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, KY (this county) | 0.87% | $2,542 | $293,500 |
| Jessamine County, KY | 0.73% | $1,960 | $268,100 |
| Madison County, KY | 0.73% | $1,698 | $232,000 |
| Bourbon County, KY | 0.71% | $1,627 | $229,300 |
| Clark County, KY | 0.71% | $1,451 | $205,800 |
| Woodford County, KY | 0.7% | $2,108 | $299,700 |
| Scott County, KY | 0.66% | $1,908 | $288,500 |
How is a home assessed in Fayette County?
Kentucky assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Fayette County included. How Kentucky assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Fayette 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 Fayette County. Kentucky's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Fayette County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Kentucky ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Fayette County property assessment
In Fayette County you appeal to the Fayette County Board of Assessment Appeals, which the PVA calls the Local Board of Tax Appeals (appeals are filed with the Fayette County Clerk). The deadline: First hold a conference with the PVA before the open inspection period ends. If that does not settle it, file an appeal through the Fayette County Clerk's office. State law sets the filing deadline at one workday after the inspection period ends. For 2026 the PVA set the end of the inspection period as Monday, May 18, 2026 and the appeal filing deadline as Wednesday, May 20, 2026; that window has passed. The inspection period normally begins the first Monday in May, so the next window opens in May 2027. Check the PVA's published dates each spring, because the filing deadline can fall a day later than the law's usual timing. 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
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Fayette County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Kentucky income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Kentucky actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Fayette County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Fayette County, Kentucky: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.