Property tax in Union County, Kentucky

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Union County, the property tax bill comes from the Union County Sheriff's Office. The 2026 bill is due December 31, 2026. Taken from Union County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Union County, Kentucky is $927 a year, which is about 0.89% of the county's median home value of $104,500. 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 Union County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Union County Sheriff's Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Union County Property Valuation Administrator (PVA), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong.

The sheriff collects state, county, school district and other district property taxes on one bill. The PVA values property but does not set tax rates, calculate bills or collect taxes. The bill goes to whoever owned the property on January 1.

When are property taxes due in Union County?

For the 2026 bill, Union County has one due date: December 31, 2026. Kentucky sends one bill a year, with no installments. 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. 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 after April 15, 2027 go to the Union County Clerk, where interest of 1% a month and further fees are added, and the unpaid bill can be sold to a third-party buyer.

From Union 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 Union County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Union County's average effective rate of 0.89% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $930 / year

Property tax in Union County at a glance

Union County, Kentucky property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$927
Median home value	$104,500
Effective tax rate	0.89%
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 Union County compare in Kentucky?

Among Kentucky's 120 counties, Union County has the 8th highest effective property-tax rate: 7 rank higher and 112 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1367th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Kentucky county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Union County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Union County's 3,651 owner-occupied homes, 7% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 13.2% pay at least $2,000, and 40.6% pay under $800. Another 8.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Union County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	1,481	40.6%
$800 to $1,499	1,045	28.6%
$1,500 to $1,999	347	9.5%
$2,000 to $2,999	225	6.2%
$3,000 or more	255	7%
No property tax paid	298	8.2%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,259 and owners without one pay $698. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

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

The median property tax bill of $927 is about 1.4% of the median income of Union County homeowner households, $65,493 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 70.2% of Union 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 Union County?

Yes. The median bill went from $756 in 2015-2019 to $927 in 2020-2024, a 22.6% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 13.5%, from $92,100 to $104,500. Bills rose faster than values, which usually means local rates went up or an exemption shrank.

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 Union County

Union County borders 6 counties, 3 of them across the state line.

Union County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Gallatin County, IL	1.57%	$1,305	$82,900
Hardin County, IL	0.96%	$1,001	$103,800
Henderson County, KY	0.9%	$1,548	$171,900
Union County, KY (this county)	0.89%	$927	$104,500
Webster County, KY	0.88%	$993	$112,900
Posey County, IN	0.62%	$1,384	$222,900
Crittenden County, KY	0.57%	$731	$127,300

How is a home assessed in Union County?

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

Is there a homestead exemption in Union 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 Union County. Kentucky's exemptions and relief programs in full.

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

How to appeal your Union County property assessment

In Union County you appeal to the Union County Board of Assessment Appeals (appeals are filed with the Union 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 Union 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

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Union 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.