Kentucky homeowners pay a median of $1,544 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.75%, the 29th highest of the 51 states we cover. The deadline to appeal: Mid-May, after PVA conference. Here is who sets your value, how to challenge it and what evidence works.
Closed for 2026As of October 21, 2026, the 2026 appeal window is closed: PVA conferences and county appeals ended in May (June 12 in Jefferson County), and Board of Tax Appeals petitions were due 30 days after each county board decision. The next window opens with the 2027 tax roll inspection period, normally May 3-17, 2027, with county appeals due about May 18, 2027; ask the PVA for a conference as soon as your notice arrives.
First you must have a conference with the PVA (or a deputy) before or during the tax roll inspection period. That period normally starts the first Monday in May and runs 13 days, Monday through Saturday, ending on the third Monday in May. If you still disagree, you must file your appeal with the county clerk no later than one workday after the inspection period ends, which is normally the Tuesday after the third Monday in May. The Department of Revenue can approve a later or longer inspection period, and a PVA can get up to 25 extra days for conferences and appeals, so check the dates on your notice and in the PVA's newspaper notice. Example: in 2026 the inspection period was May 4-18. The Kenton County Clerk's notice says appeals could be filed through Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 4 p.m. In Jefferson County (Louisville), online PVA conferences ran April 24 to May 18, 2026, and the PVA listed June 12, 2026 as the deadline to file an appeal with the local board.
If the PVA raises your assessment, it must mail you a notice. Most PVAs mail notices one to two weeks before the tax roll inspection period in early May; some mail earlier in the year. The notice gives the inspection period dates, which is your window to request a conference and appeal. The PVA also publishes the inspection dates in the local newspaper. If your value did not change you may get no notice, but you can still appeal.
Where you file depends on your county. Pick yours for the office contacts, local tax figures and a step-by-step guide.
Enter the market value on your assessment notice and what you think the home would really sell for. We estimate the yearly saving if the board agrees with you.
Some states cap how fast the taxable value of a home can rise (California, Florida, Michigan and Texas homesteads, for example). If your taxable value is already held below market value by a cap, a lower market value may not lower this year's bill.
An elected Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) values all real property in each of Kentucky's 120 counties, under the supervision of the Kentucky Department of Revenue. Appeals go first to a conference with the PVA, then to the County Board of Assessment Appeals (filed through the county clerk), then to the Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals in Frankfort. Homes are assessed at 100% of fair cash value, meaning the price the property would bring at a fair, voluntary sale, as of January 1 each year. Qualifying farmland can be assessed at its agricultural value instead. The PVA revalues property every year and must examine every parcel at least once every four years. Newly built homes and additions are added each year. You can appeal every year, whether or not your value changed.
The PVA conference is required, not optional: you cannot appeal without it. Ask the PVA's office for a conference as soon as you get your notice, and no later than the end of the inspection period. It can be held by phone if you ask (Jefferson County uses an online conference). The PVA must explain how your value was set; bring your opinion of value and evidence. The PVA keeps a written conference record with the original value, your value and the outcome. If you reach agreement, you are done. If not, keep the conference record: you file it with your appeal.
What works in Kentucky: Recent arm's-length sales of similar homes (not their assessments), ideally within one to two years before January 1; A recent appraisal (at the Board of Tax Appeals the appraiser must attend and testify); Your purchase price and closing papers if you bought recently, or your listing contract if the home is for sale; Photos, inspection reports and repair estimates showing condition problems; Your insurance policy, construction costs and mortgage information, which the law lists as evidence; Corrections to the PVA's record of your home (square footage, basement, garage, condition).
After your PVA conference, file an appeal with the county clerk (not the PVA). Use Form 62F031, Appeal to Local Board of Assessment Appeals, from the clerk, or a letter that names the property, gives your reasons and states your opinion of its fair cash value. Attach the PVA conference record. File one appeal per parcel. The clerk schedules your hearing; the board meets 25 to 35 days after the inspection period (or the extended filing deadline). Hearings are public and informal. You and the PVA each present evidence, and the board can lower, raise or keep the value. You must bring factual evidence of value or the board must deny the appeal. You may record the hearing, and you can ask the board to inspect your home. If you do not show up, in person or through a representative, you lose your right to appeal further. The decision is mailed to you by certified mail. Cost: No filing fee appears in KRS 133.120 or on the Department of Revenue and county clerk pages checked.
You have to prove your case. At the county board you must give factual evidence that supports the value you claim; if you do not provide reasonable information about the property's value when asked, the board must deny your appeal. The PVA also presents evidence for its value. At the Board of Tax Appeals the hearing starts over and you, as the appellant, present your case first, under oath. The board decides only your home's fair market value on January 1.
Your petition must be received within 30 days of the date the county board's decision was mailed (or issued, if not mailed). Late petitions are dismissed. Send a written petition of appeal with a statement of the issues and facts, a statement that the information is true and correct, your signature, mailing address, phone and email, and a copy of the county board's ruling notice. File by email to [email protected], by mail, or in person at Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals, Office of Claims and Appeals, 500 Mero Street, 2SC1, Frankfort, KY 40601. File a separate petition for each parcel. The KBTA hears the case new (de novo): its file holds only what you send it, not what you gave the PVA or county board. Hearings are formal, recorded and under oath. If you use an appraisal, the appraiser must appear and testify. The county attorney represents the PVA. No filing fee was found in the regulation. After the KBTA's final order, you can appeal to the circuit court of the county where the property is located.
The value set on appeal is used for that year's tax bill. Bills go out in the fall (the state's typical schedule gives a 2% discount through November 1, but counties vary; Jefferson mails its bills November 1 and its discount runs to December 1). If bills were printed before your appeal ended, your bill is based on the value you claimed, and a supplemental bill follows only if the final value is higher. There is no freeze: the PVA sets a new value each year, and you must appeal again if you disagree.
The Board of Tax Appeals decides only your home's fair market value and will not consider neighbors' assessments. To fight under-assessment of other homes, you can ask the county board in writing, by the appeal deadline, to review specific properties; this can raise their values but will not lower yours. This works only in limited cases. Run the numbers with our unequal assessment calculator.
Most wins start with a mistake in the assessor's record of your home. Check it line by line.
Record card checklistAn exemption is separate from an appeal: you apply once and it cuts your taxable value every year. Check you have every one you qualify for.
Takes $49,100 off the assessed value of your home for 2025 and 2026 (the amount is reviewed every two years). You must own and live in the home on January 1 and be 65 or older during the year, or be classified as totally disabled and receiving disability payments. You may not claim it on any other property in Kentucky or another state. Apply with your PVA on Form 62A350 by December 31 of the year. Disability-based ones must be renewed each year unless the disability is permanent under Social Security or Kentucky Retirement Systems rules or is a service-connected total disability of a veteran.
You can handle the conference and appeal yourself. Anyone paid to represent you before the PVA or county board must be an attorney, CPA, tax consultant, Kentucky licensed real estate broker or sales associate, licensed or certified appraiser, your employee, or someone with a professional appraisal designation recognized by the Department of Revenue, and must give written authorization from you and disclose any contingency fee (lawyers need not disclose fee terms). At the Board of Tax Appeals, the owner can appear alone or with a lawyer; the KBTA hearing guide names no other representatives, and a family member may speak only if the owner is present.
Fill in your details and download a written appeal statement as a PDF or Word file. Most boards also require their own appeal form: file the form and attach this letter and your evidence to it.
Tax Appeal Map is a free information site, not a law firm or appraiser. The letter is a template, not legal advice.
First you must have a conference with the PVA (or a deputy) before or during the tax roll inspection period. That period normally starts the first Monday in May and runs 13 days, Monday through Saturday, ending on the third Monday in May. If you still disagree, you must file your appeal with the county clerk no later than one workday after the inspection period ends, which is normally the Tuesday after the third Monday in May. The Department of Revenue can approve a later or longer inspection period, and a PVA can get up to 25 extra days for conferences and appeals, so check the dates on your notice and in the PVA's newspaper notice. Example: in 2026 the inspection period was May 4-18. The Kenton County Clerk's notice says appeals could be filed through Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 4 p.m. In Jefferson County (Louisville), online PVA conferences ran April 24 to May 18, 2026, and the PVA listed June 12, 2026 as the deadline to file an appeal with the local board.
With the County Board of Assessment Appeals. After your PVA conference, file an appeal with the county clerk (not the PVA). Use Form 62F031, Appeal to Local Board of Assessment Appeals, from the clerk, or a letter that names the property, gives your reasons and states your opinion of its fair cash value. Attach the PVA conference record. File one appeal per parcel. The clerk schedules your hearing; the board meets 25 to 35 days after the inspection period (or the extended filing deadline). Hearings are public and informal. You and the PVA each present evidence, and the board can lower, raise or keep the value. You must bring factual evidence of value or the board must deny the appeal. You may record the hearing, and you can ask the board to inspect your home. If you do not show up, in person or through a representative, you lose your right to appeal further. The decision is mailed to you by certified mail.
No filing fee appears in KRS 133.120 or on the Department of Revenue and county clerk pages checked.
The PVA conference is required, not optional: you cannot appeal without it. Ask the PVA's office for a conference as soon as you get your notice, and no later than the end of the inspection period. It can be held by phone if you ask (Jefferson County uses an online conference). The PVA must explain how your value was set; bring your opinion of value and evidence. The PVA keeps a written conference record with the original value, your value and the outcome. If you reach agreement, you are done. If not, keep the conference record: you file it with your appeal.
You can appeal to the Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals (KBTA). Your petition must be received within 30 days of the date the county board's decision was mailed (or issued, if not mailed). Late petitions are dismissed. Send a written petition of appeal with a statement of the issues and facts, a statement that the information is true and correct, your signature, mailing address, phone and email, and a copy of the county board's ruling notice. File by email to [email protected], by mail, or in person at Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals, Office of Claims and Appeals, 500 Mero Street, 2SC1, Frankfort, KY 40601. File a separate petition for each parcel. The KBTA hears the case new (de novo): its file holds only what you send it, not what you gave the PVA or county board. Hearings are formal, recorded and under oath. If you use an appraisal, the appraiser must appear and testify. The county attorney represents the PVA. No filing fee was found in the regulation. After the KBTA's final order, you can appeal to the circuit court of the county where the property is located.
The value set on appeal is used for that year's tax bill. Bills go out in the fall (the state's typical schedule gives a 2% discount through November 1, but counties vary; Jefferson mails its bills November 1 and its discount runs to December 1). If bills were printed before your appeal ended, your bill is based on the value you claimed, and a supplemental bill follows only if the final value is higher. There is no freeze: the PVA sets a new value each year, and you must appeal again if you disagree.
Checked 2026-10 against official Kentucky sources. Local deadlines and fees can differ; confirm with your assessor or board.