Property taxes are a form of an ad valorem tax, a tax based on assessed monetary value. Fiscal courts levy property taxes on real property, such as land and buildings, and tangible property, such as motor vehicles and equipment.
- All 120 Kentucky counties levy property taxes.
- Real property makes up the largest source of property tax revenue: real property tax revenue* in FY2025 was $261.7 million while total property tax revenue was $335.6 million.
- In 2025, fiscal court real property tax rates ranged from 3.2 cents/$100 of assessed value to 43.1 cents/$100 assessed value, with a median rate of 10.6 cents/$100 assessed value.
- County reliance on property tax revenue has declined over the past decade as counties have adopted other sources of revenue such as insurance premium taxes and occupational license fees. In FY2010, property taxes made up 42.6% of county* tax revenue. By FY2025, property taxes made up only 33.1% of county tax revenue.
While county governments are often the focus of property tax discussions, they receive only a small share of the total property tax bill. Property taxes in Kentucky are levied by multiple entities, including the state, cities, school districts and special-purpose governmental entities.
On the median tax bill, fiscal courts receive just 8.7% of total property tax collections, compared to 51.1% for school districts and approximately 15.6% for cities.
*Excluding Fayette and Jefferson counties.
