{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-131.500","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 131.500","heading":"Demand for payment -- Levy upon and sale of property of taxpayer to","body":"satisfy demand -- Maintenance of property.\n(1) (a) In addition to any other remedy provided by the laws of the Commonwealth, if\nany person has been assessed for a tax the collection o f which is administered\nby the Department of Revenue as provided by the laws of the Commonwealth\nand if the person has not sought administrative or judicial review of the\nassessment as provided for in KRS 131.110, or if the person has sought but\nexhausted all administrative and judicial review so that the assessment is final,\ndue, and owing, the commissioner of revenue or his delegate may cause a\ndemand to be made on the person for the payment thereof.\n(b) If the tax remains unpaid for thirty (30) days afte r the demand, the\ncommissioner or his delegate may levy upon and sell all property and rights to\nproperty found within the Commonwealth belonging to the person or on\nwhich there is a lien provided by KRS 131.515 or 134.420, except the\nproperty that is exem pt from an execution on a judgment in favor of the\nCommonwealth as provided in KRS Chapter 427, for the payment of the\namount of the tax, penalty, interest, fees, and cost of the levy.\n(2) As soon as practicable after seizure of property, notice in writing  shall be given by\nthe commissioner or his delegate to the owner of the property. The notice shall be\ngiven to the owner either in person or by certified mail to his or her last known\naddress. The notice shall specify the sum demanded and shall contain, in the case of\npersonal property, an account of the property seized and, in the case of real\nproperty, a description with reasonable certainty of the property seized.\n(3) The commissioner or his or her designee shall as soon as practicable after the\nseizure of the property cause a notification of the sale of the seized property to be\npublished in the newspaper with the largest circulation within the county where the\nseizure is made. The notice shall be published once each week for three (3)\nsuccessive weeks. In addition, the notice shall be posted at the courthouse in the\ncounty where the seizure is made for fifteen (15) days next preceding sale. The\nnotice shall specify the property to be sold, and the time, place, manner, and\ncondition of the sale thereof.\n(4) If any property liable to levy is not divisible, so as to enable the commissioner or the\ncommissioner's designee by sale of a part thereof to raise the whole amount of the\ntax, penalty, fees, interest, and cost of the levy, the whole of the property sha ll be\nsold.\n(5) The time of sale shall not be less than thirty (30) nor more than ninety (90) days\nfrom the time the seizure is made. The place of sale shall be within the county in\nwhich the property is seized, except by special order of the commissioner.\n(6) The sale shall be conducted by public auction, or by public sale under sealed bids.\nIn the case of the seizure of several items of property, the commissioner or his or\nher delegate may offer the items for sale separately, in groups, or in the aggregat e\nand accept whichever method produces the highest aggregate amount.\n(7) (a) The commissioner or his or her delegate shall determine whether payment in\nfull shall be required at the time of acceptance of a bid, or whether a part of\nthe payment may be deferred for such period, not to exceed one (1) month, as\nhe or she may determine to be appropriate.\n(b) If payment in full is required at the time of acceptance of a bid and is not then\nand there paid, the commissioner or his or her delegate shall forthwith proceed\nto again sell the property as provided in subsection (6) of this section.\n(c) If the conditions of the sale permit part of the payment to be deferred, and if\nsuch part is not paid, within the prescribed period, suit may be instituted in the\nFranklin Circuit Court or the Circuit Court of the county where the sale was\nconducted against the purchaser for the purchase price or such part thereof as\nhas not been paid, together with interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%)\nper annum from the date of the sale; or, in the discretion of the commissioner,\nthe sale may be declared to be null and void for failure to make full payment\nof the purchase price and the property may again be advertised and sold as\nprovided in this section.\n(d) If readvertisement and s ale occur, any new purchaser shall receive the\nproperty or rights to property, free and clear of any claim or right of the former\ndefaulting purchaser, of any nature whatsoever, and the amount paid upon the\nbid price by the defaulting purchaser shall be forfeited.\n(8) If the commissioner or his or her delegate determines that any property seized is\nliable to perish or become greatly reduced in price or value by keeping, or that the\nproperty cannot be kept without great expense, he or she shall appraise the value of\nthe property and, if the owner of the property can be readily found, the\ncommissioner or his or her delegate shall give him or her notice of the\ndetermination of the appraised value of the property. The property shall be returned\nto the owner if, within the time specified in the notice, the owner pays to the\ncommissioner or his or her delegate an amount equal to the appraised value, or\ngives bond in the form, with the sureties, and in the amount as the commissioner or\nhis or her delegate determines  to be appropriate in the circumstances. If the owner\ndoes not pay the amount or furnish the bond in accordance with this subsection, the\ncommissioner or his or her delegate shall as soon as practicable make public sale of\nthe property without regard to th e advertisement requirements or the time\nlimitations contained in subsections (3) and (5) of this section.\n(9) No proceedings under this section shall be commenced more than ten (10) years\nafter the assessment becomes final.\n(10) The term \"levy\" as used in this section shall include the power of distraint and\nseizure by any means. Except as otherwise provided in KRS 131.510(2)(a), a levy\nshall extend only to property possessed and obligations existing at the time thereof.\nIn any ca se in which the commissioner or his or her delegate may levy upon\nproperty or rights to property, he or she may seize and sell the property or rights\nwhether real, personal, tangible or intangible.\n(11) Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS Chapters 45, 45 A, and 56, the department\nmay take all necessary steps to provide for the protection, maintenance, or\ntransportation of all property seized by the department pursuant to the provisions of\nthis section, including but not limited to negotiating directly for the procurement of\ncontractual services, including professionals, supplies, materials, equipment, or the\nleasing of real and personal property. Every effort shall be made to effect a\ncompetitively established price for purchases made pursuant to this secti on. The\ndepartment shall report any procurements of contractual services, supplies,\nmaterials, equipment, or the leasing of real and personal property, to the secretary of\nthe Finance and Administration Cabinet within sixty (60) days of the transaction.\nNothing in this section shall preclude the department from complying with the\nprovisions of KRS Chapters 45 and 56 relating to the requirements to report the\npurchase or lease of real property or equipment to the Capital Projects and Bond\nOversight Committee.","path":["KRS Chapter 131"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=28154","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:22Z","sha256":"fd4e4b611037ab3b2c8886a0e87cbfc342cf8512b1f7379e707b0264bef334aa","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-131.445","next":"us-ky/krs-131.510"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}