{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-134.504","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 134.504","heading":"Department to collect or contract with county attorney for collection of","body":"certificates of delinquency -- Procedures.\n(1) (a) The department shall be responsible for the collection of certificates of\ndelinquency and personal property certificates of delinquency.\n(b) The provisions of this section relating to certificates of delinquency shall also\napply to personal property certificates of delinquency unless otherwise\nspecifically noted.\n(c) The department shall offer the collection dutie s related to certificates of\ndelinquency and personal property certificates of delinquency to the county\nattorney in each county, unless the department determines that a county\nattorney has previously failed to perform collection duties in a reasonable and\nacceptable manner.\n(2) Any county attorney desiring to perform the collection duties shall enter into a\ncontract with the department on an annual basis.\n(3) The terms of the contract shall:\n(a) Specify the duties to be undertaken by the county attorney, w hich shall\ninclude, at a minimum, the duties set forth in subsection (4) of this section;\n(b) Provide that, if the county attorney fails to perform the duties required by the\ncontract during the contract period, the department may assume all collection\nresponsibilities; and\n(c) Allow the county attorney, at the option of the county attorney, to enforce\ncollection of a certificate of delinquency by the procedure established in KRS\n91.481 to 91.527 and authorized by KRS 68.095.\n(4) The following duties shall be performed by the department or the county attorney,\nas the case may be, with regard to each certificate of delinquency:\n(a) Within thirty (30) days after the establishment of a certificate of delinquency,\nthe county attorney or the department shall mail a notice by regular mail to the\nowner of record on the assessment date at the address on the records of the\nproperty valuation administrator, or to the in -care-of address if an in -care-of\naddress is provided as required by subse ction (5) of this section. The notice\nshall:\n1. Include the name, address, and telephone number of a contact person in\nthe county attorney's office or the department, as the case may be;\n2. Advise that:\na. The certificate of delinquency is a lien of record  against the\nproperty on which the taxes are due;\nb. The amounts due are a personal obligation of the taxpayer on the\nassessment date; and\nc. The certificate bears interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%)\nand, if not paid, will be subject to collection by the county attorney\nor the department as provided by law;\n3. Include the total amount due as of the date of the notice;\n4. Include in bold print in at least twelve (12) point font, a statement\nadvising the taxpayer that anytime after ninety (90) days f rom the\ncreation of the certificate of delinquency, the certificate of delinquency\nmay be paid by a third-party purchaser and, that if so paid, the certificate\nof delinquency will be subject to collection by the third -party purchaser\nas provided by law. Th e notice shall also advise that a third -party\npurchaser may impose substantial additional administrative costs and\nfees associated with collection in addition to the amount due on the\ncertificate of delinquency, and that collection actions may include\nforeclosure. This provision shall not be included in notices sent for\npersonal property certificates of delinquency; and\n5. Advise that the taxpayer may qualify for a payment plan with the county\nattorney or the department, if the taxpayer meets the requiremen ts\nestablished by the county attorney or the department, and if terms are\nagreed to prior to the date of the sale;\n(b) The county attorney or the department shall file in the office of the county\nclerk a list of the names and addresses to which the thirty (30) day notice was\nmailed along with a certificate attesting that the notices were mailed in\naccordance with the requirements of this section;\n(c) 1. All thirty (30) day notices returned as undeliverable shall be submitted\nby the county attorney or depart ment to the property valuation\nadministrator, and a list of the returned notices shall be filed with the\ncounty clerk, who shall record the list in the order book of the county.\n2. The property valuation administrator shall attempt to correct inadequate\nor erroneous addresses and, if property has been transferred, shall\ndetermine the new owner, current mailing address, and in -care-of\naddress, if any, as provided in KRS 382.135.\n3. The property valuation administrator shall return the notices with the\ncorrected information to the county attorney or the department within\ntwenty (20) days of receipt.\n4. Upon receipt of the new information from the property valuation\nadministrator, the county attorney or the department shall resend the\nnotice required by paragra ph (a) of this subsection using the updated\ninformation;\n(d) 1. At least twenty (20) days after the mailing of the thirty (30) day notice\nrequired by paragraph (a) of this subsection, but within sixty (60) days\nof the establishment of a certificate of deli nquency, the county attorney\nor department shall send a second notice, by regular mail, to owners of\nrecord whose tax bills remain delinquent, or to the in -care-of addresses\nor corrected address, if information regarding a new property owner has\nbeen recei ved by the county attorney or the department under the\nprovisions of paragraph (c) of this subsection. The notice shall include,\nat a minimum, the following information:\na. The name, address, and telephone number of a contact person in\nthe county attorney's office or the department, as the case may be;\nb. A statement that a sale of tax claims shall be held by the county\nclerk on the date established by the department for the sale. The\ntext of the statement shall include the actual sale date, as well as a\nstatement noting that the certificate of delinquency may be paid by\na third -party purchaser at the sale, and if the certificate of\ndelinquency is paid by a third -party purchaser, it shall be subject\nto collection by the third -party purchaser as provided by l aw, that\nsignificant additional collection fees shall be imposed by the third -\nparty purchaser, and that collection actions may include\nforeclosure. This statement shall not be included in notices sent to\nowners of property subject to a personal property ce rtificate of\ndelinquency; and\nc. A statement that the taxpayer may qualify for a payment plan with\nthe county attorney or the department, if the taxpayer meets the\nrequirements established by the county attorney or the department,\nand if terms are agreed to prior to the date of the sale.\n2. The county attorney or the department shall file in the office of the\ncounty clerk a list of the names and addresses to which the sixty (60)\nday notice was mailed, along with a certificate attesting that the notices\nwere mailed in accordance with the requirements of this section.\n3. If the notice required by paragraph (c) of this subsection is returned as\nundeliverable, and the property valuation administrator is not able to\nprovide a corrected or updated address, the cou nty attorney or the\ndepartment shall address the sixty (60) day notice to \"Occupant\" and\nshall mail the notice to the address of the property to which the\ncertificate of delinquency applies;\n(e) The county attorney or the department shall deliver to the pr operty valuation\nadministrator, at the same time the notice required by paragraph (d) of this\nsubsection is sent, a list of the owners whose tax bills remain delinquent. The\nproperty valuation administrator shall review this list in accordance with KRS\n132.220 to establish that the properties on the list can be identified and\nphysically located; and\n(f) 1. Anytime after the expiration of the one (1) year tolling period\nestablished by KRS 134.546, the county attorney or department may\ninstitute an action to collect the amount due on a certificate of\ndelinquency owned by the taxing jurisdictions and in the possession of\nthe county clerk.\n2. At least forty-five (45) days before instituting a legal action, the county\nattorney or department shall send, by regula r mail, a notice of intent to\ninitiate legal action to enforce the lien.\n3. The notice shall be sent to the owner of record of the property or to the\nin-care-of address or corrected address if either has been provided\npursuant to this section.\n(5) If property subject to a certificate of delinquency has been transferred in any year\nafter the assessment date, the property valuation administrator shall determine the\nin-care-of address supplied in the deed pursuant to KRS 382.135 and shall provide\nthat information to the county attorney or the department.\n(6) (a) Failure of the county attorney or the department to mail the notices required in\nsubsection (4) of this section shall not affect the validity of the claim of the\nstate, county, school district, and taxing district. However, the county attorney\nor the department shall not receive any compensation, commission, or\npayment related to any certificate of delinquency for which the notices\nrequired by the provisions of subsection (4) of this section are not sent.\n(b) For each notice mailed, one dollar ($1) shall be added to the amount of the\ncertificate of delinquency, to offset the cost of mailing, and, upon collection,\nthe county attorney or the department shall be paid the amounts as\nreimbursement for mailing costs.\n(7) (a) As compensation for the collection duties performed pursuant to a contract\nwith the department, a county attorney shall be paid twenty percent (20%) of\nthe amount due each taxing unit during the contract period, whether the\namount is paid voluntarily, through sale, or under court order, and whether the\namount is paid to the county clerk or the county attorney. The fee for the\ncounty attorney shall be added to the amount of the certificate of delinquency\nand shall be paid by the person paying the certificate of delinquency.\n(b) If payment in full is voluntarily made by the taxpayer to the county attorney\nor county clerk within five (5) days of the filing of the tax claim with the\ncounty clerk, the county attorney fee shall be waived.\n(c) 1. If a county attorney files a court action or files a cross -claim, the county\nattorney shall be paid the greater of:\na. Reasonable attorney's fees and costs that arise from the\nprosecution of collection remedies or the protection of a certificate\nof delinquency during litigation; or\nb. An additional fee of thirteen percent (13%) of the amount of the\ncertificate of delinquency and shall be reimbursed for costs\nincident to the court action. The additional fee and costs incident\nto the litigation shall be added to the certificate of delinquency and\nshall be paid by the person paying the certificate of delinquency.\n2. For purposes of subparagraph 1.a. of this paragraph:\na. Actual attorney's fees up to two thousand dollars ($2,000) may be\nreasonable if the fees are based upon documented work performed\nat a rate commensurate with hourly rates customarily charged by\nprivate attorneys in that jurisdiction for similar services. A flat fee\nrate, without hours documented for work performed, may be\nreasonable if the flat fee rate is determined to be discounted from\nthe usual and customary rates for comparable work; and\nb. Any attorney's fee arising from the litigation in excess of two\nthousand dollars ($2,000) shall be reasonable if the court finds that\nthe county attorney incurred actual attorney's fees in excess of two\nthousand dollars ($2,000) and the additional fees were warranted\nbased upon the complexity of the issues presented in the litigation.\n(d) If more than one (1) county attorney renders necessary services  to collect on a\ncertificate of delinquency, the county attorney serving the last notice or\nrendering the last substantial service preceding collection shall be entitled to\nthe fee.\n(8) (a) The county attorney shall establish a system to accept installment  payments\nfrom delinquent taxpayers. The county attorney may, during the contract\nperiod, enter into an agreement with a delinquent taxpayer to accept\ninstallment payments on the certificates of delinquency. The agreement shall\nnot waive the county attorne y's right to initiate court action or other\nauthorized collection activities if the taxpayer does not make payments in\naccordance with the agreement.\n(b) The county attorney may, upon written request of the taxpayer for good cause\nand with agreement of the  affected taxing jurisdiction or fee recipient, waive\nor reduce fees and penalties that are part of a certificate of delinquency during\nsettlement or negotiation with a taxpayer in accordance with guidance\nprovided by the department.\n(9) Any action by the county attorney authorized by this chapter shall be filed on\nrelation of the commissioner. A copy of any judgment obtained by the county\nattorney shall be sent to the department.\n(10) (a) The county attorney shall notify the county clerk and the department  of the\nfiling of an action at the time the action is filed, and of payment agreements at\nthe time the agreements are entered into. The county clerk shall note on the\ncertificate of delinquency the filing of the lawsuit or the existence of the\npayment agre ement, and these certificates of delinquency shall not be\navailable for purchase or payment by a third-party purchaser.\n(b) The county attorney shall provide to the county clerk at least ten (10) days but\nnot more than twenty (20) days prior to the annual sale date for the county\nestablished pursuant to KRS 134.128, a protected list of current year\ncertificates of delinquency that are:\n1. Under a payment plan with the county attorney on which payments are\ncurrent;\n2. Involved in litigation initiated by the county attorney or in which the\ncounty attorney responds or files an answer;\n3. Involved in bankruptcy litigation in which the county attorney has filed\na claim; or\n4. Included on a list of protected properties submitted to the county\nattorney by a vacant property review commission or an alternative\ngovernment entity as provided in KRS 99.727.\nThe list shall include sufficient detail for the county clerk to accurately\nidentify the property.\n(c) The county attorney shall notify the county clerk of the failure of any payment\nagreement and, upon notification to the clerk, the certificate of delinquency\nshall be available for purchase.\n(11) The department may make its delinquent tax collection databases and other\ntechnical resources, including but not limited t o tax refund offsetting, available to\nthe county attorney upon request from the county attorney. The county attorney\nseeking assistance shall enter into any agreements required by the department to\nprotect taxpayer confidentiality, to ensure database integ rity, or to address the\nconcerns of the department.\n(12) (a) If a county attorney chooses not to contract for collection duties, or if a county\nattorney fails to perform the duties required by the contract, the department\nshall assume responsibility for all uncollected certificates of delinquency and\npersonal property certificates of delinquency, including, at the option of the\ndepartment, those with pending court action or for which the county attorney\nhas entered into an installment payment agreement.\n(b) If the department assumes or retains responsibility for the collection of\ncertificates of delinquency and personal property certificates of delinquency,\nthe twenty percent (20%) fee that would have been paid to the county attorney\nunder subsection (7) of this section, and any other fees or costs established by\nthis section for the county attorney shall be paid to the department for deposit\nin the delinquent tax fund provided for under KRS 134.552.","path":["KRS Chapter 134"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57353","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:26Z","sha256":"2ee7984e35333ccd5926d178df151ca3f96c9864210aa6ee62e3c20759932b44","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-134.500","next":"us-ky/krs-134.505"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}