{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-134.551","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 134.551","heading":"Refund to purchaser of certificate of delinquency that is unenforceable or","body":"declared void -- Reassessment of property.\n(1) If a certificate of delinquency or personal property certificate of delinquency held by\nan individual is declared void b y a court of competent jurisdiction because of the\nirregularity of taxing officers, the amount for which the certificate was issued shall\nbe refunded by the state, county, and taxing districts on a pro rata basis. If a school\ndistrict or county is unable t o make the refund currently when requested, it shall be\ngiven preference from the next year's revenue. The application for refund must be\nmade within one (1) year after the judgment. The property covered by the void\ncertificate shall be assessed immediately as omitted property and the tax bill shall be\npayable as soon as prepared.\n(2) (a) If a certificate of delinquency held by a third -party purchaser who paid the\ncertificate of delinquency to the county clerk:\n1. Is unenforceable because:\na. It is a duplicate certificate of delinquency;\nb. The tax liability represented by the certificate of delinquency was\nsatisfied prior to the purchase of the certificate of delinquency;\nc. All or a portion of the certificate of delinquency is exonerated; or\nd. The propert y to which the certificate of delinquency applies was\nnot subject to taxes as a matter of law as certified by the property\nvaluation administrator; or\n2. Should not have been sold because, on the date of the annual sale, the\ncertificate of delinquency met the requirements for inclusion on the\nprotected list pursuant to KRS 134.504(10) and it:\na. Was included on the protected list;\nb. Was mistakenly left off the protected list; or\nc. Became eligible for inclusion on the protected list between the date\nthe protected list was submitted and the date of sale;\nthe third-party purchaser may apply to the county clerk for a refund.\n(b) The application for refund filed with the county clerk shall include written\nproof that one (1) of the situations described in paragraph (a) of this\nsubsection exists with regard to the certificate of delinquency for which a\nrefund is sought.\n(c) 1. Upon acceptance and approval of the application for refund, the county\nclerk shall approve a refund of the amount paid to the county clerk by\nthe third-party purchaser in satisfaction of the certificate of delinquency.\nThe refunded amount shall not include any f iling fees paid by the third -\nparty purchaser to the county clerk.\n2. Amounts refunded to the third -party purchaser shall be deducted from\namounts in the hands of the county clerk due to the state, county, taxing\ndistricts, sheriff, county attorney, and the  county clerk on a pro rata\nbasis, if the county clerk has sufficient funds in his or her hands to make\nthe refund.\n3. If the county clerk does not have sufficient funds to make the refund at\nthe time the refund is approved, the county clerk may either:\na. Retain the approved refund claim in his or her office and make the\nrefund payment as soon as he or she has sufficient funds in his or\nher hands to make the refund payment; or\nb. Provide a signed letter to the person to whom payment is due,\nwhich includes the amount due from each taxing jurisdiction or fee\noffice, and which directs each taxing jurisdiction or fee official to\npay to the person the amount due and owing from that taxing\njurisdiction or fee official as reflected in the letter.\n4. Upon the making of a refund to a third -party purchaser, the county clerk\nshall issue and file a release of the lien on the property assessed for taxes\nas provided in this subparagraph without charge to the third -party\npurchaser. The release shall be linked to the encumb rance in the county\nclerk's indexing system.\na. The department shall prepare a release form to be used by the\ncounty clerk when a refund is paid under this paragraph. The form\nshall include, at a minimum, the following:\ni. The name and address of the taxpayer;\nii. The name and address of the third-party purchaser;\niii. The book and page number of the third -party purchaser's lis\npendens filing;\niv. The property address;\nv. The applicable tax year; and\nvi. The map identification number or tax bill number.\nb. The release form shall be signed by the government official\nresponsible for making the correction.\nc. In addition to the signed release form, information filed by the\ncounty clerk shall include a copy of the documentation provided by\nthe government official and a copy of the refund check or letter of\nrefund authorization issued to the third -party purchaser. The\ncounty clerk shall record and file this information without a fee.\nd. The county clerk shall also make any necessary corrections to the\ntax records within the office of the county clerk.\ne. The county clerk shall return the release document to the taxpayer\nand shall provide a copy of the release document to the third -party\npurchaser.\n(d) If the county clerk denies the application for refund, or the pr operty valuation\nadministrator fails to certify that property was not subject to taxes as a matter\nof law, the third -party purchaser may appeal the decision of the county clerk\nor the property valuation administrator to the Board of Tax Appeals pursuant\nto KRS 49.220.","path":["KRS Chapter 134"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51505","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:26Z","sha256":"266cba49cf8ac13d9314b230e4169ab9a6de7ae5a5edba011d8166df9b8897fe","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-134.550","next":"us-ky/krs-134.552"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}