Kentucky Instructions for Kentucky Property Tax Assessment Appeals

Instructions for Kentucky Property Tax Assessment Appeals
Form 62F003
APPEALS PROCESS FOR
REAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Department of Revenue
Office of Property Valuation

62F003 (12-20)

INTRODUCTION
Section 172 of the Constitution of Kentucky requires that all property
be assessed for taxation at its fair cash value. The assessment date
is January 1 of each year. Fair cash value is defined as the price a
property would bring at a fair, voluntary sale with a willing buyer and
willing seller. Whenever an assessed value of real property changes
from the previous year’s assessment, the local property valuation
administrator (PVA) is required to send the affected property owner
a notice of the change. When property owners disagree with the new
assessed value, the first step in the appeals process is to schedule a
conference with the PVA or a designated deputy.
CONFERENCE PROCEDURES
A property owner must schedule a conference prior to the end of
the designated time period known as the tax roll inspection period.
The inspection period affords property owners the opportunity to
review all assessments for the current year. The tax roll inspection
period is normally scheduled to begin on the first Monday in May,
continues for six days per week for the next two weeks, and ends on
the third Monday in May. However, this schedule may be adjusted if
reassessment work in a particular county requires extra time. Each
county’s inspection period schedule is required to be published in
the local newspaper with the widest circulation.
Although most PVAs send out assessment increase notices one to
two weeks prior to the start of the inspection period, some mail their
notices early in the year. If this occurs and the property owner wants
to discuss the new assessment with the PVA, rather than waiting until
the inspection period begins in May, a conference can be scheduled
as soon as possible after the notice is received.
At the conference, the PVA or a designated deputy will explain how
the new assessment was derived. All information used to reassess the
property should be presented to the property owner. Property owners
must declare their opinion of value for the property and be prepared
to present any evidence to support the declared value. Examples of
this type of documentation include:
•	 sales or assessment data from comparable
	 properties;
•	 income and expense statements for the past three accounting
periods (this pertains mainly to commercial properties);
•	 any recent appraisals of the property;
•	 original construction cost or cost of additions or improvements to
the property;
•	 documentation of insured value; or
•	 asking price information if the property has been recently offered
for sale.
Although it is desirable that the conference between the property
owner and PVA be in person, it is realized that in some instances a
face-to-face meeting would be overly burdensome on the property
owner. To alleviate this problem, conferences are permitted to be
conducted by telephone.
Past experience has shown that most disagreements over assessments
are resolved at these conferences. Either the property owner
understands more about the assessment process and accepts the new

assessment as fair, or a decrease in the assessed value is made due to
the documentation provided by the property owner or in the discovery
of an error in the PVA records. However, when a conference does not
end in agreement, the next step available to the property owner is to
file an assessment appeal with the county clerk’s office.
FILING THE APPEAL
The PVA is required to maintain a written record of each conference
held. Upon completion of the conference with the PVA, a copy of the
written summary of the conference results may be provided to the
property owner. This copy is to be retained by the property owner and
then presented to the county clerk as documentation that a conference
was held with the PVA when an appeal is filed.
The property owner must obtain and complete an appeals form
from the county clerk’s office in the county where the property is
located. The appeals form requires the property owner to provide
general information about the property under appeal. It also requires
confirmation that a conference has been held with the PVA. Finally,
the property owner must state his or her opinion of the fair cash
value of the property and explain why it is thought that the property
is assessed too high. After completion, the property owner must then
file the appeals form with the county clerk’s office. The county clerk’s
office will schedule and notify all property
owners when and where their appeal hearing
MAY
will be held.
The last date to file an appeal is one working
day after the close of the inspection period.
For example, if the inspection period closes
on the third Monday of May, then all appeals must be filed in the
clerk’s office by the close of business on the Tuesday following the
third Monday in May.
APPEAL HEARING–
APPEARING BEFORE THE
LOCAL BOARD OF
ASSESSMENT APPEALS
All real property assessment appeals are heard by a three-member
panel known as the local board of assessment appeals. The board
is comprised of three local residents who are knowledgeable about
real estate values in the county. The specific requirements that
must be met by the board members are listed in the section titled
“Requirements of the Local Board of Assessment Appeals.”
The hearings at the local level are informal. Retaining an attorney or
other professional representative is not necessary; however, a property
owner can have a representative if it is desired. Any compensated
representative of a property owner must be an attorney, a certified
public accountant, a certified real estate appraiser, a Kentucky
licensed real estate broker, a licensed or certified Kentucky Real
Estate Appraiser, an appraiser who possesses a temporary practice
permit or reciprocal license to perform appraisals in Kentucky that
are required to conform to the Uniform Standards of Professional
Appraisal Practice, an employee of the taxpayer, or any other
individual possessing a professional appraisal designation recognized
by the Department of Revenue. In addition, a representative must
present written authorization from the property owner which details
the professional capacity of the representative, and it must also
disclose any personal interests the representative may have in the

outcome of the appeal, including any contingency fee arrangements.
However, if the representative is an attorney, any contingency fee
arrangement does not have to be disclosed. At the hearing, the
PVA will present information in support of the assessment and the
property owner must present factual evidence to support his or
her claim of value. A listing of suggested documentation is included
in the “Conference Procedures” section. However, while a property
owner can have a conference with the PVA without providing any
documentation an appeal will be denied if the taxpayer has been
asked to present information by the PVA, Department of Revenue,
or the board, but fails to do so.
A decision will not immediately be made by the board. The property
owner will be notified by certified mail of the board’s decision. If
the property owner is dissatisfied with the local board’s ruling, an
appeal can then be filed at the state level with the Kentucky Board of
Tax Appeals (KBTA). The specific procedures to follow when filing
an appeal with the KBTA are listed in the section titled "Kentucky
Board of Tax Appeals Procedures."
REQUIREMENTS FOR
APPOINTMENT TO THE
LOCAL BOARD OF
ASSESSMENT APPEALS
The local board of assessment appeals is comprised of three reputable
real property owners that have resided in the county for at least five
years. One member is appointed by the county judge-executive,
the fiscal court appoints one member, and the final appointment is
made by the mayor of the city with the largest assessment using the
tax roll prepared by the PVA. All members are appointed to serve
a three-year term.
Each member must have extensive knowledge of local real estate
values preferably through work in real estate sales, appraisals,
management, financing or construction.
KENTUCKY BOARD OF TAX APPEALS PROCEDURES
When a property owner is dissatisfied with the decision of the local
board of assessment appeals, the appeal process can be continued
at the state level by filing an appeal with the Kentucky Board of Tax
Appeals (KBTA). The appeal must be received by the KCC within
30 days from the date of the mailing of the ruling notice sent by the
local board of assessment appeals.

Hearings before the KBTA are more formal than those before the
local board; however, legal representation is not required if an
individual chooses to represent himself. Any artificial entity such as
a corporation or partnership must have legal counsel. The property
owner must again present evidence to support his or her opinion of
the property’s value and the PVA will again document the basis of
the new assessments. Rulings of the KCC are mailed to the property
owner and the PVA.
An appeal from the order of the KCC can be taken to the circuit court
of the county in which the property is located and from the order of
the circuit court to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
PAYMENT OF TAXES WHILE APPEAL IS PENDING
A property owner is entitled to pay property taxes based upon his
or her claim of value until the appeal is resolved. When the appeals
process is finalized, and if the value of the property is determined
to be more than the amount claimed by the property owner, a
supplemental tax bill will be sent to the property owner. The
following example will illustrate this situation:
Assessment of Value
PVA’s Appraisal:			$75,000	
Property Owner’s Claim:		
$60,000
The property owner appeals to the local board and is dissatisfied
with the ruling received. The appeal is taken to the KBTA. Property
tax bills are prepared and mailed in October. The appeal before the
KBTA is not scheduled to be heard until November, and in December
the KBTA rules that the property’s value should be $70,000. The
appeal is not taken any further.
In the above situation, the property owner’s October tax bill is based
upon $60,000, which is the property owner’s claim of value. In
December the property owner will receive a supplemental tax bill
based on a $10,000 assessment, which is the difference between the
ruling of the KBTA and the property owner’s claim of value.
It should be noted that if the appeal procedure extends past December
and if a supplemental bill must ultimately be sent out, interest will
be applied to the balance due. The interest rate used varies by law
each year with the prime rate.
MORE INFORMATION

To file an appeal with the KBTA, a letter outlining the reason for
the appeal must be sent to the KBTA. This letter must be prepared
in triplicate and a copy of the ruling notice received from the local
board of assessment appeals must also be included with each copy.
The mailing address of the KBTA is:
Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals
500 Mero Street
Frankfort, KY 40601
The property owner and PVA will be notified by mail of the time
and location of the appeal hearing. Since the board members will
often travel to various areas of the Commonwealth to hear appeals,
it may not be necessary for the property owner to drive to Frankfort
for the appeal hearing.

Property owners with questions about the real property assessment
appeal process can contact the local PVA office, or write the Office
of Property Valuation, 501 High Street, Station 30, Frankfort, KY
40620 or call (502) 564-8338.