The short answer
No fixed deadline while the certificate is outstanding. Six months after a judicial sale that brings less than two thirds of the appraised value, and none at all when it brings two thirds or more.
Kentucky runs 4 different redemption windows
Which one applies is decided by the parcel, not by the state, so read the condition before trusting the headline figure.
How the clock works
Kentucky's redemption window is a property of where the parcel is in the process, not a single statewide clock, and it runs in four tracks. Track one, and by far the most common, is an outstanding certificate of delinquency: the delinquent taxpayer or anyone holding a legal or equitable estate in the property may pay the third-party purchaser the total amount due at any time, and the purchaser may accept payment from anyone at any time. No statute closes that window, so it stays open until a court forecloses. Track two is a foreclosure sale that brought less than two thirds of the property's appraised value, where the defendant and the defendant's representatives may redeem within six months of the day of sale. Track three is a foreclosure sale that brought two thirds or more of the appraised value, where no right of redemption exists at all; the purchaser takes the property outright. Track four is land the state, county, and taxing districts acquired through a KRS 134.546 action, which the taxpayer may redeem at any time before the commissioner delivers a deed to a purchaser. A third-party purchaser must also offer a monthly installment plan on written request for certificates bought after June 1, 2012, if the purchaser is one who has to register with the department.
Who can redeem
Before the annual sale, the persons listed in KRS 134.127(1)(a) may pay the county clerk: the person primarily liable, anyone paying on that person's behalf, any person holding a legal or equitable estate in the real property, a tenant or lawful occupant, and any mortgagee or holder of a security interest. Ninety days after the tax claims are filed with the clerk, any other person may pay a certificate that the taxing jurisdictions still own. Once a third-party purchaser holds the certificate, the delinquent taxpayer or any person having a legal or equitable estate in the property may pay it off at any time, and the purchaser may take payment from anyone. After a judicial sale, the right belongs to the defendant and the defendant's representatives.
What the owner pays to redeem
On an outstanding certificate a third-party purchaser may collect only the amount actually paid for the certificate, 12 percent simple interest on that amount from the purchase date, and capped prelitigation attorney fees. Those fees are tiered by the size of the certificate: up to 100 percent of a certificate between 5 and 350 dollars capped at 350 dollars, up to 80 percent of a certificate between 351 and 700 dollars capped at 560 dollars, and up to 70 percent of a certificate above 701 dollars capped at 700 dollars. Fees across several certificates against the same taxpayer are capped at one and one half times the cap for the largest bill, no more than 175 dollars may accrue per notice, and fees may accrue no more often than every 90 days. The purchaser may add up to 115 dollars in administrative fees for preparing, recording, and releasing the assignment, an installment plan processing fee of up to 8 dollars a month, and, once suit is filed, actual reasonable litigation fees, presumptively reasonable up to 2,000 dollars and above that only if the court allows them. The county clerk's own compensation of 10 percent of the amount due each taxing unit is added to the claim and paid by whoever pays it off. After a judicial sale that fell short of two thirds of appraised value, the redeemer instead pays the original purchase money, 10 percent per annum on it, and the purchaser's reasonable post-sale costs for maintenance or repair, including utilities, insurance, association fees, taxes, and nuisance code compliance.
How your interest accrues
Simple interest at 12 percent per year, never compounded. For a third-party purchaser the base is the amount actually paid to the county clerk, and interest runs on the outstanding balance of that base from the purchase date until the certificate is paid. A fraction of a month counts as an entire month, so the shortest possible hold still earns one month of interest, about 1 percent. There is no statutory floor beyond that and no premium tier. Interest can also stop: if the purchaser fails to send the notices KRS 134.490 requires, accrual of all interest and fees is suspended from that point until proper notice is given.
Why nothing is bid at this sale
Kentucky runs no auction in the ordinary sense. There is no rate to bid down and no price to bid up, because a certificate of delinquency sells for the amount due on it. What the sale allocates is access. A third-party purchaser who already holds a prior year certificate on a parcel files a priority list with the county clerk as part of registration, fifteen days before the sale, and takes that parcel's current certificate off the table before the sale opens, with the holder of the most recent tax year ranking first. Everything left is sold in lots whose size is set by how many certificates the county has, from lots of five in counties with 500 or fewer certificates up to lots of fifty in the largest counties, and the order in which registered purchasers pick lots is decided by a random drawing on the day of the sale. The clerk may not structure the sale so that one third party can take every certificate while other registered purchasers want them, and related entities and related interests may not register separately to game the draw.
What happens when it ends
Kentucky holds no county tax deed auction. Title moves only through a lawsuit. The owner of a certificate of delinquency may sue to collect the debt, to enforce the KRS 134.420 lien, or both, at any time after one year has passed from the date the taxes became delinquent, and the action must be brought within eleven years of that date. A third-party purchaser has extra duties first: a notice to the delinquent taxpayer within 50 days of receiving the certificate, that notice repeated every six months, and a further notice to the taxpayer and every mortgagee at least 45 days before filing suit.
A redeemed certificate, plus your accrued interest, is what makes the wait profitable; see how redemption periods work across states. An unredeemed certificate is instead your path to the property through a tax deed sale, which still does not convey marketable title on its own, so budget for a quiet title action.
Verified Aug 28, 2026 against Kentucky statutes.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.