The county tax bill is the one that gets sold.

KRS Chapter 134, applied to Warren County

From sheriff’s bill to third-party purchaser

1. The bill (October to April 15)

The Warren County Attorney’s office explains the cycle. Real estate tax bills generally go out in October, are due December 31, and are paid to the Sheriff’s Office from November 1 through April 15. The bill is also a personal obligation of whoever owned the property on January 1 of that year ^[1].

2. Certificate of delinquency (April 15)

Under KRS 134.122 the sheriff files every unpaid real-property bill with the county clerk on April 15. Each one becomes a certificate of delinquency, and collection passes from the sheriff to the Department of Revenue ^[2]. The Department’s summary lists what then gets added: interest at 1% a month, a 10% county clerk fee and a 20% county attorney fee ^[3]. KRS 134.125 sets the interest as 12% simple a year, with any part of a month counted as a full month ^[4].

The certificate is a lien. KRS 134.420 gives the state, county and taxing districts a lien on the property for 11 years after the taxes become delinquent, ahead of other obligations on the property ^[5].

3. County attorney notices and payment plans (May to June)

The county attorney must send a notice by May 15 and, if needed, another by June 15. This is the window for an installment plan with the county attorney ^{[3] [6]}. In Warren County, a certificate covered by a payment agreement with the County Attorney’s Office cannot be sold to a third-party purchaser. Once a certificate has been sold, the county’s payment plan is no longer available ^[1].

4. The sale (August 26, 2026 in Warren County)

KRS 134.128 requires each county’s sale to fall 90 to 135 days after the sheriff files the claims, on a statewide schedule the Department publishes ^[7]. The Department’s 2026 schedule lists Warren County on August 26, 2026 ^[8]. The Warren County Clerk set registration to close on August 17, 2026 at 4:30 p.m., required bidders to deposit 25% of the amount due on current-year certificates, and posted the list after July 17, 2026 ^{[9] [10]}. The list of delinquent bills stays on the clerk’s site ^[11].

Buyers who plan to buy more than three certificates in a county, more than five statewide, or more than $10,000 worth must first register with the Department of Revenue and pay a $250 fee ^[12].

5. After a third party buys it

Within 50 days of buying the certificate, the purchaser must notify you by certified mail, then again every six months. They must also give 45 days’ notice before filing suit, with a copy to your mortgage lender ^[13]. KRS 134.452 limits what they can add. On a certificate of $5 to $350, for example, pre-suit attorney fees are capped at 100% of the certificate amount and no more than $350 ^[14]. A suit can be filed one year after the taxes became delinquent and must be brought within 11 years. If a third-party purchaser forecloses, there is no right of redemption after the sale ^[15].

How many Warren County bills reach a buyer

The Department of Revenue publishes what third-party purchasers paid at each county’s sale. For Warren County, 269 bills were bought in the 2009 results and 153 in the 2022 results (sale held August 17, 2023), and purchasers paid $233,834 that year ^{[16] [17]}. In the 2021 sheriff’s report, 0.70% of the state real-property tax charged in Warren County was reported delinquent ^[18]. The full series, county by county, is in our Warren County tax sale dataset.