Property taxes, especially real property taxes, matter to businesses or non-profits with locations in Kentucky, because such taxes often present a material cost that may be either managed so that only the appropriate amount of tax is levied or avoided when an exemption applies.

With real property taxes, it is best to think about procedure first. This is because applicable administrative procedures for real property taxes must be exhausted to obtain relief. Cromwell Louisville Assocs. v. Jefferson Cnty. Prop. Valuation Adm’r, 323 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2010). And, real property tax administrative procedures differ from those other taxes, are complicated and involve tight time frames. Substantive tax issues are constitutional in nature. The Kentucky Constitution requires that real property be valued at its fair cash value. Ky. Const. § 172. Constitutional protections of uniformity and equal protection inure to taxpayers. Ky. Const. §§ 2 & 171-74; U.S. Const. amend. XIV. And, the Kentucky Constitution provides for property tax exemptions for institutions of religion, institutions of purely public charity, and for institutions of education as well as for public property used for public purposes. Ky. Const. § 172.

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