Kenton County has reduced its property taxes to the lowest level since 1983.
The Kenton County Fiscal Court on Tuesday held the second reading of an ordinance that would reduce property taxes from 13.3 cents to 12.5 cents per $100 of assessed value – a 6% reduction from last year.
This is the fourth year in a row that the district has lowered its rate.
How does the property tax work?
Property taxes are broken down into several categories. The first and usually largest part of your tax bill is the property tax, sometimes called real estate tax. This is essentially a tax on everything you own that is nailed down. For individuals, this is homes and other real estate. For businesses, this is office buildings and other buildings and facilities used for business purposes.
Tangible personal property, on the other hand, is another form of property that is not real estate ownership. Depending on where you live, residents may not have to pay taxes on personal property at all—this varies by jurisdiction.
Depending on where you live, additional tax-related fees may apply.
Read more here.
Kris Knochelmann, judge and county administrator for Kenton County, said lowering the tax rate was the “right thing to do.”
“For two years we have been working to rebalance our tax system so that the tax burden
will be taken away from homeowners in Kenton County,” said Judge/Administrative Councilor Kris Knochelmann
said in a press release. “Now we are seeing the results of those efforts in the form of the recent interest rate cuts.”
During the meeting, Commissioner Jon Draud said the fee reduction will help make Kenton County one of the most attractive places to live in the state.
“Maintaining a low property tax creates a level playing field with our neighboring countries.
counties,” he said.
In addition, Kenton County’s motor vehicle tax remains unchanged at 15.8 cents per $100 of assessed value and the personal property tax is 16 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The Kentucky Department of Revenue defines real property as land and any permanent structures attached to it. Tangible personal property is defined as physical and taxable property such as manufacturing machinery, artwork, antiques, coin collections, and construction equipment. Registered automobiles and watercraft are not considered tangible personal property.
Last October, Kenton County voted to reduce the county’s business tax rate, or payroll tax, from 0.9097% to 0.6997%. This rate applies to all wages below 100% of the federal Social Security cap, which is $168,600 in 2024.
The cut followed a controversial payroll tax increase last year. Starting in January 2023, the payroll tax rate increased from 0.7097% on all wages under $25,000 to 0.9097% on all wages under $80,100.
When the Tax Court voted to increase the county’s payroll tax rate in November 2022, lawmakers said they were trying to resolve the “revenue imbalance” between payroll and property taxes.
In testimony leading up to the payroll tax increase, then-Kenton County Treasurer Roy Cox said that payroll taxes have historically made up a disproportionately large share of county revenue, causing the county to be overly reliant on them for revenue. The increase would allow the county to readjust its tax structure so that the Fiscal Court could lower property taxes for residents in the future.
The plan finally became a reality when Kenton County voted in August 2023 to lower its property tax rate from 14.4 cents to 13.3 cents per $100 of assessed value.
According to Knochelmann, this was all part of the plan.
“It is important to remind people of this part of the plan because we have adjusted the trade tax and reduced the property tax rate,” Knochelmann said during the meeting before the tax court.
During the last Fiscal Court meeting on Aug. 13, Knochelmann said the effort was aimed at reducing the likelihood of the county raising property taxes. Treasurer Kurt Greivenkamp pointed out that Kenton County will have to pay $154,484,000 in new property taxes.
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