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Property tax rates are always on the minds of Clark Countians. 

Thankfully, some questions have been answered. 

Clark County Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) Jada Brady recently clarified information that others may know and benefit from. 

“We are a constitutional-based office, and based on the constitution of the office, we have to assess property at 100% fair cash value,” said Brady. “Regarding taxes, I’d like people to know that.” 

Brady went into detail. 

“Fair cash value is essentially the [willing] purchase price between two strangers,” she said. “It’s what the stranger is willing to give another stranger for said value.” 

For example, if an item is willingly sold for $200,000, that would be its fair cash value. 

The responsibility to assess property at fair cash value, the PVA assessment value, is required as part of Kentucky Constitution Section 172. 

In accordance with it, the punishment of the assessor for willful error could be severe. 

As stated at https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/Law/Constitution/Constitution/ViewConstitution?rsn=201, “any officer, or other person authorized to assess values for taxation, who shall commit any willful error in performance of his [or her] duty, shall be deemed guilty of misfeasance, and upon conviction thereof shall forfeit his office, and be otherwise punished as may be provided by the law.” 

Although the state of Kentucky has previously had to step in to aid Clark County, this is not currently the case. 

With the PVA assessment value known, the question remains of how to calculate an individual’s tax bill.

Mathematically, the method sounds simple. 

It would be the PVA assessment value multiplied by the tax rate. 

Yet individuals might also wonder how the county tax rate is determined. 

To answer that question, several numbers and some math are required.

In Clark County, the tax rate is composed of the rates set by six different districts: Clark County Fiscal Court, Schools, Extension Office, Library, Health Department, and State Taxes. 

For 2023, the respective tax rates are 8.1, 67.5, 3.2, 5.1, 4.6, and 11.4. 

Thus, when added together, county taxes for 2023 are at a rate of 99.9. 

Therefore, using the above-mentioned mathematical formula, if a property is worth $200,000, multiply it by .00999 to equal a county tax bill of $1,998. 

House Bill 44, enacted by the General Assembly in 1979, provides further information about tax rates. 

As might be expected, rates change every year depending on different factors. 

The 2024 results will be published later this year. 

“That will come in August,” Brady said. “We’ll be working…to get the assessment certified, and then we’ll be able to see what the…tax rates are based on that.”