Kentucky Mortgage Calculator
Kentucky assesses homes at 100% of fair cash value, no discount ratio, but a 2025 law now exempts up to $240,000 of value for 100% disabled veterans — pick your county below to see your real payment.
Loan & Property Details
Auto-fills from the county selected above; edit if you know your exact city + school district combined rate.
Your Estimated Monthly Payment
Choose a county and enter your details to see a plain-language read on your payment.
What If You Paid Extra Toward Principal?
Slide to test an extra monthly payment and see how many years and how much interest it saves.
What If Your Rate Changes?
Your 5-Year Equity Snapshot
Good to Know: What a Seller Pays (Deed Transfer Tax)
You won’t pay this as a buyer, but it’s worth understanding since you’ll be a seller someday.
| Statewide deed transfer tax rate | $0.50 per $500 of sale price (0.10%) |
| Who customarily pays | Seller, at closing |
| Example on a $255,000 sale | $255,000 ÷ $500 × $0.50 = $255 |
| Legal basis | KRS Chapter 142 (Kentucky real estate transfer tax) |
Kentucky Assesses at 100% Value — No Ratio to Worry About
Kentucky is refreshingly direct compared to many states in this calculator series: property is constitutionally required to be assessed at 100% of fair cash value, with no assessment ratio discounting that figure before exemptions and rates apply. Kentucky’s 120 counties each elect their own Property Valuation Administrator, or PVA, rather than appointing an assessor, and that office sets fair cash value annually as of January 1. Because there’s no ratio to reverse-engineer, the effective rate this calculator uses can be applied straight to your home price, no illustrative math or approximation needed.
Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton, and Boone: how the four biggest counties compare
Jefferson County, home to Louisville and the state’s most populous county, runs a combined rate above the statewide average. Fayette County, home to Lexington, runs a somewhat lower combined rate on generally higher home values. Kenton County, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati in Northern Kentucky, posts one of the highest combined rates among the state’s largest counties. Boone County, also in Northern Kentucky, runs a comparatively moderate rate. Switching counties above resets both price and rate defaults to match.
A brand-new near-full exemption for disabled veterans
House Bill 639, passed in 2025, created a dedicated property tax exemption for veterans with a 100% permanent and total service-connected disability rating: $240,000 of assessed value excluded from taxation starting in 2026, scheduled to climb to $400,000 by 2030. Because Kentucky’s statewide median home value sits well under that threshold, this exemption effectively zeroes out property tax for most qualifying veterans’ homes outright, not just a partial credit. It replaces the standard Homestead Exemption rather than stacking on top of it, which is exactly how the toggle above handles the two: checking the veteran exemption takes precedence.
The Homestead Exemption most 65+ Kentuckians already qualify for
Separate from the new veteran benefit, Kentucky’s long-standing Homestead Exemption excludes roughly $46,350 of assessed value from taxation for owners 65 or older, or those classified as totally disabled. The exact dollar amount is set by the Kentucky Department of Revenue every two years to keep pace with inflation, so it’s worth confirming the current biennium’s figure with your county PVA. Filing is not automatic; a one-time application establishes it, and it continues automatically after that as long as you remain eligible and occupy the home.
Kentucky’s 4% rule: a revenue cap, not a bill cap
Under House Bill 44, Kentucky limits how much total revenue a taxing district, county, school district, city, can collect from existing property to no more than 4% more than the prior year, without putting a rate increase to a public vote. When property values rise faster than that across a district, the district’s rate is recalculated downward, a “compensating rate,” to keep total collections within the 4% limit. This is a meaningfully different mechanism than a state like Indiana’s 1% cap on an individual bill: Kentucky’s rule caps what the district can collect in aggregate, not what any single home can be billed, so your own bill can still grow faster or slower than 4% depending on how your specific home’s value moved relative to the rest of the district.
Common Mistakes Kentucky Buyers Make With the Numbers
- Assuming the 4% rule caps an individual tax bill. It caps aggregate district revenue growth, not any one homeowner’s bill, which can still rise faster than 4% in a given year.
- Missing the new HB 639 veteran exemption. At $240,000 in 2026, it zeroes out property tax for most qualifying veterans’ homes, but it’s brand new and not yet widely known.
- Stacking the Homestead Exemption with the veteran exemption. The two don’t combine; a qualifying veteran uses the larger veteran exemption instead.
- Forgetting the Homestead Exemption amount changes every two years. Confirm the current biennium’s figure rather than relying on an older number.
- Confusing the deed transfer tax with an ongoing cost. It’s a modest, one-time, typically seller-paid closing charge, not a recurring bill like property tax.
Tips for Lowering Your Kentucky Mortgage Payment
- If a veteran on title has a 100% permanent disability rating, file for the HB 639 exemption with your county PVA; it’s one of the largest property tax benefits available anywhere in this calculator series.
- If a borrower on title is 65 or older or totally disabled and doesn’t qualify for the veteran exemption, file for the standard Homestead Exemption instead.
- Compare combined rates across county lines, not just home prices, especially between Northern Kentucky’s Kenton and Boone counties.
- Compare rate quotes from at least three lenders active specifically in the Louisville and Lexington markets, since local pricing can differ from national averages.
- Use the extra-payment scenario above; even a modest additional principal payment compounds meaningfully over a 30-year Kentucky loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is property tax calculated in Kentucky?
Kentucky assesses homes at 100% of fair cash value, with no assessment ratio discount, then subtracts any applicable exemptions and applies the local combined county, city, and school district rate.
How much is property tax in Kentucky?
Kentucky’s statewide effective property tax rate runs below the national average, with Kenton County posting one of the higher combined rates among the state’s largest counties and Fayette and Boone running somewhat lower.
What is Kentucky’s new disabled veteran property tax exemption?
House Bill 639 (2025) exempts up to $240,000 of assessed value in 2026 for veterans with a 100% permanent, service-connected disability rating, rising to $400,000 by 2030, replacing the standard Homestead Exemption.
What is Kentucky’s Homestead Exemption?
An exemption of roughly $46,350 of assessed value (adjusted every two years) for owners 65 or older or totally disabled. It must be filed once with the county PVA and then continues automatically.
What is Kentucky’s 4% property tax rule?
Under House Bill 44, a taxing district’s total revenue from existing property can’t grow more than 4% a year without a public vote, which forces districts to lower their rate, a “compensating rate,” when values rise faster. It caps aggregate district revenue, not any individual bill.
Does Kentucky have a real estate transfer tax?
Yes, a statewide deed transfer tax of $0.50 per $500 of sale price, about 0.10%, customarily paid by the seller.
Which Kentucky county has the lowest property tax rate?
Among the state’s larger counties, Boone and Fayette generally run lower combined rates than Kenton or Jefferson.
What down payment do I need to buy a home in Kentucky?
Conventional loans often start around 5% down, FHA loans typically require 3.5%, and VA loans can allow 0% down for eligible veterans.
When can I remove PMI on a Kentucky home loan?
Federal law allows requesting PMI removal at 20% equity, with automatic lender cancellation at 22% equity based on the original amortization schedule.
Does this calculator include closing costs?
No, this tool estimates the ongoing monthly payment only. Kentucky closing costs, including the modest transfer tax for sellers, typically add a small percentage of the purchase price.
References
- Kentucky Department of Revenue, Homestead Exemption and property tax guidance – revenue.ky.gov
- Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton, and Boone County Property Valuation Administrator offices, current combined rates – county government sites
- 2025 Kentucky House Bill 639 (disabled veteran exemption) and House Bill 44 (4% revenue cap / compensating rate)
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, weekly national rate averages – freddiemac.com/pmms
Related DexoCalc Tools
This Kentucky mortgage calculator is part of the Mortgage Calculators cluster I am building out on DexoCalc. Start with the national Mortgage Calculator to compare Kentucky against any other state, see a very different revenue-cap mechanism next door in the Indiana Mortgage Calculator, compare another state with a large disabled-relief exemption in the Idaho Mortgage Calculator, or check a state at the opposite tax extreme in the New Jersey Mortgage Calculator. Browse every state-specific tool as new ones publish on the full Mortgage Calculators hub.
This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and is not a loan offer, pre-approval, or substitute for advice from a licensed Kentucky mortgage professional or tax advisor. Property tax, exemption, and transfer tax figures are approximations that vary by county and individual circumstances; confirm exact figures with your county PVA. Sources: Kentucky Department of Revenue, county PVA offices, Freddie Mac.