Kentucky Homestead Exemption 2026: $49,100 Off for 65+

If you or your spouse turned 65 this year, or if either of you is classified as totally disabled, you likely qualify for Kentucky's Homestead Exemption on your primary residence. It reduces your home's assessed value by $49,100 before your property tax bill is calculated, and once you're approved, you don't have to reapply every year. Most eligible homeowners never claim it, simply because nobody told them it existed.

Because the exemption is a flat dollar amount, not a percentage, the annual savings stays roughly the same whether your home is worth $250,000 or $500,000.

What Is Kentucky's Homestead Exemption?

Kentucky's Homestead Exemption is a constitutional property tax break (Section 170 of the Kentucky Constitution) available to homeowners age 65 or older, or those classified as totally disabled, on the home they own and occupy as their primary residence. The exemption amount is set by the state legislature every two years, adjusted for inflation. For the 2025-2026 assessment period, it's $49,100, up from $46,350 in 2023-2024.

The mechanics are simple: your county PVA subtracts the exemption amount from your home's assessed value, and your property tax bill is calculated on what's left. It's not a check in the mail and it's not a discount on the bill itself. It's a reduction to the number your tax rate gets applied to.

Who Qualifies for the Kentucky Homestead Exemption?

You qualify if you're 65 or older, or classified as totally disabled under a government-administered retirement or disability program (Social Security, VA, or a public or private retirement system), and you own and occupy the property as your primary residence as of January 1 of the application year. If you're married and only one spouse has turned 65, that's enough to qualify the household.

You can only claim one exemption per household, and Homestead and Disability exemptions don't stack; you get one or the other, whichever applies to your situation.

Do I Have to Reapply Every Year?

No. Once your county PVA approves your Homestead Exemption, it stays in place automatically as long as you continue to own and live in that home. The only time you need to reapply is if you move to a different primary residence, at which point you'll need to notify your new county's PVA and file again there.

How Much Does the Homestead Exemption Actually Save You?

The dollar savings depend on your home's assessed value and your local tax rate, since Kentucky property tax rates are set by a combination of state, county, city, school district, and fire/special district levies, and the exact mix depends on where your home sits within Jefferson County. For 2026, the state (10.3¢), Louisville Metro (11.64¢) and JCPS (70.3¢, as proposed) rates add up to about $0.922 per $100 of assessed value, before your local district is added. Here is what the $49,100 exemption is worth in each case (savings = $49,100 ÷ 100 × your combined rate):

For the full Shepherdsville rate breakdown, see Shepherdsville vs. Louisville property taxes. If your Jefferson County bill went up this year, see why Louisville property tax bills jumped in 2026.

That last part is worth sitting with: because the exemption is a flat dollar amount ($49,100) rather than a percentage, the annual savings stays roughly the same across price points; it shows up as a bigger percentage of the tax bill on a lower-value home than on a higher-value one, but the raw dollar savings holds steady, which is worth knowing if you're comparing a downsized condo against staying in a larger family home.

Your exact rate depends on your specific address and taxing district. Your county PVA or sheriff's office (which bills and collects the tax) can confirm the precise current rate for your property.

Figures use 2026 rates: state 10.3¢ (Kentucky Department of Revenue), Louisville Metro 11.64¢ and Urban Services District 32.76¢ (adopted by Metro Council, September 2026), and the JCPS rate of 70.3¢ as proposed in September 2026. Fire district rates vary by district. Jefferson County PVA publishes the final combined schedule ahead of November tax bills; confirm your exact rate with the PVA or sheriff.

How and Where to Apply, By County

The Homestead Exemption is a state program, but you apply through your local county PVA, and each office handles the process a little differently.

Whichever county you're in, the underlying rule is the same: file Form 62A350 with your county PVA, provide proof of age (a driver's license, Real ID, birth certificate, or passport works) or disability documentation, and you're done for as long as you live there.

Homestead vs. Disability Exemption: Which Applies to You?

If you qualify by age, you file under the Homestead provision. If you qualify by disability rather than age, you file under the Disability provision, which requires documentation from the government agency or retirement system that classified you as totally disabled, along with proof you're not working except in limited sheltered employment. The dollar amount is identical either way, $49,100 for 2025-2026, and a household only receives one or the other, not both.

If you're a disabled veteran, it's worth knowing that a bill proposing a larger, separate veteran-specific property tax exemption (House Bill 639) was introduced in the 2025 legislative session but died in committee and never became law. Some tax-planning sites still describe its proposed figures as if they're in effect; they aren't. Right now, a 100% permanently and totally disabled veteran qualifies for the same $49,100 Homestead Exemption as any other totally disabled homeowner, nothing more, unless and until new legislation actually passes.

If You're Moving to Kentucky to Retire

If you're relocating from out of state, the Homestead Exemption only applies once you actually own and occupy a Kentucky home as your primary residence, so it's not something you can claim before you move. But it's a real number worth factoring into the "what will this actually cost me" math when you're comparing Kentucky to wherever you're moving from. Combined with how Kentucky taxes retirement income, the exemption is one more piece of the real, ongoing cost of owning a home here, not just the price you pay to buy it.

If you're weighing Louisville against staying put, or against Southern Indiana, that's a conversation worth having with real numbers on the table before you commit to a move.

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Kentucky vs. Indiana: How the Senior Tax Picture Compares

Indiana works differently. Instead of a flat reduction in assessed value, it caps homestead property taxes at 1% of gross assessed value, and homeowners 65 and older can get an Over 65 Credit of up to $150 (income limits apply) plus a Circuit Breaker Credit that limits yearly increases to 2%. You apply through the county auditor by January 15. See Indiana's Over 65 property tax credit, explained. Because of the 1% cap, a Southern Indiana homeowner often still pays less than a Louisville homeowner who has the $49,100 exemption, about $700 a year less on a $350,000 home. See our Kentucky vs. Indiana retirement comparison and property tax comparison for the full breakdown.

Frequently Asked Questions

Every homeowner's situation is different once you factor in your specific county, tax district, and home value. If you want to understand what the Homestead Exemption, combined with Kentucky's retirement income tax treatment, would actually mean for your budget, that's exactly the kind of financial-planning conversation worth having before you decide where to put down roots.