Responsibilities

The Commonwealth of Kentucky adopted the title Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) in place of the more commonly used county tax commissioner or tax assessor.  Each of the 120 Kentucky counties has a PVA Office with a locally elected PVA.  The PVA Office is required to administrate "ad valorem" taxes.  Ad valorem is Latin for "according to value," which means that taxes are based on the value of the property.

Property Assessment

Section 172 of the Kentucky Constitution requires the PVA to assess all property at 100% fair cash value as of the assessment date of January 1, unless specifically exempted.  Fair cash value, or fair market value, is defined as the price a property would bring at a fair and voluntary sale between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither party under duress, given a reasonable amount of time on the market. The PVA’s task is to analyze the market and ensure that assessments of properties follow the market determined by buyers and sellers.

Pursuant to statute, the Kenton County PVA Office is required to physically inspect all parcels within its county no less than once every four years.  To accomplish this, Kenton County is divided into “quads”, with each quad being reviewed once every four years.  The quadrennial physical examination schedule must be approved by the Department of Revenue at the beginning of each four year term.  To access the current DOR approved Kenton County Quadrennial Physical Examination Schedule, click here.

Tangible Property Recording & Assessment

The PVA is also responsible for listing all tangible personal property as of January 1 of each year.  The PVA receives and enters the data from filers for all tangible personal property tax returns in Kenton County.  Values for tax purposes on all automobiles, recreational vehicles, watercraft, etc. are also maintained by the PVA Office using standardized values provided by the Finance and Administration Cabinet.  The PVA may make adjustments due to high mileage and costs to repair with proper documentation.

Other Responsibilities

Tracking ownership changes, maintaining tax maps, updating building characteristics and administering exemptions for real property are also ongoing responsibilities of the PVA Office.

Office Oversight

Kentucky law provides for direct supervision of all PVA’s by the Finance and Administration Cabinet.  Every year the Cabinet evaluates the performance of each PVA Office to determine if it has met the constitutional and statutory requirements. The PVA’s tax roll must meet required assessment levels and adhere to required standards of equity before it is certified, an obligation that must be met before tax rates can be set by local taxing entities and before tax bills can be printed.  The PVA does not set tax rates or collect taxes.