Section 170 of the Kentucky Constitution grants taxpayers the right to file for homestead exemption. There are two types of homestead exemptions in Kentucky.

1. Senior Citizens 65 or older
2. Totally Disabled taxpayers

January 1 is the assessment date. The assessment of all property real or personal is based on the January 1 assessment date. Therefore, if a house burned or was damaged on January 2 or any date following in the year, the tax bill would be based on the full value. Taxes are not prorated in this situation. The same is true with personal property. For example, if you wrecked or sold a car on January 2, the entire year's tax would be due. On the other hand, if a home was under construction and the construction did not begin until January 2, taxes on the house would not be due - only taxes on the land value would be due. In the vehicle example, if you bought a new car in January, only the car owned as of January 1 would be subject to property tax.