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HB 100

AN ACT proposing an amendment to Section 170 of the Constitution of Kentucky relating to property exempt from taxation.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Al Gentry and 2 co-sponsors

Raises the homestead exemption to $100,000 for eligible homeowners, indexes it annually, and allows up to 5-year municipal exemptions for manufacturing sites.

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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 100

Summary of HB 100 (2026RS) – Kentucky

Purpose and intent

  • Proposes a constitutional amendment to Section 170 of the Kentucky Constitution.
  • Primary goal: increase the property tax homestead exemption to $100,000 and authorize annual indexing of the exemption amount.
  • If enacted, the amendment would also specify how the exemption applies to various forms of title and ownership, and would allow targeted municipal exemptions for manufacturing establishments for up to five years as an inducement to locate in a city or town.

Key provisions (as drafted in Section 2 of the amendment)

  • The real property exemption would apply to:
    • Public property used for public purposes.
    • Burial sites not operated for private or corporate profit.
    • Real property and related personal property owned by religious institutions, institutions of purely public charity, and educational institutions not operated for private gain (income must be devoted to education, libraries, and maintenance of such properties).
    • Household goods in a person’s home.
    • Crops grown in the assessment year and in the producer’s hands.
    • Real property maintained as the permanent residence of the owner if the owner is 65+ or classified as totally disabled under U.S. government programs or a retirement system (in or outside Kentucky), provided certain conditions are met:
    • The owner receives disability payments and maintains the disability classification throughout the taxation period.
    • The owner files an annual signed, perjury-stated declaration by December 31 confirming continuing disability, on forms provided, with a cap of up to $100,000 in assessed value.
    • The $100,000 exemption amount would be indexed annually (the text shows a placeholder “[sixty-five hundred]” that presumably should read as $100,000; the final amount is stated as $100,000 elsewhere in Section 2).
  • Ownership and structure of property:
    • Exemption applies to real property owned or occupied by the taxpayer, with various forms of ownership (real property in several forms or through stock/membership in a related corporation owning a fee or leasehold).
    • The exemption applies to the value of the property assessable to the owner; if ownership is through stock or membership, the exempt portion is proportional to the owner’s interest in the corporation relative to the property’s assessed value.
  • Municipal provisions:
    • The General Assembly could authorize incorporation of cities or towns to exempt manufacturing establishments from municipal taxation for up to five years as an economic inducement.
  • Personal property:
    • The General Assembly could, by law, provide exemptions for all or any portion of personal property tax for any class of personal property, notwithstanding other constitutional provisions to the contrary.
  • Effective date:
    • If ratified, the exemption would apply only to real property assessments beginning on or after January 1, 2027.

Submission and ballot timing

  • The amendment would be submitted to voters for ratification at the next general election (in Kentucky, this is the November election in even-numbered years).
  • Publication and ballot-crafting requirements align with existing constitutional amendment processes, with deadlines for publication and ballot placement specified.

Who is affected

  • Homeowners with eligible aged or disabled individuals meeting the specified criteria (potentially large impact for seniors and disabled veterans/recipients).
  • Property owners of religious, charitable, and educational institutions benefiting from existing property exemptions.
  • Municipalities and local governments (via potential tax exemptions for manufacturing establishments).
  • Local tax assessors, county clerks, and election officials who administer the ballot and assess exemptions; the fiscal impact on local governments is expected but not precisely estimable at this time.

Estimated fiscal and procedural notes

  • Local fiscal impact: Expected to be significant for affected jurisdictions, though precise costs are not readily estimable.
  • Ballot and election costs: Minor but real costs for adding a constitutional ballot item and potentially more complex ballot formatting; costs vary by county.
  • The measure would require publication by the Secretary of State and certification to county clerks, with ballot language provided to voters if approved.

If you’d like, I can provide a side-by-side comparison with the current constitutional text to highlight all changes, or a brief FAQ addressing typical questions about eligibility and how indexing would operate.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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