KRS 142.050 — Real estate transfer tax -- Collection on recording -- Exemptions

(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Deed" means any document, instrument, or writing other than a will and
other than a lease or easement, regardless of where made, executed, or
delivered, by which any real property in Kent ucky, or any interest therein, is
conveyed, vested, granted, bargained, sold, transferred, or assigned.
(b) "Value" means:
1. In the case of any deed not a gift, the amount of the full actual
consideration therefor, paid or to be paid, including the amount of any
lien or liens thereon; and
2. In the case of a gift, or any deed with nominal consideration or without
stated consideration, the estimated price the property would bring in an
open market and under the then prevailing market conditions in a sale
between a willing seller and a willing buyer, both conversant with the
property and with prevailing general price levels.
(2) A tax upon the grantor named in the deed shall be imposed at the rate of fifty cents
($0.50) for each $500 of value or fraction ther eof, which value is declared in the
deed upon the privilege of transferring title to real property.
(3) (a) If any deed evidencing a transfer of title subject to the tax herein imposed is
offered for recordation, the county clerk shall ascertain and comput e the
amount of the tax due thereon and shall collect the amount as prerequisite to
acceptance of the deed for recordation.
(b) The amount of tax shall be computed on the basis of the value of the
transferred property as set forth in the deed.
(c) The tax required to be levied by this section shall be collected only once on
each transaction and in the county in which the deed is required to be recorded
by KRS 382.110(1).
(4) The county clerk shall collect the amount due and certify the date of payment and
the amount of collection on the deed. The county clerk shall retain five percent (5%)
as his fee for collection and remit the balance every three (3) months to the county
treasurer, who shall deposit the money in the county general fund.
(5) The Department of Revenue may prescribe regulations necessary to carry out the
purposes of this section.
(6) Any county clerk who willfully shall record any deed upon which a tax is imposed
by this section without collecting the proper amount of tax and certifying the date
and amount of collection on the deed as required by this section based on the
declared valu e indicated in the affidavit appended to the deed shall, upon
conviction, be fined $50 for each offense.
(7) The tax imposed by this section shall not apply to a transfer of title:
(a) Recorded prior to March 27, 1968;
(b) To, in the event of a deed of gif t or deed with nominal consideration, or from
the United States of America, this state, any city or county within this state, or
any instrumentality, agency, or subdivision hereof;
(c) Solely in order to provide or release security for a debt or obligation;
(d) Which confirms or corrects a deed previously recorded;
(e) Between husband and wife, or between former spouses as part of a divorce
proceeding;
(f) On sale for delinquent taxes or assessments;
(g) On partition;
(h) Pursuant to:
1. Merger or consolidation between and among corporations, partnerships,
limited partnerships, or limited liability companies; or
2. Any conversion of a partnership, limited partnership, corporation, or
limited liability company into a partnership, limited partnership,
corporation, or limited liability company;
(i) Between a subsidiary corporation and its parent corporation for no
consideration, nominal consideration, or in sole consideration of the
cancellation or surrender of either corporation's stock;
(j) 1. Under a foreclosure proceeding; or
2. Pursuant to a voluntary surrender under a mortgage in lieu of a
foreclosure proceeding;
(k) Between a person and a corporation, partnership, limited partnership or
limited liability company in an amount equal to the portion of the val ue of the
real property transferred that represents the proportionate interest of the
transferor of the property in the entity to which the property was transferred, if
the transfer was for nominal consideration;
(l) Between parent and child or grandparent and grandchild, with only nominal
consideration therefor;
(m) By a corporation, partnership, limited partnership, or limited liability company
to a person as owner or shareholder of the entity, upon dissolution of the
entity, in an amount equal to the por tion of the value of the real property
transferred that represents the proportionate interest of the person to whom the
property was transferred, if the transfer was for nominal consideration;
(n) Between a trustee and a successor trustee; and
(o) Between a limited liability company and any of its members.
(8) The tax imposed by subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to transfers to a
trustee, to be held in trust, or from a trustee to a beneficiary of the trust if:
(a) The grantor is the sole beneficiary of the trust;
(b) The grantor is a beneficiary of the trust and a direct transfer from the grantor
of the trust to all other individual beneficiaries of the trust would have
qualified for an exemption from the tax pursuant to one (1) of the provision s
of subsection (7) of this section; or
(c) A direct transfer from the grantor of the trust to all other individual
beneficiaries of the trust would have qualified for an exemption from the tax
pursuant to one (1) of the provisions of subsection (7) of this section.
(9) As used in this section, "trust" shall have the same definition as contained in KRS
386B.1-010.