Hardin County (Elizabethtown) Tax Rates

Hardin County Tax Rates - At a Glance

Hardin County, Kentucky Tax Rates Summary

Tax Type	Rate	Notes
Vehicle Property (Car) Tax	$1.1416 per $100 (2026)	Baseline: state 45 + county-wide 15.16 + Hardin County schools 54 cents; Elizabethtown Independent schools and six cities change it by address; J.D. Power average trade-in value on January 1
Real Estate Tax	$0.908 per $100 (2025)	Baseline: state 10.6 + county-wide 15 + Hardin County schools 65.2 cents; Elizabethtown Independent schools and six cities add or change it by address
Sales Tax	6%	Statewide rate; no local sales tax in Kentucky; groceries exempt

Vehicle Property (Car) Tax

2026 Rate Stack

Kentucky taxes vehicles as property every year. For 2026, an owner in the Hardin County school district who lives outside any taxing city pays $1.1416 per $100 of assessed value. That baseline is the sum of three rates from the Kentucky Department of Revenue's 2026 MOTAX Rate Book: the 45-cent state rate, Hardin County's 15.16-cent county-wide rate (general 11.5, health 2.2, and extension 1.46 cents), and the 54-cent Hardin County school rate. Every Hardin County vehicle rate is the same as in 2025.

The Elizabethtown Independent school district levies 53.8 cents on vehicles, which replaces the county school rate for addresses inside it, and the City of Elizabethtown adds 11.6 cents. An address inside both pays $1.2556 per $100. Radcliff, the county's other large city, is in the Hardin County school district and adds 19.9 cents, for $1.3406. West Point has the highest city vehicle rate in the county at 40.7 cents.

Hardin County Vehicle Tax by Location (2026, cents per $100)

Levy	Type	Rate	Total With Baseline
Elizabethtown Independent	School (replaces 54.0)	53.8 cents	$1.1396
City of Elizabethtown	City	+11.6 cents	$1.2576
Elizabethtown city + Elizabethtown Independent	City and school	11.6 + 53.8 cents	$1.2556
City of Radcliff	City	+19.9 cents	$1.3406
City of Sonora	City	+20.0 cents	$1.3416
City of Upton	City	+25.0 cents	$1.3916
City of Vine Grove	City	+25.08 cents	$1.3924
City of West Point	City	+40.7 cents	$1.5486

Totals for a city assume the Hardin County school district unless both levies are shown. The Elizabethtown Independent vehicle rate (53.8 cents) is slightly lower than the county school rate (54 cents). Hardin County has no fire or other special district with a vehicle levy. Source: Kentucky Department of Revenue 2026 MOTAX Rate Book, Hardin County 047.

How the Vehicle Is Valued

January 1 is the assessment date. Under KRS 132.485 the standard value is the vehicle's average trade-in value in the J.D. Power valuation manual, not the rough or clean trade-in value and not the price you paid. Vehicles 20 or more years old use their 19th-year value, reduced 10% for each year beyond 19. The Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) may adjust the value when you show that the standard value does not reflect the vehicle's condition, options, mileage, or title.

Estimated 2026 Hardin County Vehicle Tax

Assessed Value	At the $1.1416 Baseline	In Elizabethtown ($1.2556)
$10,000	$114.16	$125.56
$20,000	$228.32	$251.12
$30,000	$342.48	$376.68
$40,000	$456.64	$502.24

Property tax only. The Elizabethtown column assumes the Elizabethtown Independent school district. The plate registration fee is billed separately with your renewal and is not included. For your exact address, pick your school district and city in the Kentucky car tax calculator.

When and How to Pay

The Hardin County Clerk collects the tax with your registration renewal. The Kentucky Department of Revenue mails a notice in the month before your renewal month, which is usually your birth month. Under KRS 134.810, the tax is due by the last day of the renewal month, or by the last day of the month the vehicle is transferred if that comes first. You can renew online through the state's renewal site, by mail or through the drop box outside the Clerk's main office (include your registration, proof of insurance, and $2.00 postage and handling per transaction, check or money order), or in person at the Hardin County Government Building, 150 N. Provident Way, Suite 103, Elizabethtown, or the Radcliff branch at 101 W. Lincoln Trail Blvd (Tuesday through Thursday). The Clerk's phone is (270) 765-2171. Once the tax is delinquent, late payment adds a 3% penalty if paid within 30 days of becoming delinquent (waived if paid within 5 days), 10% after that, plus 15% annual interest (KRS 134.810).

Disputing a value or military status: assessment questions go to the Hardin County PVA ((270) 765-2129, info.hardincountypva@ky.gov), not the Clerk. The Clerk directs active-duty service members who do not claim Kentucky residency, or who live on Fort Knox, to contact the PVA to correct the tax before renewing. Under Kentucky Department of Revenue guidance, talk to the PVA first; if that does not resolve a value dispute, a written protest goes to the Department of Revenue within 60 days of the date of notice.

Kentucky has no state relief on the first $20,000 of vehicle value like Virginia's PPTRA. For how a relief program changes a car tax bill, see our Virginia PPTRA explained guide.

Real Estate Tax

2025 Rates

The 2025 baseline real estate rate in Hardin County is $0.908 per $100 of assessed value: the 10.6-cent state residential rate, Hardin County's 15-cent county-wide rate (fiscal court 10.8, health 2.2, extension 1.8, and soil conservation 0.2 cents), and the 65.2-cent Hardin County school rate, per the Kentucky Department of Revenue's 2025 Property Tax Rate Book. The baseline applies outside any city and outside the Elizabethtown Independent school district.

The Elizabethtown Independent school rate of 85.7 cents replaces the county school rate on real estate. Example: a home inside Elizabethtown and its independent school district pays 10.6 + 15 + 85.7 + 10.7 (City of Elizabethtown) = $1.22 per $100, or about $3,050.00 a year on a $250,000 assessment, compared with about $2,270.00 at the baseline. An Elizabethtown home in the county school district pays $1.015, and a Radcliff home pays $1.037.

Hardin County School and City Real Estate Levies (2025, cents per $100)

Levy	Type	Rate
Elizabethtown Independent	School (replaces 65.2)	85.7
Elizabethtown	City	+10.7
Radcliff	City	+12.9
Sonora	City	+20.0
Upton	City	+25.0
Vine Grove	City	+16.3
West Point	City	+26.8

The rate book notes that the West Point Independent school district merged with Hardin County Schools at the end of 2020, and lists timberland fire protection of 2 cents per acre outside the rate. Hardin County has no special-district real estate levies. Source: Kentucky Department of Revenue 2025 Property Tax Rate Book, Hardin County 047.

Tax year 2026: the state's 2026 Property Tax Rate Book was not yet published at our last check, so the 2026 Hardin County real estate stack is not shown here. Your 2026 bill shows the rates that apply to your parcel.

Assessment, Bills, and Due Dates

Real estate is assessed at fair cash value as of January 1 by the Hardin County PVA. The Hardin County Sheriff collects the tax, and bills are issued in the name of the January 1 owner. At our last check the Sheriff's page still showed the schedule for the 2025 tax year (bills due beginning November 1, 2025):

Hardin County Real Estate Tax Payment Schedule, Tax Year 2025 (Sheriff's Office)

Paid	Amount
November 1 - November 30, 2025	Discount period
December 1 - December 31, 2025	Face amount
January 1 - January 31, 2026	Face amount plus 5%
February 1 - April 15, 2026	Face amount plus 21%

The 2026 tax year dates had not been posted at our last check; the discount under KRS 134.015 is 2%. Online and in-office card payments carry a 2.49% fee. Delinquent prior-year bills are paid off through the Hardin County Clerk ((270) 765-2171).

Radcliff and Vine Grove bill city tax separately. The Sheriff's office says that if the tax district on your bill (shown beneath the bill number) is 03 or 06, a separate city tax is due: contact the City of Radcliff at (270) 351-4714 or the City of Vine Grove at (270) 877-2422 for that bill.

Homestead Exemption

Homeowners who own and live in their home and are 65 or older, or classified as totally disabled, can deduct $49,100 from the home's assessed value for the 2025-2026 assessment years (Kentucky Department of Revenue; KRS 132.810). Apply with the Hardin County PVA.

Sales Tax

Rate and Composition

The sales tax rate in Hardin County is 6%, the same as everywhere in Kentucky. The Kentucky Department of Revenue states that there are no local sales and use taxes in Kentucky, so Elizabethtown, Radcliff, and the other Hardin County cities add nothing. Food and food ingredients for human consumption (groceries) are exempt under KRS 139.485. Candy, soft drinks, prepared food, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and dietary supplements are taxable at 6%.

Source: Kentucky Department of Revenue - Sales and Use Tax.

How Hardin County Compares Across Kentucky

Hardin County's 2026 vehicle baseline of $1.1416 ranks 19th of Kentucky's 120 county baselines from lowest, below the statewide median of $1.2138; the statewide baselines run from $0.925 (Martin County) to $1.454 (Casey County). Its 2025 real estate baseline of $0.908 is below the statewide median of $0.992. Compare other Kentucky county pages: Jefferson County ($1.201 vehicle baseline), Fayette County ($1.2175), Kenton County ($1.3563), Warren County ($1.235), Boone County ($1.157), and Daviess County ($1.194). See all 120 counties on the Kentucky county tax map.