Duties of a PVA

The Fulton County PVA is a locally elected official charged with assessing all property, both real and personal that lies within Fulton County. The PVA has the right to change vehicle values according to the January 1 NADA guidelines, for high mileage, or with estimates of repair from two licensed automobile body shops. Please remember that the vehicle is assessed to the owner as of January 1st of each year and it is the condition of the vehicle and mileage that determines value.

All property, unless specifically exempted by the Kentucky Constitution, is taxable. The Constitution expressly prohibits exemption of any property or persons except those allowed by the Constitution itself. Therefore, taxation is the rule and exemption is the exception. Currently, examples of such exceptions are the Homestead Exemption for age 65 and older and the Disability Exemption for 100% totally disabled persons, some religious, educational, and governmental properties, etc.

Your PVA Office DOES NOT determine how much tax you pay. We only assess the Fair Market Value of the property to be taxed. There are two components that determine your property bill, ASSESSED VALUE and TAX RATE. The tax rate is determined by elected officials such as County Government, City Government, School Boards, and taxing entities such as the extension service, soil conservation, water sheds and timber districts, library board, fire districts, and the health and mental health departments. The PVA does not set property tax rates, nor do they collect property taxes.

What is a PVA?

The Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) replaced the old title of “County Tax Commissioner” or what most people call the Tax Assessor. The PVA office is to administrate “ad valorem” taxes. Ad valorem is Latin for “according to value” which bases taxes on the value of property. The Kentucky Constitution describes property taxes as a tax on wealth rather than a tax on the individual. Section 172 of the Kentucky Constitution requires all property to be assessed at Fair Cash Value, as of the assessment date January 1, unless specifically exempted. Kentucky law provides for direct supervision on all PVA’s by the Kentucky Department of Revenue. Each year the Revenue personnel must perform studies on the PVA in each county to determine if constitutional and statutory requirements have been met. The PVA’s tax roll must meet required assessment levels and adhere to required standards of equity before the PVA’s tax roll is accepted, and before tax rates may be set or tax bills can be printed.
Remember the PVA office does not set tax rates, collect tax monies or send tax bills.