To pay Kentucky state taxes, use the Department of Revenue’s MyTaxes portal at mytaxes.ky.gov for a free electronic check from your bank account, pay by credit or debit card through the same portal for a processor fee, or mail a check to the Kentucky State Treasurer with Form 740-V. Whichever method you choose, the balance for tax year 2025 is due April 15, 2026, and interest and penalties start running the day after.
Paying Online Through MyTaxes
The Department of Revenue (DOR) runs its payment portal at mytaxes.ky.gov, and you can pay there whether or not you have an account. A “guest payment” lets you send money without registering.
An electronic check is the cheapest route. The portal pulls funds directly from your bank through an ACH debit, and no convenience fee applies.1Kentucky Department of Revenue. How to Make a Guest Payment If you e-file through commercial tax software, most programs let you authorize the same kind of withdrawal during the filing process, so the return and payment go through together. You can schedule the withdrawal for April 15 even if you file weeks earlier.
The portal also takes credit and debit cards, but a processor fee applies. Debit cards carry a 1.5% fee, and credit cards carry a 2.75% fee on the payment amount.1Kentucky Department of Revenue. How to Make a Guest Payment None of that fee goes to the state; it goes to the payment processor. On a $2,000 balance, a credit card payment adds $55 in fees, so the card option makes the most sense for smaller bills or when you specifically want the credit line.
Paying by Mail
If you’d rather send a check, make it payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer and write “KY Income Tax–2025” along with your Social Security number on the face of the check.2Kentucky Department of Revenue. 2025 Kentucky Individual Income Tax Forms Instructions Enclose it with Form 740-V, the electronic filing payment voucher, in the same envelope. Do not staple the check to the voucher, and do not include a copy of your return.
Send everything to Kentucky Department of Revenue, Frankfort, KY 40619-0008.2Kentucky Department of Revenue. 2025 Kentucky Individual Income Tax Forms Instructions Give it enough time to arrive by April 15, because when a payment travels separately from the return, the DOR uses the received date, not the postmark, to decide whether it’s on time.
Paying Quarterly Estimated Tax
If some of your income doesn’t have Kentucky tax withheld from it, such as freelance earnings, investment income, or rental profits, you likely owe quarterly estimated payments. The threshold is expecting to owe at least $500 for the year after withholding and refundable credits.3Kentucky Department of Revenue. Instructions for Filing Estimated Tax Vouchers
The 2026 installment due dates are:
- First quarter: April 15, 2026
- Second quarter: June 15, 2026
- Third quarter: September 15, 2026
- Fourth quarter: January 15, 2027
All four fall on weekdays, so no holiday adjustments apply. You can send each installment through MyTaxes as a free ACH e-check and schedule them ahead of time, or you can mail a check with the matching quarterly Form 740-ES voucher to the address printed on the form.3Kentucky Department of Revenue. Instructions for Filing Estimated Tax Vouchers Each voucher is marked for a specific quarter, so use the right one.
Underpaying or skipping a quarter triggers a separate underpayment penalty on your annual return. The DOR calculates it quarter by quarter, so falling behind on even one installment can produce a charge.
What Late Payment Costs You
Kentucky’s late-payment penalty is 2% of the unpaid tax for each 30-day period (or fraction of one) that the balance is late, capped at 20%. The minimum penalty is $10, even on tiny amounts.4Kentucky Department of Revenue. Penalties, Interest and Fees
Interest runs on top of that. For calendar year 2026, the DOR set the base tax interest rate at 7%. Unpaid tax accrues interest at 9% (the base rate plus 2%), and refunds the state owes you earn 5% (the base rate minus 2%).5Kentucky Department of Revenue. Tax Interest Rate Update for 01-01-26 The rate resets each January.
The costly surprise is the collection fee. If you don’t pay the full balance within 60 days of the DOR’s notice, a 25% cost-of-collection fee is added on top of the penalty and interest.6Kentucky Department of Revenue. Payment Plans for Qualified Applicants Sending something, even a partial payment, inside that 60-day window is one of the most consequential moves you can make.
An extension of time to file does not extend the time to pay. If you get a federal extension, Kentucky honors it automatically for the return itself, but the balance is still due April 15, and the late-payment clock starts then.
Setting Up a Payment Plan
If you can’t pay in full, the DOR’s Division of Collections can arrange a recurring payment plan. Call 502-564-4921 and select option 1.6Kentucky Department of Revenue. Payment Plans for Qualified Applicants You may need to submit a Statement of Financial Condition, a snapshot of your income, expenses, and assets that the DOR uses to work out a realistic monthly amount.
Once the plan is set, individuals pay at epayment.ky.gov and businesses pay at mytaxes.ky.gov. The DOR may require you to pay by electronic check rather than by card or by mail.6Kentucky Department of Revenue. Payment Plans for Qualified Applicants
A payment plan doesn’t stop interest or penalties from accruing. What it does is hold off tax liens, refund offsets, and bank levies as long as you stay current. Miss a scheduled payment and those collection tools are back on the table. If you believe genuine hardship prevents you from paying even a reduced amount, call the same number to discuss your situation.
Asking for a Penalty Waiver
Kentucky law lets the Commissioner of Revenue waive penalties, though not interest, when you can show reasonable cause. Circumstances the DOR recognizes include:
- Death or serious illness of the taxpayer, an immediate family member, or the tax preparer near the deadline.
- Catastrophic loss of records from fire, flood, or a similar event, supported by police, fire, or insurance reports.
- Reliance in good faith on incorrect written advice from the Department itself.
- Undue financial hardship, evaluated on income stability, family size, living expenses, asset equity, and whether a waiver would actually help the state collect.
- A first-time human error: for monthly or quarterly filers, one instance in the past 12 months; for annual filers, the first occurrence in 24 months.
Each request needs documentation. A medical claim requires dates, the relationship of the person affected, and an explanation of how the event blocked timely payment. Destroyed records need supporting proof plus a showing that you tried other ways to reconstruct the information.7Kentucky Department of Revenue. 103 KAR 1:040 – Waiver of Penalties A vague hardship claim without financial documentation won’t be approved. The more specific and supported the request, the better the odds.