Jessamine County Occupational Tax: Rates, Deadlines, and Penalties

The Jessamine County occupational tax is a 1% license tax on wages earned and net profits generated inside the county, owed by anyone who works or does business there regardless of where they live. Employers withhold it from paychecks and file quarterly; self-employed people and businesses file an annual net profit return. The Jessamine County Occupational Tax Office at 105 Court Row in Nicholasville collects it for the Jessamine County Fiscal Court.¹

Who Owes the Tax

If you perform work or run a business inside Jessamine County, you owe the tax on the income tied to that work. Location of the work is what counts, not where your employer is based or where you live. A Fayette County resident commuting into Jessamine County for work owes it on those wages. A Jessamine County resident whose job is entirely in another jurisdiction does not owe it on that outside income.

W-2 employees, self-employed individuals, partnerships, corporations, and sole proprietors are all covered. Every person or business entity engaged in a trade, occupation, or profession in the county has to complete a registration questionnaire with the Occupational Tax Office, ideally before any income is earned.²³ If you close the business or your status changes, notify the office in writing. Skipping that step keeps you on the filing list even after you’ve stopped operating.

The Rate, and What Cities Add on Top

The county rate is a flat 1% on both gross wages and net business profits.⁴ For employers, that means 1% of each employee’s gross wages for work performed in the county. For businesses, it’s 1% of net profit after allowable federal deductions, with the return providing lines to carve out any income earned outside Jessamine County.

Where many filers get surprised is the city layer. If your work location sits inside Nicholasville or Wilmore city limits, you owe a city tax on top of the county’s 1%, and the Occupational Tax Office collects both together.

Nicholasville: 1.5% on wages and 1% on net profits. Combined with the county, that’s 2.5% withheld on wages and 2% on net profits for work inside the city.⁵
Wilmore: 2% on wages. Combined with the county, employees working in Wilmore may see 3% withheld on wages.⁶

If you’re not sure whether your work address falls inside a city’s limits, check with the Occupational Tax Office before you file.

What’s Exempt From Withholding

A few categories of pay are not subject to the county’s 1% payroll withholding:⁷

Kentucky National Guard pay for active-duty training, unit training assemblies, and annual field training
Pay for election training or working at election booths in state, county, and local elections
Minister housing allowances reported as such on a federal W-2
Third-party sick pay received through an employer-sponsored arrangement

A net profit filer still has to file a return even in years with no tax due. That includes years with a net loss, periods of inactivity when you plan to resume, and the year you stop doing business if you haven’t notified the office in writing.⁴ Not filing because you owe nothing is one of the quickest routes to a penalty notice.

Filing Deadlines

Payroll withholding runs on a quarterly calendar. Net profit returns are annual. Keep the two straight.

Quarterly Payroll Withholding

Employers remit the withheld tax on this schedule:⁷

January–March: due April 30
April–June: due July 31
July–September: due October 31
October–December: due January 31

An annual reconciliation on Form JCOT-R, with copies of all federal W-2s attached, is due by February 28. It confirms that quarterly withholding totals match what was issued on employee W-2s.

Annual Net Profit Returns

Calendar-year filers owe the net profit return by April 15. Businesses on a non-calendar fiscal year have 105 days after the fiscal year end.⁸ If you have a federal extension, attach a copy to the local return. The Occupational Tax Office also publishes a separate Net Profit Extension Request Form on its website.¹

How to Pay

Mail returns and payment to the Jessamine County Occupational Tax Office, 105 Court Row, Nicholasville, KY 40356.¹ County and city taxes go to different payees even though they land at the same office:

County tax: checks payable to Jessamine County Fiscal Court⁴
Nicholasville tax: checks payable to City of Nicholasville⁹

If you owe both, expect to write two checks. Forms are available on the county website. Using a third-party payroll service doesn’t move the liability: the employer still owns any penalties and interest from late or incorrect filings.⁷

What Late Filing Costs

Penalty and interest run at the same time, so a late payment adds up faster than people expect:⁷

Penalty: 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the balance is outstanding, capped at 25%, with a $25 minimum
Interest: 12% per year on the unpaid balance from the original due date until paid in full⁹

A $1,000 balance paid five months late hits the 25% cap, meaning $250 in penalty, plus roughly $50 in interest. A small balance isn’t safe either: a $200 liability a few weeks late still triggers the $25 minimum plus interest. The penalty applies whether the return itself is late or the return is on time but the payment isn’t.

1
Jessamine County, Kentucky. Occupational Tax
2
American Legal Publishing. Jessamine County Code of Ordinances – 110.02 Occupational License Application Required
3
Jessamine County, Kentucky. New Business Registration
4
Jessamine County, Kentucky. Net Profit License Fee Returns
5
City of Nicholasville. Tax Office
6
American Legal Publishing. Wilmore Kentucky Code of Ordinances – 111.27 Use of Occupational License Tax
7
Jessamine County, Kentucky. Payroll Withholding Returns
8
City of Nicholasville. Jessamine County/City of Nicholasville Net Profit License Fee Return Form
9
City of Nicholasville. Net Profits License Fee Return Form JCOT 2 Instructions