States
Kentucky and the Streamlined Sales Tax program
Simplify Sales Tax. Last updated 2026-08-21. Sources last verified 2026-08-21.
Kentucky is a full member of the Streamlined Sales Tax program and has been since October 1, 2005, so if you register through the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System (SSTRS) you file there under the program’s uniform rules. With no local rate to source, what Kentucky asks you to track is which months had Kentucky sales in them, because a Model 4 voluntary filer owes a Simplified Electronic Return for each one.
Is Kentucky in the Streamlined Sales Tax program?
Yes, as a full member, effective October 1, 2005. Kentucky is one of all 24 member states in the Streamlined Sales Tax program.
Table: Kentucky in the Streamlined Sales Tax program. Checked August 21, 2026.
| Item | Kentucky |
|---|---|
| Membership status | Full member |
| Participating since | October 1, 2005 |
| Tax authority | Kentucky Department of Revenue |
| Local taxes | None. No city or county sales and use taxes, so a single statewide rate applies |
| State’s own SST page | Yes, the Kentucky Department of Revenue’s Streamlined Sales Tax page |
| Return required of a Model 4 voluntary filer | A Simplified Electronic Return for any month in which the seller has Kentucky sales |
| Department of Revenue newsletter | Sales Tax Facts, a dated archive of issues covering taxability and legislative changes, with no subscription control published on it |
What SST membership changes for a seller collecting tax in Kentucky
Kentucky comes with the other member states when you register once, on how to register through the SSTRS. It uses the program’s shared definitions and sourcing rules, so one system files there. Selecting it starts an obligation, on what your ongoing obligations are after registering, and whether you qualify to have that work paid for is a separate test, on whether you qualify for free CSP services.
What is specific to Kentucky
Two things.
There is no local sales tax to collect. Kentucky levies sales and use tax at the state level only, with nothing added by a city or a county, so an order shipped to Louisville carries the same rate as one shipped to a Kentucky address with no city in it at all. What does still move here is what’s taxable, and the department gathers those changes into Sales Tax Facts, a dated archive of issues with nothing on the page to subscribe to, so it belongs on a read cadence somebody owns rather than in an inbox.
A Model 4 voluntary filer owes a Simplified Electronic Return by the month. Register through Streamlined as a Model 4 voluntary filer and the return Kentucky wants is a Simplified Electronic Return (SER), filed for any month in which you have Kentucky sales. The trigger is your activity in the state rather than a schedule you set once at registration, so somebody needs to know which months had Kentucky sales in them before a return comes due.
None of that goes away because Kentucky is a member state. Kentucky’s own law is why there’s no local tax to source, and the SER is a program form filed on Kentucky’s terms, so the program doesn’t decide what the state taxes, what it charges, or when your return is due. Registering through Streamlined doesn’t reach the states outside the program either, so wherever else you file, you’re still filing on that state’s terms.
Where to register and where to find current rates
Register through the SSTRS and select Kentucky. The current rate, the forms, and the filing dates are on the Department of Revenue’s sales and use tax pages, and the department’s own account of its participation is on its Streamlined Sales Tax page.
We don’t publish a Kentucky rate or a filing date here on purpose: a number that changes belongs with the department that changes it.