The Finance Department is responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the City’s funds, including the collection of all taxes and utility billings. We are charged with being the watchful eye for all spending that occurs with taxpayer money.
Finance issues business licenses; and is responsible for collecting the City occupational, insurance premium , transient room , and restaurant taxes. Other duties include managing the City's daily finances, preparing the City’s budget and preparing an Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).
Documents
Business License / Occupational Tax
Property Tax
Since the 2019 tax year, the City of Elizabethtown has contracted with the Hardin County Sheriff's Office for the property tax billing and collection services. You should only receive only one bill which includes both your City and County tax amounts, and all payments will be remitted to the Sheriff's Office. For tax year ended December 31, 2025, the current property tax rate imposed by the City on real and tangible property, as well as motor vehicles, is $0.110 per $100 of assessed value.
The City will continue to bill and collect the Franchise and Bank Shares property taxes.
For tax years 2018 and earlier, the City will still collect any outstanding tax bills in our office.
Restaurant / Motel / Insurance Premium Tax
We are responsible for the administration and collection of the restaurant, transient room (hotel) and insurance taxes for the City. All property and casualty policies have an 8% insurance premiums tax. A 5% tax on alcohol sales is collected by retail stores/restaurants and a 2% tax is imposed on all prepared food sales. A 3% transient room (hotel) tax is imposed by all hotels and short-term rental properties, including VRBO/AirBNB and similar rental agencies.
We occasionally get questions concerning how restaurants calculate the restaurant and sales taxes and whether it is being done correctly. The Kentucky Revenue Cabinet requires that any tax levied by a local government, such as a restaurant or alcohol tax, be applied first to the total bill. Then after the new total which includes the local tax is calculated, the sales tax of 6% is applied. Below is a screenshot of an example of the correct and incorrect way a restaurant should be charging the taxes. So yes, sales tax also includes the amount associated with the restaurant tax.
The restaurant is required to remit the 2% to the City, and the remainder to the State as Sales Tax. While it appears that they are charging 8.12%, it is actually only 8% (2% Restaurant on original check plus 6% on revised check including the restaurant tax).
Sarah Merritt
2nd floor of City Hall
Email: Sarah.Merritt@elizabethtownky.gov
Phone: 270-763-4213
Fax: 270-737-5362
Accounts Payable
If you are a vendor that supplies goods or services to the City and have a question related to your account, feel free to direct your inquiry to accounts payable.
Lynn Davenport
3rd floor of City Hall
Email: lynn.davenport@elizabethtownky.gov
Phone: 270-763-4211
Fax: 270-737-5362
Documents sorted by HEADER in Ascending Order within category
Finance Documents
Revenue and Spending Reports
Anyone wishing to start or operate a business within the City limits must apply for a business license in our office. An annual fee of $25 is charged for this license and must be renewed at the beginning of each year. In addition, we impose a tax on net profits of 1.35% (1.95% beginning January 1, 2024) only on the profits earned within the City and employees are required to pay a 1.95% occupational tax for wages earned within the city limits.
Feel free to contact our Tax office and we will be glad to assist you with any questions you may have upon starting your business. If your business is located outside the City limits but will still be doing any business within the City, you still must follow all City business regulations. Any tax paid will be based only on business conducted within the City.
Besides the net profits, occupational and property taxes collected by the City, there are various other taxes collected dependent on the service provided.
- All property and casualty insurance policies have an 8% insurance premiums tax which is collected by insurance agents and remitted to the City quarterly. This tax is used 100% to offset costs associated with Fire protection services.
- A 5% tax on alcohol sales is collected by retail stores/restaurants and remitted either quarterly or monthly, depending on what type of establishment. The alcohol regulatory fee is used to help assist with the enforcement and prosecution of alcohol related crimes and incidents.
- A 3% transient room (hotel) tax is imposed by all hotels and short-term rental properties in the area and is remitted to the City by each establishment on a monthly basis. The hotel tax is collected by the City but remitted to the Elizabethtown Tourism Board strictly for their use in promoting tourism in the City.
- A 2% restaurant tax is imposed on all prepared food sales sold within the City. This tax is collected by the establishment and remitted to the City monthly. As with the hotel tax, the restaurant tax is collected by the City but remitted to the Elizabethtown Tourism Board strictly for their use in promoting tourism in the City.
The alcohol, restaurant and transient room taxes can be passed on to the end consumer. Additionally, Hardin County Government imposes their own property tax on real and tangible property. School taxes are included in the Hardin County tax rate. See the Hardin County Government website for additional information.
The City posts their current and prior Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR) online. To download a copy, click here and select the year you would like to see. If you would like a hard copy, you can request one through our open records policy, but note that we must charge $0.10 per page for your copies. As this is a large document, we recommend downloading the file you wish to see.
As employees of the City, we work for the public. The City follows the guidelines set forth by the Kentucky Open Records Act. As such, we have three (3) business days to respond to any requests. Not all information is subject to Open Records Laws and some may be denied. File an Open Records Request Form with the City Clerk who is located on the third floor of City Hall.
