The rule
KRS 132.751 classifies manufactured homes and mobile homes as real property for property tax purposes. Kentucky guidance has long treated this as applying whether or not the wheels, axles and hitch have been removed, and whether or not the home sits on a permanent foundation.
So the county property valuation administrator assesses the home, and the tax appears on a real property bill rather than as a vehicle-style personal property tax.
Two offices, two roles
The property valuation administrator sets the assessment. The county sheriff collects the current-year bill. After the collection period, unpaid bills transfer to the county clerk as certificates of delinquency, where interest and fees attach and third parties may purchase them.
If you are trying to find out what is owed on a Kentucky manufactured home, that is the order to call in: PVA for assessment, sheriff for the current bill, clerk for anything delinquent.
Why this matters to a seller
Because the tax attaches to the property, a buyer's closing will account for what is owed. A long-vacant home with several years of unpaid tax can carry a balance that consumes most of its value — and unlike a car, you cannot simply stop the meter by parking it.
It also means the home you thought was "just a trailer" has been generating a real property tax bill in a county office the whole time, sometimes at an address you no longer receive mail at.