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Bookkeeping and payroll in Kentucky

Bookkeeping and payroll for Kentucky businesses.

Visory provides bookkeeping and payroll services for growing Kentucky businesses, from professional firms and agencies to consultancies. A dedicated team you know by name works inside your own QuickBooks or Xero file, with Delphi AI taking the repetitive parts under that team’s oversight, and keeps your books and pay runs to Kentucky’s withholding, sales tax, and local occupational license tax rules. One flat monthly fee covers the agreed scope.

  • A dedicated team you know by name
  • Kentucky rules in every pay run and close
  • One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
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Downtown Louisville’s skyline across the Ohio River on a bright day.
Photo: Joshua Michaels, Unsplash License

Who we work with in Kentucky

Growing businesses across Kentucky.

Health care and social assistance is Kentucky’s largest private industry, with about 291,000 jobs, and motor vehicle manufacturing employs about 23,000 people, more than six times its share of jobs nationally (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages). Across the state, private employers averaged 1.69 million jobs in 2025.

  • Services businesses with revenue of roughly $750k to $20m, led by a CEO, president, or founder.
  • Nonprofits with grants, programs, and a board to report to.
  • Franchise networks and payroll-heavy operations, with many sites and many pay runs.

All the industries we work with

Kentucky rules

The Kentucky rules your finance function runs on.

Six rules set by Kentucky, each with the law that sets it and what it does to your month. Your team works to them every pay run and every close.

One rate, four payment calendars.

Every employee is withheld at the same 3.5%, but the payment calendar moves with the annual total, and at $50,000 or more the tax is paid twice a month, so the books record each payment against the pay runs it covers.

Set by KRS Chapter 141; 2026 Kentucky Withholding Tax Formula (42A003 TCF)

Kentucky withholds income tax at a flat 3.5% for 2026: employers annualize each employee’s wages, subtract the $3,360 standard deduction, apply 3.5%, and divide by the number of pay periods. Employers withholding under $400 a year file annually; $400 to $1,999, quarterly; $2,000 to $49,999, monthly by the 15th; and $50,000 or more, twice a month, by the 25th and the 10th.

KRS Chapter 141; 2026 Kentucky Withholding Tax Formula (42A003 TCF); 3.5% withholding rate and $3,360 standard deduction for tax year 2026.

Sources Kentucky Department of Revenue: Employer payroll withholding Kentucky Department of Revenue: 2026 Kentucky Withholding Tax Formula (42A003 TCF) Kentucky Department of Revenue: Withholding Kentucky Income Tax, Instructions for Employers (42A003, March 2026)

The cost lands early in the year.

Contributions stop once an employee’s wages pass $12,000, so for higher-paid staff the full $324 falls in the first quarter or two, and a budget that spreads it evenly understates the start of the year.

Set by KRS Chapter 341 (unemployment insurance)

Employers pay contributions on the first $12,000 of each employee’s wages in 2026, up from $11,700 in 2025, and the law caps the base at $12,000. Rate schedule A is in effect, with rates from 0.30% to 9.00%; employers with fewer than three years of experience pay at least 2.7%, which is up to $324 per employee. The service capacity upgrade fund contribution is suspended for 2026. Reports and payments are due on the last day of the month after each quarter.

KRS Chapter 341 (unemployment insurance); 2026 taxable wage base and rate schedule A.

Sources Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance: Taxable wage base and surcharge information Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance: Employer Guide to Kentucky Unemployment Insurance (2026)

The tip credit needs weekly records.

For staff paid the $2.13 cash wage, the payroll file keeps each week’s tips beside wages, so the records show the minimum was met every week the credit was taken.

Set by KRS 337.275

The Kentucky minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and it rises automatically to match any increase in the federal minimum wage, on the same date. Employees who customarily receive more than $30 a month in tips may be paid the federal tipped cash wage, $2.13 an hour, if the employer’s records show that tips and wages together reach the minimum for each week the credit is taken.

KRS 337.275; $7.25 an hour beginning July 1, 2009.

Sources Kentucky General Assembly: KRS 337.275, minimum wage US Department of Labor: Minimum wages for tipped employees by state

Design work can carry sales tax.

An agency or studio that builds websites or does interior design adds 6% to those lines, so invoices show taxable services apart from the rest, and the tax collected is held for the return.

Set by KRS 139.200 and 139.550

Kentucky sales tax is 6% statewide, and there are no local sales and use taxes. Services are taxable when the law lists them, and the list includes website design and development, website hosting, photography, interior decorating and design, specialized design, telemarketing, public opinion polling, lobbying, executive employee recruitment, and prewritten software access. The statute sets a monthly return, due by the 20th of the following month.

KRS 139.200 and 139.550; list of taxable services as amended, effective August 1, 2026.

Sources Kentucky Department of Revenue: Sales and use tax Kentucky General Assembly: KRS 139.200, imposition of sales tax Kentucky General Assembly: KRS 139.550, required monthly return

Twice a month is the slowest cycle.

Covered staff cannot be paid monthly, and each run must reach to within 18 days of payday, so the pay calendar and timesheet cutoffs are set to fit both limits.

Set by KRS 337.020 and 337.055

Apart from employees the wage law exempts, employers pay wages at least semimonthly, covering all wages earned up to a day no more than 18 days before the payday. An employee who leaves or is discharged is paid in full no later than the next normal pay period or 14 days after leaving, whichever is later. An employee absent on payday, or not paid for any other reason, is paid within six days of asking.

KRS 337.020 and 337.055; KRS 337.020 as amended effective July 15, 1982.

Sources Kentucky General Assembly: KRS 337.020, time of payment of wages Kentucky General Assembly: KRS 337.055, payment of wages upon dismissal or leaving

Onboarding is part of the pay run.

The new-hire report and the K-4 draw on the same setup as the first pay, so both are done the day someone is added to the payroll file.

Set by KRS 405.435(2); Form K-4 (42A804)

Employers report each new or rehired employee who lives or works in Kentucky to the Kentucky New Hire Reporting Center within 20 days of the hire or return to work, online, by mail, or by fax. Each employee also completes Form K-4, Kentucky’s withholding certificate, which the employer keeps on file and uses for any exemption from withholding.

KRS 405.435(2); Form K-4 (42A804).

Sources Kentucky Department of Revenue: Withholding Kentucky Income Tax, Instructions for Employers (42A003, March 2026) US Office of Child Support Services: State new hire reporting contacts and requirements

Rules last checked October 9, 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. General information only. It does not take your circumstances into account.

Local rules

Where the rules change across Kentucky.

Your team applies the local rules as well as the Kentucky ones. These are the places where a local tax, a wage rate, or a leave law differs from the rest of the state.

Downtown Louisville’s skyline beyond Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge ramp.
Photo: Balazs Koren, Unsplash License

Louisville Metro

Louisville Metro adds an occupational license tax on wages, with a higher rate for employees who live there than for those who commute in.

  • Employers withhold 1.25% for Metro Government and 0.20% for transit from all wages for work in Louisville Metro, plus a 0.75% school boards tax from residents: 2.20% for residents and 1.45% for nonresidents.
  • For employees who work inside and outside Louisville Metro, on the job there more than 5% of the time, wages are apportioned by the days worked there; at 95% or more, all wages are taxed.
  • Quarterly withholding returns are due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31, and an employer whose withholding exceeded $3,000 in any of the last four quarters pays monthly, by the 15th.
Historic brick buildings and the Kentucky Theatre on Main Street in downtown Lexington.
Photo: Cristina Anne Costello, Unsplash License

Lexington-Fayette

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government charges an occupational license fee on compensation earned there, withheld by employers.

  • Employers withhold the 2.25% occupational license fee from the compensation of employees working in Lexington, and the same rate applies to a business’s net profits.
  • The Employer’s Return of License Fee Withheld is filed quarterly, or monthly once withholdings in a quarter exceed $300, and every employer files an annual reconciliation.
  • Anyone paying Form 1099 nonemployee compensation to individuals for services performed in Lexington-Fayette County also files a Statement of Non-Employee Compensation.

How it works from anywhere

Can a team outside Kentucky run a Kentucky business?

Yes. Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with businesses across the United States remotely, inside your own accounting file, so nothing about the work depends on where your office is.

Your own file

Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file. Your team works inside it, so you see the same numbers they do, whenever you look.

A team you know by name

A dedicated team runs the work, led by a Business Performance Partner. You meet them by video call, and you always know who to ask.

Kentucky rules, built in

Visory runs the finance function for growing businesses across the United States, with its US leadership team in New York. Your books stay in your own QuickBooks or Xero file, and your team works inside it with you. Every pay run and every close is checked against the rules on this page.

Business hours, and the platform after them

Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round, and the Visory platform is open to you around the clock for documents, approvals, and your numbers.

What we run for Kentucky businesses

The whole finance function, actually handled.

Bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable, run end to end by a dedicated team with Delphi AI working under their oversight. Flat monthly fee. No hourly billing.

Bookkeeping

Every transaction coded and reconciled, month-end closed on schedule.

Explore bookkeeping

Payroll

Pay runs prepared, checked, and paid on time, every cycle.

See how payroll runs

Accounts payable

Bills captured, checked against what's already paid, and paid when you say so.

See accounts payable

Accounts receivable

Invoices out on schedule, overdue accounts followed up in your name.

See accounts receivable

Visory Insights

Once a month: what changed, what it means, and what to do next.

See how Insights works

Business Performance Partner

A named partner who walks you through the numbers and the next move.

How your partner works

Visory Insights

What your numbers should show in Kentucky.

Clean books are the start. Every month, Insights turns them into a plain-English report, and a named Business Performance Partner walks your leadership team through what they mean for the year ahead.

The Louisville rate follows the home address

On a $60,000 salary for work in Louisville Metro, the occupational tax is $1,320 for a resident at 2.20% and $870 for a commuter at 1.45%, $450 apart. Insights shows what each hire costs by where they live, so the budget matches the withholding.

Unemployment costs land in the first quarter

At the 2.7% new-employer rate, each employee costs up to $324 on the $12,000 wage base, and for anyone paid $48,000 a year or more, all of it falls between January and March. Insights puts that into the cash flow forecast, so the first quarter is not a surprise.

Sales tax on design work is held, not earned

A $20,000 website build carries $1,200 of Kentucky sales tax at 6%, held in your account until the return is due by the 20th of the following month. Insights keeps it apart from operating cash, so the cash you plan from is the business’s own.

Looking for a fractional CFO in Kentucky? Visory has no standalone CFO offer. That work sits inside Visory Insights and your sessions with a Business Performance Partner. See Visory Insights

What customers say

In a customer’s words.

“Visory applies a commercial lens to how we manage client revenue, always ensuring we balance serving our clients with our business' best interests.”

Rachelle Harper Co-founder and COO, BrandBossHQ

Common questions

Questions Kentucky businesses ask.

Straight answers about bookkeeping and payroll for a Kentucky business, from a team that works remotely.

Does Visory have an office in Kentucky?

Visory’s US leadership team is in New York, and its teams work with growing businesses across the United States remotely, so we support businesses in Kentucky as we do everywhere else. A Kentucky business gets a dedicated team you know by name, who keep the books and run payroll inside your own QuickBooks or Xero file and meet you by video call. Your records stay in your file, which you can open at any time.

What hours does my Visory team work?

Your team works 9am to 5pm Eastern Time on business days, all year round. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your financial information is there whenever you need it.

Can a bookkeeper outside my office look after a Kentucky business?

Yes. What matters is that the team knows Kentucky’s rules and works inside your own accounting file. Visory connects to your bank feeds and software, codes and reconciles transactions through the month with Delphi AI working under an expert team, and meets you by video call. Nothing about the work depends on where your office is.

How much does a bookkeeper cost in Kentucky?

Visory charges one flat monthly fee for the scope we agree, with no hourly billing and no timesheets. The fee reflects the services you take, from bookkeeping and payroll to accounts payable, accounts receivable, and Insights, and the volume of work in your business. After a discovery call, you get a clear proposal, so you know the monthly cost before you start.

See how pricing works

Do you work in QuickBooks and Xero?

Yes. Visory works inside the systems you already use: QuickBooks and Xero for the ledger, Gusto and Rippling for pay runs, and Bill, Ramp, and Stripe for payments, along with your bank feeds. Your books stay in your own accounting file, which you own and can open at any time. Any change to your setup is agreed with you first.

Do Kentucky businesses charge sales tax on services?

Only on the services Kentucky law lists, but the list reaches creative and professional work: website design and development, website hosting, photography, interior decorating and design, and executive recruitment are all taxable at 6%, with no local sales tax on top. This is general information; the Kentucky Department of Revenue sets the rules for your business.

Do Louisville and Lexington tax wages?

Yes, through occupational license taxes withheld by the employer. In Louisville Metro the rate is 2.20% for residents and 1.45% for nonresidents, and Lexington-Fayette charges 2.25%. Each has its own returns and deadlines, separate from state withholding. This is general information; the Louisville Metro Revenue Commission and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government set the rules.

How often do I have to pay employees in Kentucky?

For most employees, at least twice a month, covering wages earned up to no more than 18 days before payday. Anyone who leaves is paid in full by the next normal pay period or 14 days after leaving, whichever is later. This is general information; KRS Chapter 337 sets the rules.

Can you look after staff in more than one state?

Yes. Each state sets its own income tax withholding, unemployment insurance, minimum wage, and leave rules, and under reciprocal agreements, residents of states such as Indiana and Ohio who work in Kentucky can be exempt from Kentucky withholding. Visory keeps one set of books and runs payroll with each state’s rules applied to the staff who work there, so every state’s cost shows in one monthly report.

Do you offer a fractional CFO in Kentucky?

A fractional CFO advises on numbers someone else produces. Visory runs the books, payroll, and payments, then delivers the insight from the same team: Visory Insights is a plain-English monthly report and a session with a named Business Performance Partner. There is no handover between the doing and the advising, and it comes on one flat monthly fee.

See how Visory Insights works
More questions, longer answers. Every question has its own link. See all common questions

Getting started

Start with clarity, not a contract.

Three steps, in whatever rhythm suits you. Each one is useful on its own.

  1. Two people shake hands across a desk beside a laptop

    Book a discovery call

    An obligation-free conversation about your goals and what you want the numbers to tell you.

    Obligation-free
  2. A woman takes notes beside a laptop showing a financial report

    Get your free financial health check

    A senior member of the Visory team analyzes your financials and shows you where your finance function can improve. It is free, and it is your own numbers.

    Free · your own numbers
  3. Top-down view of hands on a laptop showing the Visory accounts receivable workflow

    Receive a clear proposal

    A clear commercial proposal for the scope we agree, on one flat monthly fee. No hourly billing. You decide whether to go ahead.

    Flat monthly fee

Get started

The best is ahead for your business.

Start with a discovery call. We will listen first, then show you what your own numbers have been trying to tell you.

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Sources (17) · rules last checked October 9, 2026

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