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Gun appraisals in Kentucky for donations, estate tax, divorce, and probate, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS requirements. AppraiseItNow appraises handguns, rifles, shotguns, antique firearms, and collectible guns across Kentucky, including Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green.
Their customer service is OUTSTANDING… I’d give 10 if possible!
…made the process simple for us to have more than 35 firearms appraised
The final report was thorough, well organized, and clearly explained the methodology and reasoning behind the valuation
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT FIREARMS APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, KENTUCKY COURTS, LENDERS, INSURERS, AND MORE.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member with 30 years in the trade, from running estate sales and an auction gallery to appraising luxury apparel, furniture, artwork, antiques, and business assets, primarily for IRS tax filings.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Personal Property Appraiser
ISA Accredited Member specializing in Asian art, with a Master's from SOAS and a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art. Ashley chairs the ISA's Antiques, Furnishings, and Decorative Arts committee and appraises for charitable donation, insurance, and equitable distribution.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
International Society of AppraisersAccredited Member
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsAppraiseItNow appraises rifles, shotguns, handguns, militaria, and whole collections across Kentucky for probate and inheritance tax filings, charitable contributions, divorce settlements, and insurance schedules.
Estates and heirs
Probate and the inheritance tax return both read values as of the date of death, so the work looks backward and says so plainly. Heirs dividing a safe between them need those same figures before any split means anything.
Donations and insurance
A charitable contribution turns on fair market value. An insurance schedule turns on what replacing the firearm would cost, which is usually the higher of the two. We confirm which one the report has to carry before pricing anything.
The intake is deliberately light. Photographs of each gun with its markings legible, the serial numbers, and any paperwork that came with the collection are enough to start most Kentucky assignments.
What we need
Receiver and barrel markings, proof marks, and the serial number carry most of the identification. Original boxes, factory letters, and old purchase paperwork add to it where they still exist.
When we come out
A large safe, a mixed holding of militaria, or a dispute that turns on condition is worth seeing in person. We say up front when that is the case instead of after the report lands.
One step on a condition scale can move a collectible firearm materially, which is why the report names the standard it read the gun against instead of leaving the grade implied.
Originality
Refinishing, replaced springs or screws, a reblued receiver, and parts that no longer belong to each other all pull a collectible down from its catalog figure, sometimes by more than the owner expects.
Antique and curio arms
Antique rifles, percussion arms, and martial pieces trade in a thinner market than modern sporting guns, so the comparable set is drawn from a longer run of sales. Antiques beyond the gun room are covered on our Kentucky antiques appraisal page.
Two Kentucky rules put a number on a collection before any sale does: the tax owed on a firearm bought elsewhere and brought home, and the share a surviving spouse takes outright.
Use tax
6 percent
the Kentucky rate on a firearm bought out of state and brought home to use
Kentucky imposes an excise tax on the storage, use, or other consumption in the state of tangible personal property purchased for use here, at six percent of the sales price, the same rate a retail sale inside Kentucky carries.
Where a substantially identical tax equal to or greater than Kentucky's was legally paid in another state, the tax does not apply, and where the other state's tax was lower the buyer pays the difference. No credit is given at all if that state would not credit Kentucky tax (KRS 139.510). The hammer price at an out of state auction is therefore not the whole cost of acquiring the gun.
Surviving spouse
One half
of the surplus personalty a Kentucky survivor takes as an absolute estate
When a husband or wife dies intestate, the survivor takes an absolute estate in one half of the surplus personalty the decedent left, on top of the intestate share. Surplus personalty reaches property passing under a beneficiary, transfer on death, or payable on death designation and property held jointly with right of survivorship, and the survivor's share is credited with whatever already came across that way, less funeral and burial expenses paid.
A collection split on that basis has to be valued first. Half of an unvalued safe is not a figure anyone can act on, and the guns rarely divide evenly by count.
What Kentucky clients say we are known for
Across 27 published Kentucky appraisal reviews, every one from a client who paid AppraiseItNow for an appraisal, the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and how much research is visible in the report.
It is a pleasure to work with Joe and his team. They communicate every step along the way and made the process simple for us to have more than 35 firearms appraised. It was all done in a timely manner and the final report is easy to understand. I highly recommend their services.
Gun Appraisal for Probate
I was skeptical at first, but the company exceeded all of my expectations. The team responded quickly to every question, and the service was excellent. They’re now my go to source for my collection. I’ve used them twice already, and I plan to use them several more times.
Firearms Appraisal for Personal Use
AppraiseItNow Inc. is the best company I was lucky to find by accident. I was looking for someone to appraise cabinets for a donation to charity. I asked for multiple referrals, called multiple appraisal services, etc., and no one could help me. I found AppraiseItNow and from the moment I started working with them, they were wonderful! Joe guided me on what I needed to send him, what needed to be done and stayed in touch with me the entire time. Their customer service is OUTSTANDING and a welcome surprise in today’s world where good customer service is an anomaly! They returned an appraisal in a timely manner, it was clear, concise, cost-effective and exactly what I needed. They followed up with me multiple times to ensure that I received it and everything was OK. My CPA is also thrilled to have them as an accredited appraisal service he can use for other clients. I rarely leave reviews, but I could not pass giving them 5 stars and I’d give 10 if possible! THANK YOU JOE AND ALL AT APPRAISEITNOW!!👊🏼
Personal Property Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I had a great experience with AppraiseItNow. I needed a formal insurance appraisal for a very unusual and difficult-to-value Pokémon collectible, and their team handled the process professionally from start to finish. Communication was responsive and helpful throughout, and I really appreciated that they took the time to understand the rarity, provenance, and unusual nature of the item rather than treating it like a routine appraisal. The final report was thorough, well organized, and clearly explained the methodology and reasoning behind the valuation. I was very happy with both the finished appraisal and the overall experience working with their team. I’d absolutely use AppraiseItNow again for another specialty collectible appraisal and would recommend them to anyone looking for a professional insurance appraisal.
Memorabilia & Collectibles Appraisal for Insurance Coverage
I used AppraiseItNow for the first time last month and I was extremely pleased with the results. I needed an appraisal done for insurance purposes and the level of detail about each of my antique furniture pieces was thorough and very helpful in my being able to get the highest amount possible from my insurance company for the antique items that were damaged. I could see that they spent time making sure that the information she included was correct and current for my antique furniture items in the current market. The team responded to my emails timely to answer any questions I had. I would highly recommend Appraise It Now to get a thorough and professional appraisal done on antique items. I do intend to use them again for other antique furniture and jewelry that I have. Job well done! 😃🤗
Antique Furniture Appraisal for Insurance Claim
I asked AppraiseItNow to value a piece of sports memorabilia for purposes of a charitable donation. The item is rarely sold. Their research unearthed an important recent sale of a similar item, which I had not found previously, and which the first appraiser I used had not found either. AppraiseItNow was a good deal more expensive than the first service, but they crafted a detailed report in which I have much more confidence. They also helped me make sure the correct tax forms are used. Thank you!
Sports Memorabilia Appraisal for Charitable Donation
Given the USPAP-compliant nature of AppraiseItNow’s appraisal reports, we prepare our deliverables for major legal, tax, and financial reporting purposes for individual and commercial clients.
Popular uses of our appraisal reports include:
By matching the gun to completed sales of the same make, model, caliber, barrel length, finish, and condition from auction archives, closed online listings, and dealer records, then adjusting for condition and accessories. Closed transactions reflect what buyers actually pay, which is why appraisers discount asking prices and forum estimates.
Substantially. The firearms market quotes condition as an NRA Condition Standards grade and a percentage of original finish, and one grade step can move price materially, especially on collectibles. Original versus refinished surfaces, bore condition, mechanical function, and whether components match all feed the figure, so the valuation names the condition it was reached on rather than leaving it implied.
No. Kentucky's appraiser licensing under Chapter 324A covers real property, and the state has no separate license for personal property appraisers. Firearms appraisals are instead performed under USPAP-based professional standards, which is what courts, insurers, and the IRS look for in a defensible report.
In principle, yes. Kentucky treats privately owned firearms as taxable tangible personal property, and KRS 132.220 requires owners to list taxable property with the county Property Valuation Administrator between January 1 and May 15 when the total at an address exceeds $1,000 in fair cash value, defined as the price at a fair voluntary sale. Documented values determine whether a collection crosses that threshold.
Because they generate steady realized-price data. Under KRS 16.220, confiscated firearms not returned to owners or kept for official use must be sold at public auction to federally licensed dealers, and guns used in homicides sell only to bidders who agree to their destruction. Those two streams price very differently, and an appraiser has to know which market a comparable came from.