We investigated the effect of Ta doping on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of lead-free $(K_{0.5}Na_{0.5})NbO_3$ ceramics prepared using a conventional ceramic processing. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that Ta was perfectly substituted into Nb-sites in the range of 0 to 20 at%. As Ta content in the KNN increased, the sinterability of KNN ceramics was significantly degraded while the Ta doping enhanced the piezoelectric constant $d_{33}$, planar mode piezoelectric coupling coefficient ($k_p$), and electromechanical quality factor ($Q_m$). The highest values for $d_{33}$, $k_p$, and $Q_m$ was found to be 156 pC/N, 0.37, and 155, respectively.