Property taxes owed to the City of Memphis are due by August 31 each year, and any balance still unpaid on September 1 is classified as delinquent and starts accruing interest at 1.5% per month. The Memphis property tax due date is set once the City Council adopts the annual tax rate, which in recent years has landed in mid-to-late June. Bills go out shortly after that. If August rolls around and you haven’t seen one, that’s not a free pass: not receiving a bill does not excuse a late payment.
The August 31 Deadline and What Delinquency Means
After the City Council sets the rate, the City Treasurer’s Office generates and mails the bills. The full balance must be paid by August 31 of that same year. If you haven’t received your bill by August 1, call the City Treasurer’s Office at (901) 522-1111 and request one.1City of Memphis. Tax Information
Any amount still owed on September 1 is delinquent. Tennessee law applies a uniform 1.5% interest charge on the first of each month the balance remains unpaid, which works out to 18% per year.2Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-2010 – Interest – Delinquent Taxes The charge stacks fast. A $3,000 bill adds $45 in the first month alone, and more every month after. The city cannot waive or reduce this interest because the rate is set at the state level.
Shelby County Taxes Are a Separate Bill With a Different Deadline
Memphis homeowners owe property taxes to two taxing bodies, and this is where many people slip up. The City of Memphis sends one bill. Shelby County sends another, on its own schedule. County real estate taxes become due and payable on the first Monday of October, and the deadline to pay without penalty is the last day of February the following year. Anything unpaid on March 1 is delinquent.3Shelby County Trustee, TN. Payment Deadlines and Mailing Payments
Delinquent county taxes carry the same 1.5% monthly interest set by state law.2Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-2010 – Interest – Delinquent Taxes So the practical thing to remember: the city bill is due at the end of August, the county bill at the end of February. Put both on the calendar.
How to Check Your Balance and Pay
You can look up your city tax balance through the City of Memphis ePayments portal at epayments.memphistn.gov. Search by owner name, street address, or Parcel ID. The Parcel ID is the most reliable lookup because it’s unique to the property.4City of Memphis. City of Memphis ePayments Site
The city accepts payment several ways:
- Online at epayments.memphistn.gov by e-check, credit card, or debit card. A convenience fee applies and is shown before you confirm.
- By mail, with the bill stub and a check or money order, to City of Memphis Treasury, P.O. Box 185, Memphis, TN 38101.
- In person at the Treasury office, 125 N. Main St., Suite 301, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cash, check, credit card, and money order are accepted.
- At any First Horizon Bank branch, year-round, with your tax bill and a check or money order.
Keep the receipt whichever way you pay. You’ll need proof if you sell, refinance, or have to dispute a delinquency notice later.1City of Memphis. Tax Information
If Your Mortgage Has an Escrow Account
Most homeowners with a mortgage have an escrow account, which means the servicer collects a portion of your estimated property taxes with each monthly payment and pays both the city and county bills on your behalf. Under federal rules, your mortgage servicer must send you an annual escrow account statement showing what was paid and what’s projected for the coming year.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 1024.17 Escrow Accounts
Even with escrow, don’t tune out. Read the annual statement and confirm the servicer actually paid both bills on time. If a servicer misses the August 31 city deadline or the February county deadline, interest accrues against the property, and untangling who owes what afterward is painful. Escrow shortages also happen when property taxes climb faster than the servicer forecast, and when that happens, your monthly mortgage payment will be adjusted upward to cover the gap.
What Happens If You Let It Go Unpaid
The 1.5% monthly interest is just the start. If taxes remain unpaid long enough, the county will file a delinquent tax suit, and after the suit concludes, the property can be sold at a tax sale to recover the balance. Sale proceeds go first to legal costs, then to state, county, and city taxes in that order.
Tennessee law gives the original owner a right of redemption, which means you can reclaim the property by paying all delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and court costs before the redemption period runs out. Reaching the tax sale stage, though, means you’ve already piled up substantial costs and put your ownership at real risk. Catching the problem at the August 31 or February 28 deadline is drastically cheaper than fixing it later.
Relief and Freeze Programs That Can Lower or Fix Your Bill
Tennessee runs two programs that can reduce what certain Memphis homeowners actually pay. Both apply only to your primary residence, and in both cases you still receive and must pay your tax bills. Reimbursement or adjustment comes through the program.
The property tax relief program reimburses all or part of the property taxes paid by low-income homeowners who are 65 or older, disabled, or disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. Total annual income from all sources, including a spouse’s income, cannot exceed $24,000, with the figure adjusted each year for cost of living.6Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-702 – Elderly Low-Income Homeowners Applications are available from the Shelby County Trustee’s office or the City of Memphis Treasurer’s office.7Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Property Tax Relief
The property tax freeze is a separate program that locks the tax amount on your primary residence at the amount you owed the year you first qualified. Rate hikes and countywide reappraisals won’t raise the frozen amount as long as you keep qualifying. You must be 65 or older by December 31 of the application year and fall below the county income limit set for that tax year.8Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Property Tax Freeze
Relief and freeze have separate eligibility rules, and some homeowners qualify for both. Apply for each one individually.