Property Tax in Nashville, TN: Deadlines, Appeals, and Relief

Nashville property tax is calculated by multiplying your property’s assessed value by the rate for your service district: $2.814 per $100 of assessed value inside the Urban Services District and $2.782 per $100 in the surrounding General Services District. Homes are assessed at 25 percent of the appraised value the Davidson County Property Assessor sets. Bills go out in October and must be paid in full by the last day of February to avoid interest.¹²

How the Bill Is Calculated

The Assessor appraises each property at estimated market value. Tennessee law then applies an assessment ratio before the tax rate is used. Residential and farm properties are assessed at 25 percent of appraised value. Commercial and industrial properties are assessed at 40 percent.³

For a home appraised at $400,000 in the Urban Services District, the math runs like this:

Appraised value: $400,000
Assessed value at 25 percent: $100,000
Rate: $2.814 per $100
Annual tax: $100,000 ÷ 100 × $2.814 = $2,814

That same home in the General Services District would owe $2,782. The Metro Council sets both rates each year during the budget process.¹

Which District Are You In?

The Urban Services District covers properties within the urban core that receive additional city services like curbside trash collection. Everything else in Davidson County sits in the General Services District. The gap between the two rates is small, but the district your property falls in will be printed on your bill.

Reappraisal Years and Value Changes

Davidson County reappraises on a four-year cycle: three years of visual inspection followed by a full revaluation in the fourth year. The most recent countywide reappraisal took effect in 2025.⁴ Between reappraisal years, your assessed value generally holds steady unless you make significant changes, like adding a room or demolishing a structure.

A reappraisal doesn’t automatically raise your bill. When values jump countywide, the Metro Council often lowers the tax rate to offset part of the increase. The adjustment rarely cancels the full rise, so most owners see some change after a reappraisal. If your new appraised value looks too high, you can challenge it.

Payment Deadlines and Late Penalties

Tax bills are mailed in October, and the official due date is the first Monday of that month. You then have until the last day of February to pay in full without penalty.²

Starting March 1, interest of 1.5 percent is added to the unpaid balance, and another 1.5 percent is added on the first day of every month after that.⁵ That’s 18 percent annually, which adds up quickly on a bill of several thousand dollars.

If taxes go unpaid long enough, the Metropolitan Government files suit and seeks a court order to sell the property at auction. The opening bid at a delinquent tax sale includes all unpaid taxes plus accumulated interest, attorney fees, and court costs.⁶ You can stop the process by paying in full at any point before the sale, though the legal costs by that stage are substantial.

How to Pay

You’ll need your parcel ID, which is printed near the top of your bill. If you’ve lost the bill, look it up on the Metro Trustee’s website by property address.

Online

The Nashville.gov portal is the fastest option. E-check payments carry a flat $1.00 processing fee. Credit and debit cards cost 2.55 percent of the payment, with a $2.00 minimum.⁷ On a $2,800 bill, that card fee runs about $71, so an e-check saves real money.

Mail or In Person

Checks can be mailed to the Metro Trustee at P.O. Box 196358, Nashville, TN 37219-6358, with your parcel ID in the memo line. The postmark date, not the receipt date, controls whether your payment is timely.⁷ In-person payments are accepted at the Howard Office Building, 700 President Ronald Reagan Way, Suite 220, during business hours.

If You Pay Through Mortgage Escrow

Many Nashville homeowners never see the bill because their lender pays it from escrow. Your lender runs an annual escrow analysis and adjusts your monthly payment to cover the upcoming taxes. After a reappraisal or rate change, your escrow payment will almost certainly go up. If the analysis shows a shortage, you can usually pay it as a lump sum or spread it over the next 12 mortgage payments. Watch your assessment notice each spring so a jump in the mortgage payment doesn’t come as a surprise.

Challenging Your Assessment

If your appraised value looks too high, you have a clear path to contest it. The timeline is strict, and missing a deadline means waiting until the next year.

Start With an Informal Review

Contact the Davidson County Property Assessor’s office first. A deputy appraiser will review documentation of errors or changes affecting value, and if the office agrees, the value can be adjusted without a hearing.⁸ Most fixable errors get caught here: wrong square footage, a bathroom that doesn’t exist, or condition issues the assessor didn’t account for.

Formal Appeal to the Metropolitan Board of Equalization

If the informal review doesn’t resolve it, file a formal appeal with the independent Metropolitan Board of Equalization (MBOE). The MBOE begins meeting on the first business day of June each year and continues until equalization is complete.⁹ Call the Assessor’s Call Center to schedule your hearing.

Bring evidence that speaks to market value: recent sales of comparable homes in your area, documented repair estimates for major structural or system issues, photographs showing damage or dated conditions, or a recent professional appraisal if you happen to have one. Arguments about how much taxes went up or what services the city provides won’t help. The board’s only question is whether the appraised value reflects actual market value.⁸

Appeal to the State Board of Equalization

If the MBOE decision is still unacceptable, you can appeal to the State Board of Equalization within 45 days of the date the MBOE mails its decision, or by August 1 of the tax year, whichever is later.¹⁰ You generally have to go through the county board first to preserve this right.

Relief and Freeze Programs

Tennessee has three programs that can reduce or lock in your bill. Each requires the property to be your primary residence, and most require annual re-application.

Property Tax Relief for Seniors and Disabled Homeowners

The state reimburses qualifying homeowners for all or part of their local property taxes. You must be at least 65 by December 31 of the tax year or meet specific disability criteria. Combined household income from all sources cannot exceed an annually adjusted limit that started at $24,000 and increases each year with Social Security cost-of-living adjustments.¹¹ Income counted includes the applicant, spouse, and all other owners of the property.

Disabled Veteran Property Tax Relief

Disabled veterans and their surviving spouses can receive relief on their primary residence. The maximum market value on which relief is calculated is $175,000.¹² If the home is worth more, relief still applies to the first $175,000.

Property Tax Freeze for Seniors

The freeze is separate from relief. Instead of reducing your bill, it locks your tax amount at the level it was when you first qualified. Even if rates rise or the county reappraises at a higher value, the frozen amount holds.¹³ In Davidson County, you must be 65 or older, and your 2024 income from all sources cannot exceed $61,920.¹⁴ The limit is updated each year.

Participants must submit their vouchers by April 5 every year to stay enrolled.¹⁵ Miss the deadline and you drop out. You can qualify for both freeze and relief at the same time if your income is low enough.

If You Own a Business

Property tax in Nashville isn’t just on land and buildings. Businesses also pay on tangible personal property: furniture, fixtures, machinery, equipment, raw materials, and supplies. Leased equipment counts too because Tennessee assesses it to the lessee, not the lessor.¹⁶

Every year by March 1, businesses must file a Schedule B reporting all tangible personal property to the Assessor. Miss the deadline and the Assessor estimates your value based on similar businesses. Reported assets are valued at original cost minus depreciation, with each category following its own state-set schedule. The assessed value for commercial and industrial personal property is 30 percent of depreciated value.¹⁶

Finished goods held for sale and merchandise inventory are exempt. If the total depreciated value of your business personal property is $2,000 or less, you can file a small account certification instead of itemizing every asset. A second tier exists for values between $2,000 and $10,000. Both certifications are subject to audit.

1
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Calculate Property Taxes
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Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Property Tax Questions and Answers
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Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-801 – Classification and Rate of Assessment
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Nashville Property Assessor. Reappraisal
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Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-2010 – Interest – Delinquent Taxes
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Nashville Chancery Court Clerk and Master. Delinquent Tax Sale Information
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Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Office of the Metropolitan Trustee
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Nashville Property Assessor. File a Formal Appeal to The Independent Metropolitan Board of Equalization
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Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. County Boards of Equalization
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Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-1412 – Appeal of County or Other Local Board Action
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Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-702 – Elderly Low-Income Homeowners
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Tennessee Department of Veterans Services. Property Tax Relief for Disabled Veterans
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Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Property Tax Freeze
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Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. 2025 Property Tax Relief and Freeze for Davidson County
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Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Learn about Property Tax Freeze
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Nashville Property Assessor. Personal Property