Sevier County Property Tax: Rates, Payment, and Appeals

Sevier County property tax is calculated by multiplying the county tax rate, currently $1.48 per $100 of assessed value, by a portion of what the Assessor says your property is worth: 25% for a home, 40% for commercial property.¹ Bills are mailed the first week of October and are due by the last day of February. Miss that deadline and the county adds 1.5% interest per month, every month, until you pay.

How Your Bill Is Calculated

Three numbers determine what you owe: the Assessor’s appraised value, the assessment ratio tied to how your property is classified, and the county tax rate.

The appraised value reflects what the property would sell for between a willing buyer and seller under normal conditions.² That value is then multiplied by an assessment ratio set in the Tennessee Constitution:³

Residential and farm property: 25% of appraised value
Industrial and commercial property: 40% of appraised value
Public utility property: 55% of appraised value

The Sevier County Board of Commissioners sets the rate each year, currently $1.48 per $100 of assessed value.¹ Take a home appraised at $300,000. The assessed value is $75,000 (25% of $300,000). Divide by $100 to get 750 taxable units, multiply by $1.48, and the bill is $1,110 before any relief.

Run the same math on a commercial building appraised at $300,000 and the assessed value jumps to $120,000, producing a bill of $1,776. That gap between 25% and 40% is why classification matters, especially around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

Short-Term Rentals and Classification

If a short-term rental is your principal residence and contains no more than one rental unit, the Assessor should presume it is residential. Beyond that, you can request residential classification for one additional short-term rental in the state, but only if you personally stay there at least 14 days per year (or 10% of its rented days, whichever is greater) and file an annual affidavit with the Assessor by September 1 of the prior year.³

Any short-term rentals beyond those two get classified as commercial. If you own several cabins or condos on vacation platforms, expect 40% assessment on all but the two that qualify. Miss the September 1 affidavit deadline on the second property and you lose residential classification for the following tax year with no retroactive fix.

When Payment Is Due and What Late Costs

Bills are mailed the first week of October and become payable October 1.⁴ You have until the last day of February to pay without interest. Beginning March 1, the county adds 1.5% interest per month on the unpaid balance, which annualizes to 18%.¹

Interest is charged on the first of each month. A $1,500 bill left unpaid until June carries $90 in interest (four months at 1.5%). Paying even one day into March triggers the full first month’s charge. There is no grace period once February ends.

How to Pay

The Sevier County Trustee accepts payments online, by mail, and in person at the Sevier County Courthouse.

Online

The Trustee’s online portal is open 24 hours a day and accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and e-check. Credit and debit card payments carry a 2.5% convenience fee charged by the processor; e-checks cost a flat $1.25. On a $1,500 bill that is the difference between $37.50 and $1.25. The date on your confirmation page counts as your payment date, and online payments are accepted until 11:59 p.m. on the due date.⁵

By Mail

Mailed payments must carry a U.S. Postal Service postmark dated on or before the last day of February. Office postage meter dates are not accepted as proof of timely mailing.¹ If you are mailing close to the deadline, hand the envelope to a clerk at the post office counter. An after-hours drop in a collection box can get picked up and postmarked the next business day.

In Person

The County Trustee’s office in the Sevier County Courthouse accepts walk-in payments during regular business hours and gives you an immediate receipt.

Through a Mortgage Escrow

If your lender collects property taxes through an escrow account, the lender is responsible for paying the Trustee on time. Federal rules require your loan servicer to send an annual escrow statement showing what was paid and when.⁶ Verify it anyway. If the servicer pays late, the interest penalty attaches to the tax account on your property, and untangling who owes the penalty becomes a dispute between you and the lender. Check the Trustee’s online portal after the February deadline to confirm the payment posted.

Tax Relief Programs

Tennessee funds several programs that reimburse qualifying homeowners for part or all of their county property taxes. The money comes from the state, but you apply through the Sevier County Trustee’s office.

Elderly Homeowners

If you are 65 or older and own and live in your home, you can receive tax relief when your total household income falls below a threshold set each year in the state budget. The limit adjusts annually based on the Social Security cost-of-living increase.⁷ Contact the Trustee’s office or check the Tennessee Comptroller’s website for the current year’s figure.⁸

The reimbursement covers taxes on a capped portion of the home’s market value, and that cap also moves with inflation. Income counts all sources from all owners of the property and their spouses, not just the applicant alone.⁷

Disabled Homeowners

Homeowners who are totally and permanently disabled qualify under the same income threshold and market value cap as the elderly program. Applications go through the Trustee’s office with documentation of disability status and income.⁸

Disabled Veterans

Disabled veterans get the most generous relief. The state reimburses property taxes on the first $175,000 of a home’s full market value regardless of the veteran’s income. Qualifying disabilities include service-connected paraplegia, legal blindness, loss of two or more limbs, 100% disability from service as a prisoner of war, and any service-connected permanent and total disability as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A dishonorable discharge disqualifies a veteran from the program.⁹

Surviving spouses of qualifying disabled veterans, and of veterans who died in the line of duty, remain eligible as long as they continue to own and occupy the home.

Appealing Your Assessment

If you think the appraised value is too high or your property is classified incorrectly, you can appeal. Start at the county, then go to the state if needed.

County Board of Equalization

Your first step is the Sevier County Board of Equalization, which begins its regular session on June 1 each year.¹⁰ Call the Assessor’s office for the exact filing deadline and hearing schedule. Bring evidence that supports a lower value: recent comparable sales, a private appraisal, photos of damage or condition problems the Assessor may not have accounted for. With limited exceptions, failing to appeal to the county board first means losing the right to appeal further.¹¹

State Board of Equalization

If the county board rules against you, the next level is the Tennessee State Board of Equalization. Appeals must be filed by August 1 of the tax year or within 45 days of receiving notice of the county board’s decision, whichever is later.¹¹ The state board will not accept appeals filed after March 1 of the following year under any circumstances. A few narrow situations let you skip the county board, such as when the Assessor failed to notify you of an assessment increase, but those exceptions require specific documentation.

If Taxes Go Unpaid

Leaving taxes unpaid past the 1.5% monthly interest eventually brings a court-authorized sale of the property.

The Tax Sale

Tennessee uses a judicial tax sale. The county’s delinquent tax attorney files a lawsuit, and the court publishes notice of the sale in a local newspaper at least 20 days before the auction date.¹² The property is auctioned to the highest bidder to cover delinquent taxes, interest, and court costs.

Redemption

Losing the property at auction is not necessarily permanent. Tennessee law gives former owners a redemption window to pay back the full amount and reclaim the property, and the window shrinks the longer taxes were delinquent before the sale:¹³

Five years or less of delinquency: one year to redeem from the date the court confirms the sale
More than five but fewer than eight years: 180 days
Eight years or more: 90 days

Redeeming requires paying the purchaser the full auction price plus any additional costs the court specifies. Once the redemption period expires without payment, the purchaser takes clear title.

1
Sevier County Government. FAQs
2
Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-601 – General Policy – Legislative Findings
3
Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-801 – Classification and Rate of Assessment
4
Sevier County Government. Property Tax
5
Sevier County Government. Payment Options
6
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Escrow Accounts
7
Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-702 – Elderly Low-Income Homeowners
8
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Property Tax Relief
9
Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-704 – Disabled Veterans Residence
10
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. County Boards of Equalization
11
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Value Appeals
12
Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-2502 – Notice of Sale of Land
13
Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-2701 – Procedure for Redemption