What Is the Hawkins County, TN Property Tax Rate?

The Hawkins County, TN property tax rate is $2.5546 per $100 of assessed value for the county portion, and homeowners inside one of the county’s five incorporated cities pay an added municipal rate on top of that.¹ On a home appraised at $200,000 outside city limits, that works out to roughly $1,277 a year.

County and City Rates

The Hawkins County Board of Commissioners sets the countywide rate each year when it approves the budget. The current figure is $2.5546 per $100 of assessed value.¹ If your address falls inside a city, a second rate applies:

Rogersville: $1.84 per $100 of assessed value
Mount Carmel: $1.59
Surgoinsville: $1.10
Church Hill: $1.01
Bulls Gap: $0.99

City residents owe both. A Rogersville homeowner pays a combined $4.3946 per $100 ($2.5546 county plus $1.84 city).¹ Both rates can shift from year to year, so verify the current numbers on your tax notice or with the Hawkins County Trustee before doing your own math.

How Your Assessed Value Is Set

The rate applies to assessed value, not market value, and the two are not the same number. The Hawkins County Assessor of Property determines each parcel’s fair market value, meaning what a willing buyer and seller would agree to on the open market. The county runs a five-year reappraisal cycle: on-site reviews cover about 25 percent of parcels each year, and everything is revalued countywide in the fifth year.² Your value can also change between full reappraisals if you build on, renovate, or the assessor corrects a prior error.

Tennessee law then converts fair market value to assessed value using fixed percentages based on how the property is used:³

Residential and farm property: 25% of appraised value
Commercial and industrial property: 40% of appraised value
Public utility property: 55% of appraised value

So a $200,000 home has an assessed value of $50,000. That $50,000 is what the tax rate works against.

Running the Numbers on Your Bill

Once you know the assessed value, divide it by 100 and multiply by the rate. For a $200,000 home outside city limits:

Assessed value: $200,000 × 25% = $50,000
Divide by 100: $50,000 ÷ 100 = 500
Multiply by the county rate: 500 × $2.5546 = $1,277.30

If that same home sits inside Rogersville, combine the rates first: $2.5546 + $1.84 = $4.3946. Then 500 × $4.3946 = $2,197.30.¹ The gap between just inside and just outside city limits can run close to $1,000 a year on a modest home, which is worth knowing if you’re house-hunting near a city boundary.

When the Bill Is Due

Tax notices typically go out by mid-October after the Board of Commissioners sets the rate. You can pay anytime from October 1 through the last day of February with no penalty.⁴ Interest of 1.5% per month begins March 1 and continues to accrue on the first of each month the bill stays unpaid.⁵ Six months late is 9% in interest alone on top of what you already owed.

The Hawkins County Trustee accepts cash, check, money order, and Visa or MasterCard, and offers an online payment portal. Card payments through the portal usually carry a processing fee of about 2% to 3%. Partial payments are allowed, but you have to sign a form each tax year before splitting a payment.⁴ Hold onto your receipt or confirmation number; mortgage servicers and closing attorneys will ask for proof.

Letting taxes slide past delinquency has real consequences. The county’s delinquent tax attorney is required to file suit to collect unpaid taxes within a set window each year, and once the suit is filed the court cannot grant extra time or set up an installment plan. Property that remains unpaid after the court proceeding can be sold at a tax sale, with redemption periods that shrink the longer you’ve been behind.⁶

Programs That Lower What You Owe

Several state-funded programs are administered through the Hawkins County Trustee’s office and can meaningfully cut what qualifying homeowners pay.

Tax Relief for Elderly and Disabled Homeowners

Tennessee reimburses qualifying homeowners for a portion of the taxes on the first $32,700 of their home’s market value. You must be at least 65 or permanently disabled, own and occupy the home as your primary residence, and have a total household income below $29,180. Disabled veterans and their surviving spouses are exempt from the income cap.⁷ Both the income cap and property-value cap adjust annually with the Social Security cost-of-living increase.

Disabled Veteran Relief

Veterans with a service-connected permanent and total disability rating from the VA can get tax relief on up to $175,000 of their home’s market value.⁷ Qualifying conditions include paraplegia, loss of two or more limbs, legal blindness, or a 100% permanent and total VA disability rating. The home must be your primary residence, and surviving spouses may also qualify.

Property Tax Freeze

The freeze program locks your tax bill at its current level, so later rate hikes or reappraisals don’t raise what you owe. You must be at least 65 by the end of the application year, own and live in the home as your primary residence, and fall below the county income limit set by the Comptroller’s Office each year.⁸ A local option permits participating counties to use an alternative income ceiling of $60,000, also adjusted annually. Contact the Hawkins County Trustee for the current limit and to apply.

Appealing Your Appraised Value

If the appraised value on your notice looks too high, you can challenge it. The window is narrow, so act promptly.

County Board of Equalization

The Hawkins County Board of Equalization starts meeting on June 1 each year. Schedule an appointment with the Assessor’s office during the last week of May or the first week of June.⁹ Bring comparable sales, a recent independent appraisal, or photos documenting condition problems the assessor missed. The board will either adjust the value or leave it alone.

State Board of Equalization

If the county board doesn’t move your value, you can appeal to the Tennessee State Board of Equalization. The deadline is August 1 of the tax year, or 45 days after the county board mails its decision, whichever is later. Appeals go through the SBOE’s online system. An administrative judge hears the case and issues a decision within 90 days. You can petition for Board review within 30 days of that decision and then seek judicial review in chancery court within 60 days of the SBOE order becoming final.¹⁰ You have to go through the county board first; skipping it will almost always get a state appeal dismissed.

1
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Hawkins County
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Hawkins County Tennessee. Countywide Reappraisal
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Justia Law. Tennessee Code 67-5-801 – Classification and Rate of Assessment
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Hawkins County, Tennessee. Trustee
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Justia Law. Tennessee Code 67-5-2010 – Interest – Delinquent Taxes
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Justia Law. Tennessee Code 67-5-2701 – Procedure for Redemption
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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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Hawkins County Tennessee. Appealing Assessments
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Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Appealing to the State Board of Equalization