One of CTAS’s goals is to provide county officials with practical information to support the daily operation of county government. The information below is a compilation of tax statistics for Tennessee county governments.
Local litigation taxes are not included in these reports. However, most counties do levy litigation taxes in varying amounts and for a variety of purposes. Because litigation taxes may be adopted by resolution of the county legislative body, they have become a common source of county revenue. For more information, see County Litigation Taxes (CTAS-1641) in e-Li, the CTAS electronic library.
To view data from other years, use the dropdown menu in the upper left corner of each available table. If you need data from years prior to 2021, please visit our archived Tennessee County Tax Statistics publications.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact your CTAS County Government Consultant.
The county legislative body sets the tax rate annually. Rates adopted by fund type are shown below. Please note that not all rates are levied countywide. These instances can occur for a variety of reasons. For example, counties may provide certain services only to residents in the unincorporated parts of the county. This is typically because cities are already providing those services to their residents. Another example is in the case of special school districts, which have their own taxing jurisdictions. In those cases, the total tax rate reflected in the last column shows the rate paid by a county taxpayer living in the special district. It is also important to note that municipal property tax rates are not included in this data.
The data on this page is updated once each year in the winter, after final figures become available.
The county assessor's duties include two basic functions: appraisal and assessment of taxable real and personal property in the county that is not appraised by the state. For purposes of ad valorem taxation of property, the assessor of property places a value on commercial, industrial, residential, and farmland, including mineral rights and taxable leaseholds, but public utility property is valued by the state.
The data on this page is updated once each year in late spring, after final figures become available.
You can find comprehensive Tennessee county sales tax information on the Tennessee Department of Revenue’s Sales and Use Tax webpage. This site provides current data on sales tax rates by county, effective dates of rate changes, and details on single article caps and exemptions, helping businesses, taxpayers, and local officials understand applicable tax rates and limitations across the state. The information is regularly updated to reflect legislative changes and ensures accurate compliance with Tennessee’s sales and use tax requirements.
Counties may levy a tax on motor vehicles (wheel tax) by any of the following methods: passage of a resolution by a two-thirds vote of the county legislative body at two consecutive regular county legislative body meetings; by passage of a resolution by the county legislative body by a regular majority with approval and referendum provided for in the resolution; and, by private act. The rates are set forth in the resolutions or private acts. The distribution may be designated for any county purpose specified by the resolution or private act.
You can find detailed Tennessee county hotel/motel tax information on the Tennessee Department of Revenue’s Local Occupancy Tax “Due Date and Tax Rates” webpage. This resource provides jurisdiction-specific local occupancy (hotel/motel) tax rates, including the effective rate in each county and city, as well as related information such as the monthly due date for remittance and a complete, up-to-date list of tax rates by jurisdiction. The data helps businesses, tax professionals, and local officials understand the applicable local tax obligations on transient accommodations across Tennessee.
By a two-thirds vote, counties may levy a tax on all sand, gravel, sandstone, chert, and limestone severed from the ground within the county at a rate of up to $0.15 per ton. Prior to 1984, the county mineral severance tax could be authorized by private act only. Private acts in existence when the general law was passed remain in effect for all purposes, except that the rate may not exceed $0.15 per ton. Counties who levied the tax under the general law are required to distribute the tax to the county highway fund.1
The data on this page is updated once each year in winter, after final figures become available.
For more information, please see County Mineral Severance Tax (General Law) - CTAS-1614 and County Mineral Severance Tax (Private Act) - CTAS-1615.
1 T.C.A. §§ 67-7-201 through 67-7-221