Behind on Property Taxes in Tennessee?

Back Taxes in Tennessee: Your Options

This page explains what happens in Tennessee when property taxes on a lot go unpaid. Tennessee collects back taxes through a lawsuit in chancery or circuit court, and the court sells the land. It covers the due dates, the interest, the tax suit, the sale, the redemption period the court sets, and the choices you have. Owners of vacant land should pay close attention: land the court finds abandoned can have a redemption period of only 30 days.

Back taxes do not stop you from selling. Until the redemption period ends, you can pay off the taxes or sell the land and have the taxes paid at closing from the sale. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your own case, ask your county trustee, the clerk and master, or a Tennessee attorney.

When Tennessee property taxes become delinquent

Tennessee property taxes are due on the first Monday in October. The county trustee collects them. In Davidson County, for example, you can pay in full through the last day of February without interest. Some cities also bill their own property tax.

Taxes not paid by then become delinquent on March 1. The tax is a lien on the land itself, so it follows the lot to any new owner and also reaches heirs who never saw the bill.

Penalties and interest on late taxes

Interest is added on the first of each month starting March 1. The Metro Nashville trustee charges 1.5 percent per month, which is 18 percent a year. Ask your county trustee for the rate and the payoff amount on the day you plan to pay.

When the delinquent tax suit is filed, a penalty is added to pay the delinquent tax attorney. In most counties it is 10 percent of the base tax (T.C.A. 67-5-2410). Court costs come next, and if the land is sold, interest on the sale price is added to what you must pay to redeem.

What the county does next

The trustee publishes a list of delinquent taxpayers. Between February 1 and April 1, the trustee gives the list of unpaid real property taxes to the delinquent tax attorney, who files a lawsuit in chancery or circuit court to collect them (T.C.A. 67-5-2002, 67-5-2404, 67-5-2405). Once the suit is filed, you pay the court clerk, not the trustee, and the case against your land ends when you pay the taxes, interest, penalty and court costs (T.C.A. 67-5-2405, 67-5-2421).

If the taxes stay unpaid, the court orders the land sold at a public sale. The clerk and master runs the sale, and the court then enters an order confirming it. If no one bids, the county can buy the land (T.C.A. 67-5-2501). Sale dates differ by county; Davidson County, for example, holds sales through its Clerk and Master.

If a sale brings in more than all taxes, interest, penalties and costs, the extra money is held by the court clerk for the former owners. If they cannot be found, it goes to the state's unclaimed property program (T.C.A. 66-29-101 and following).

Redemption: getting your land back

Tennessee's redemption period starts on the day the court enters the order confirming the sale. The court sets the period for each parcel before the sale, based on how many years of taxes were delinquent, and it is never more than one year (T.C.A. 67-5-2701). The scale is below.

To redeem, you file a motion to redeem in the court case where the land was sold, and you first pay the clerk the delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and court costs, plus interest of 12 percent a year on the whole price the buyer paid (T.C.A. 67-5-2701). The buyer then has 30 days to ask for more money, such as recording costs and later taxes it paid. If you do not pay the full amount on time, the redemption fails.

If the court approves the redemption, title goes back to you as it was on the day the sale was confirmed (T.C.A. 67-5-2701). For the exact amount, call the clerk and master of the court that handled the sale.

• 5 years or less of delinquency: one year.
• More than 5 but less than 8 years: 180 days.
• 8 years or more: 90 days.
• Vacant land the court has reason to believe is abandoned: 30 days, no matter how many years are owed.

Your options if you are behind

You have several choices. Paying before the suit is filed avoids the suit penalty and court costs.

• Pay in full. Before the suit, pay the trustee. After the suit is filed, pay the court clerk.
• Ask about partial payments. Tennessee law lets trustees accept partial payments of property tax (2010 Public Chapter 660), and Metro Nashville accepts them. Ask your trustee whether yours does.
• Redeem before the deadline. The court may set a short period, as little as 30 days for vacant land, so act as soon as you learn of a sale.
• Sell the land. We make a cash offer within 24 hours, charge no fees or commissions, pay the closing costs and can close in as few as 7 days. The back taxes are paid at closing from the sale. Get a cash offer for your Tennessee land.

Selling land with back taxes in Tennessee

You can sell land with delinquent taxes, even while a tax suit is pending. At closing, the taxes, interest, penalty and court costs are paid from the sale price, and the case against the land ends. The buyer gets clear title, and you get the rest.

We buy land with back taxes, liens and title problems, and land without road access. We also buy from heirs and estates. We pay the closing costs. If the court has already ordered or confirmed a sale, tell us the date, because a vacant lot may have only 30 days to redeem.

Where to check your tax status

Contact the trustee of the county where the land sits for the amount owed and whether the taxes have gone to the delinquent tax attorney. If a suit has been filed, the clerk and master of the chancery court can tell you the payoff and any sale date. The Tennessee Comptroller's county assessment page links to property information for each county.

The University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service publishes a plain guide to the collection of delinquent real property taxes with the statute numbers.