Which Tennessee Counties Have the Property Tax Freeze
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
This table is the reason Tennessee needs its own page. The benefit exists or does not exist based on a decision your county commission made, sometimes back in 2007.
The 27 counties, with 2026 income limits
Income limits are set annually by the Comptroller and vary by county. Where a county's limit is reported as a local option to the Division of Property Assessments it can sit above the state-calculated figure, which is why several large counties share the same number.
| County | Year adopted | 2026 income limit |
|---|---|---|
| Williamson | 2008 | $69,150 |
| Blount | 2007 | $63,470 |
| Davidson | 2007 | $63,470 |
| Knox | 2007 | $63,470 |
| Montgomery | 2008 | $63,470 |
| Robertson | 2008 | $63,470 |
| Rutherford | 2008 | $63,470 |
| Shelby | 2008 | $63,470 |
| Wilson | 2007 | $63,470 |
| Anderson | 2007 | $53,900 |
| Madison | 2012 | $51,620 |
| Sevier | 2008 | $49,190 |
| Sumner | 2008 | $48,550 |
| Franklin | 2008 | $47,050 |
| Coffee | 2008 | $46,730 |
| Roane | 2007 | $43,460 |
| Bradley | 2007 | $42,340 |
| Putnam | 2024 | $42,200 |
| Smith | 2008 | $40,950 |
| Hamblen | 2007 | $39,260 |
| Bledsoe | 2011 | $38,470 |
| Campbell | 2008 | $38,470 |
| DeKalb | 2023 | $38,470 |
| Hancock | 2010 | $38,470 |
| Haywood | 2022 | $38,470 |
| Hickman | 2008 | $38,470 |
| Union | 2023 | $38,470 |
Cities adopt separately
Thirty-six cities have adopted their own freeze, and this is the detail that trips people up. A city freeze covers the city portion of your bill; the county freeze covers the county portion. They are separate decisions by separate bodies.
The practical consequences are worth spelling out. A city inside a non-participating county can still offer a freeze on its own levy. A city that straddles two counties, like Goodlettsville across Davidson and Sumner or Portland across Robertson and Sumner, applies the income limit of the county the property sits in, and those limits differ. Tullahoma spans Coffee and Franklin, Spring Hill spans Maury and Williamson, and Oak Ridge spans Anderson and Roane, each with two different income limits in play.
Adopting cities include Memphis, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin-area municipalities and many smaller towns. Because the list changes as jurisdictions adopt, confirm your specific address with the county trustee or city collecting official rather than relying on any list, including this one.
What the spread means for a move
Nearly $31,000 separates the highest county limit from the lowest. An owner with a fixed retirement income could qualify comfortably in Williamson County at $69,150 and fail to qualify in an adjacent county at $38,470, on identical circumstances.
For a buy-before-you-sell borrower there are therefore three possible outcomes rather than two, and they are worth naming before you shop:
- Move within a participating county and you get a new freeze at the new home's current tax amount. You lose the old base, keep the mechanism.
- Move to a non-participating county and there is no freeze at all.
- Move to a participating county but over its income limit and there is no freeze either, even though the program exists there.
All three change the permanent tax line inside the payment, which is why we ask about it early. Background on the freeze page, and the financing implications on the structures page.
These figures reset annually and jurisdictions continue to adopt. Verify with your county trustee before relying on any of it.
Freeze eligibility, income limits and landlord obligations are legal and tax questions. Your CPA, a Tennessee attorney, and your county trustee own those answers. We flag them because they change the numbers we underwrite.
Frequently asked questions
How many Tennessee counties have adopted the property tax freeze?
27 of the state's 95 counties, along with 36 cities, according to the Tennessee Comptroller's Tax Freeze Jurisdictions listing. Because it is a local option under T.C.A. § 67-5-705, the program does not exist in counties whose legislative body never adopted it.
Which Tennessee county has the highest tax freeze income limit?
Williamson County at $69,150 for 2026. Eight jurisdictions including Davidson, Knox, Shelby, Montgomery, Rutherford, Wilson, Robertson and Blount share $63,470, while seven counties sit at the floor of $38,470.
Can a Tennessee city have a tax freeze if the county does not?
Yes. Counties adopt by resolution and municipalities by ordinance, separately. A city freeze applies to the city portion of the bill and a county freeze to the county portion, so the two can exist independently of each other.
What if my city sits in two counties?
The income limit follows the county the property is actually in. Several Tennessee cities straddle county lines, including Goodlettsville across Davidson and Sumner, Portland across Robertson and Sumner, Tullahoma across Coffee and Franklin, Spring Hill across Maury and Williamson, and Oak Ridge across Anderson and Roane. Those paired counties carry different limits.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Local tax freeze adoption, income limits, and landlord-tenant rules change and depend on your facts; your county trustee, your CPA or a Tennessee attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.