June 2020 – For the first time since 2012, Davidson County, TN will be raising their property tax rate. The recently approved budget includes a 34% property tax rate increase for fiscal year 2020-21 equating to $1.066 per $100 of assessed value. With the deadline to appeal property values previously occurring on June 12th, property owners are going to be stuck with the full effect of these rate increases on their upcoming property tax bills.
To compound on the burden, Davidson County’s four-year reappraisal cycle is coming up in 2021. This will lead to many property owners seeing significant valuation increases on their properties come next year. In fact, according to our sources at the County, the value increase is expected to be on average around 30%. Typically, in a reappraisal year, rates are rolled back by a percentage of the overall increase in value; however, we do not anticipate that the rate will be rolled back enough to offset the 34% tax rate increase this year and the projected 30% value increase next year.
The drastic 34% property tax rate increase in Davidson County, TN should not come as a surprise. The perfect storm of damage created by recent natural disasters, the pandemic decimating sales tax revenue, and the absence of a state income tax has left the County’s budget depleted and in need of sources to replenish. Though not as extreme, we can expect to see similar scenarios occur throughout the nation as 2021 budgets are finalized.
