To appeal your property tax assessment in Middle Tennessee, you follow three steps in order: (1) request an informal review with your county Assessor of Property; (2) if you still disagree, file a formal appeal with your County Board of Equalization while it is in session (typically June); and (3) if needed, appeal to the Tennessee State Board of Equalization. The State Board appeal must be filed by August 1 of the tax year, or within 45 days of the date the local board's decision was mailed, whichever is later (Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, State Board of Equalization, 2026). Each county runs its own reappraisal cycle and deadlines, so the exact dates depend on whether you are in Davidson, Williamson, or Sumner County.
Here is the part most homeowners miss: appealing your assessed value is one of the few tax tools you control directly, and the first two steps are free. You are not arguing about your tax rate — that is set by local government. You are arguing about whether the county's estimate of your home's market value is accurate. Get the value right, and the tax follows. Below is the process county by county, in plain English, including what to file, what evidence wins, and the 2026 deadlines for Davidson, Williamson, and Sumner counties.
First, understand the reappraisal cycle
Tennessee counties do not re-value every home every year. Each county reappraises all property on a fixed cycle — four, five, or six years under Tennessee Code Annotated 67-5-1601 — to bring assessed values back in line with the current real estate market. Between reappraisals, your value generally stays the same unless you build, demolish, or substantially change the property. The big swings — and the biggest appeal seasons — happen in a reappraisal year.
- •Davidson County (Metro Nashville): four-year cycle, with the most recent county-wide reappraisal completed in 2025 (Metro Nashville Assessor of Property, padctn.org, 2026).
- •Williamson County: four-year cycle, with the most recent reappraisal in 2025 and the next scheduled for 2029 (Williamson County Assessor of Property, 2026).
- •Sumner County: five-year cycle, with the most recent reappraisal completed in 2024 and the next scheduled for 2029 (Sumner County Assessor of Property, 2026).
Why this matters for your appeal: in a reappraisal year, the county mails new value notices to every owner and opens the appeal window for everyone. In an off-year you can still appeal, but the bar is usually higher because the value did not just change. If you bought recently and your reappraisal value came in well above your purchase price, that is a textbook reason to take a closer look.
How to read your assessment notice
Your reappraisal or change-of-value notice is the starting gun. Read it carefully — it has the number you may want to challenge and the deadline to do it.
Appraised value vs. assessed value
Tennessee residential property is assessed at 25% of its appraised (market) value (Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury). So if the county says your home's appraised value is $500,000, your assessed value is $125,000, and the local tax rate is applied to that $125,000 — not the full $500,000. When you appeal, you challenge the appraised (market) value. Show that it is too high, and the assessed value and the tax both come down proportionally.
Check the property characteristics
Pull up your property record card on the county assessor's website and verify the basics the county used to value your home:
- •Square footage of finished living area
- •Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- •Lot size and acreage
- •Year built and any recorded additions or improvements
- •Condition and quality grade
- •Whether features the county lists (finished basement, garage, pool) actually exist
Factual errors — an extra 400 square feet that was never built, a finished basement that is actually unfinished, a bathroom that does not exist — make some of the easiest, most successful appeals because they are objective. Bring the corrected facts and the value usually follows.
Step 1: The informal review
The informal review is the lowest-stakes step. You contact the Assessor of Property's office and ask an appraiser to take a second look at your value before any formal board gets involved. There is no hearing and no filing fee — often it is just a phone call, an online form, or a short meeting where you present your evidence. Many disputes are resolved here without ever reaching a board.
The informal window opens early in the year (Davidson County's informal review request deadline for the 2026 assessment year was 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17, 2026, per the Metro Nashville Assessor). Note: an informal review is not required before a formal appeal — you can go straight to your County Board of Equalization — but it is usually the fastest path to a fix.
What to bring to any review or appeal
Recent comparable sales near your home (ideally arm's-length sales close to your assessment date), photos of any condition issues (deferred maintenance, foundation or roof problems), a recent independent appraisal if you have one, and corrected property facts if the record card is wrong. Our team is glad to help you pull genuine, recent comparable sales for your street and neighborhood — that single document carries more weight than anything else.
615-265-1000Step 2: The County (or Metropolitan) Board of Equalization
If the informal review does not resolve it — or you skip straight to it — your next step is a formal appeal to your County Board of Equalization (in Davidson County, the independent Metropolitan Board of Equalization, or MBOE). This board is independent of the assessor and hears your case at a scheduled hearing, often before a hearing officer. Deadlines are county-specific and strict; miss the window and you generally wait until next year.
Davidson County (Metro Nashville)
For the 2026 assessment year, the Metro Nashville Assessor began accepting calls to schedule formal MBOE appeals on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, with a scheduling deadline of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, June 26, 2026 (Metro Nashville Assessor of Property, 2026). Appeals are scheduled through the Office of Assessments call center. Decisions for hearings held before September 1 are typically mailed by mid-to-late September; hearings after that get a decision within roughly 60 days.
Williamson County
Williamson County's Board of Equalization meets annually in June to hear real and personal property valuation appeals. For 2026, the Assessor's office advised owners to call to schedule an appointment no later than June 11, 2026 (Williamson County Assessor of Property / Board of Equalization, 2026). The board's session is short, so schedule early in the window.
Sumner County
Sumner County's Board of Equalization convenes beginning June 1 each year, and the county advises owners to contact the Assessor's office in early May to schedule a hearing. Because the most recent county-wide reappraisal was in 2024 (next in 2029), 2026 is a maintenance year — you can still appeal, but the county is not mailing new values to everyone (Sumner County Assessor of Property, 2026).
Dates change every year — confirm before you act
The 2026 windows above had largely closed by the time many homeowners read this. Each county resets these deadlines annually — informal review in late winter/spring, board sessions in June. Call your assessor's office at the start of the year, or call our team at 615-265-1000 and we'll point you to the current dates and the right office for your address.
615-265-1000Step 3: The Tennessee State Board of Equalization
If you disagree with your County or Metropolitan Board's decision, the final administrative step is the Tennessee State Board of Equalization (SBOE), under the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. You generally must exhaust the county board first — you cannot skip straight to it.
- File your appeal through the State Board's online appeal filing service, including required attachments and the filing fee (Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, 2026).
- Meet the deadline: appeals from a local board to the SBOE must be filed by August 1 of the tax year, or within 45 days of the date the local board's decision notice was mailed, whichever is later.
- Watch your mail and email for a Notice of Hearing, which the State Board sends at least 60 days before your hearing date. The case is assigned to an Administrative Judge through the Administrative Procedures Division.
- Present your evidence at the hearing, just as you would before the county board — comparable sales, appraisals, photos, and corrected facts.
The State Board level is more formal and time-consuming, so most homeowners resolve their value at the informal or county-board stage. But the SBOE exists so no owner is stuck with a value they can demonstrably show is wrong.
A realistic word on what an appeal can and cannot do
An appeal challenges your home's appraised market value, not your tax rate. Tennessee's certified tax rate law — often called 'truth in taxation' — also requires local governments to recalculate the rate after a reappraisal so that a county-wide value increase does not, by itself, become an automatic revenue windfall; raising more total revenue than the prior year requires a public hearing (Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury). That means a higher reappraisal value does not necessarily mean a proportionally higher bill — though the rate local bodies ultimately adopt can change. We won't predict where future values or rates are headed; no one can guarantee that. What we can do is help you make sure the number the county uses today reflects what your home would actually sell for.
An appeal often pairs with broader questions about your home and the local market. Our area guides for Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, Hendersonville, and Gallatin go deeper on each community, and our buyer education library covers everything from closing costs to evaluating new-construction value. If your assessment came in high because the county overstated your home's condition or features, an accurate, recent comparable-sales analysis is your strongest tool — the same analysis we prepare for clients deciding whether to buy or sell.
Frequently asked questions
Does appealing my assessment lower my tax rate?
No. An appeal challenges your home's appraised market value, which determines your assessed value (25% of appraised value for residential property in Tennessee). The tax rate is set separately by local government. Lowering the value lowers the base the rate is applied to, which lowers your bill.
How much does it cost to appeal?
The informal review and the County (or Metropolitan) Board of Equalization appeal are free to file. Only the Tennessee State Board of Equalization charges a filing fee, paid when you file through its online service (Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, 2026).
What is the single best piece of evidence for an appeal?
Recent, arm's-length comparable sales of similar homes near yours, ideally close to your assessment date. Correcting factual errors on your record card (square footage, bed/bath count, condition) is also highly effective because it is objective. A recent independent appraisal can help too.
Can I still appeal if I missed the county board deadline?
Generally you must wait until the next appeal cycle, since the County Board of Equalization sits only briefly each year (often June). Limited exceptions exist, so it is worth calling your assessor's office — and because deadlines reset annually, mark next year's window early.
Have a question about your Middle Tennessee assessment?
Whether you're in Davidson, Williamson, or Sumner County, our team can help you pull genuine recent comparable sales for your street, check your property record for errors, and point you to the right assessor's office and deadline — at little or no cost to you. Call The Will Johnson Team at 615-265-1000 and let's make sure your home's value is assessed fairly.
615-265-1000The Will Johnson Team
Nashville real estate · 12+ years · 60–100 transactions a year