Part 1 Levy of Tax 67-5-101 – 67-5-105
Part 2 Exemptions 67-5-201 – 67-5-227
Part 3 Assessors and Equalizers Generally 67-5-301 – 67-5-307
Part 4 State Tax Records 67-5-401 – 67-5-402
Part 5 Classification and Assessment – Miscellaneous Provisions 67-5-501 – 67-5-517
Part 6 Classification and Assessment – Valuation 67-5-601 – 67-5-606
Part 7 Classification and Assessment – Tax Relief 67-5-701 – 67-5-705
Part 8 Classification and Assessment – Real Property 67-5-801 – 67-5-809
Part 9 Classification and Assessment – Tangible Personal Property 67-5-901 – 67-5-904
Part 10 Classification and Assessment – Agricultural, Forest and Open Space Land Act of 1976 67-5-1001 – 67-5-1012
Part 12 Classification and Assessment – Insurance Companies 67-5-1201 – 67-5-1209
Part 13 Classification and Assessment – Utilities and Carriers 67-5-1301 – 67-5-1333
Part 14 Assessment Review – County Boards of Equalization 67-5-1401 – 67-5-1415
Part 15 Assessment Review – State Board of Equalization 67-5-1501 – 67-5-1515
Part 16 Periodic Reappraisal and Equalization 67-5-1601 – 67-5-1609
Part 17 Certified Tax Rate 67-5-1701 – 67-5-1705
Part 18 Collection 67-5-1801 – 67-5-1809
Part 19 Accounting and Settlement 67-5-1901 – 67-5-1904
Part 20 Delinquent Taxes 67-5-2001 – 67-5-2013
Part 21 Tax Lien – Generally 67-5-2101 – 67-5-2103
Part 22 Tax Lien – Receivership 67-5-2201 – 67-5-2210
Part 23 Tax Lien – Protection of Timber 67-5-2301 – 67-5-2309
Part 24 Tax Lien – Enforcement Generally 67-5-2401 – 67-5-2423
Part 25 Tax Lien – Sale of Property 67-5-2501 – 67-5-2516
Part 27 Redemption 67-5-2701 – 67-5-2703
Part 28 Waiver 67-5-2801 – 67-5-2803

Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 67 > Chapter 5 - Property Taxes

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Agricultural land: means land that meets the minimum size requirements specified in subdivision (1)(B) and that either:
    (i) Constitutes a farm unit engaged in the production or growing of agricultural products. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • bidis: means a product containing tobacco that is wrapped in temburni leaf (dispyros melanoxylon) or tendu leaf (diospyros exculpra), or any other product that is offered to, or purchased by, consumers as beedies or bidis. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Bodily injury: includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement, and physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Club: means any instrument that is specially designed, made or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious bodily injury or death by striking a person with the instrument. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1301
  • Collector: includes any person entrusted with the collection of public revenue. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's designee. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's duly authorized representative. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • County mayor: means and includes "county executive" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Crime of violence: includes any degree of murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated rape, rape, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery, burglary, aggravated burglary, especially aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping, carjacking, trafficking for commercial sex act, especially aggravated sexual exploitation, felony child abuse, and aggravated child abuse. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1301
  • Deadly weapon: means :
    (A) A firearm or anything manifestly designed, made or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Delinquent tax: means a tax as defined in this section that has been due and payable for at least two (2) years or a tax that has been due and payable for at least one (1) year on real property that is vacant and abandoned pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 67-5-2201
  • Department: means the department of agriculture. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) Source: OCC
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Force: means compulsion by the use of physical power or violence and shall be broadly construed to accomplish the purposes of this title. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Forest land: means land constituting a forest unit engaged in the growing of trees under a sound program of sustained yield management that has tree growth in such quantity and quality and is so managed as to constitute a forest. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Government: means the state or any political subdivision of the state, and includes any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality or other political subdivision. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Governmental body: means the state of Tennessee, or any county, municipality or other governmental subdivision of the state. See Tennessee Code 67-5-2201
  • Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. Source: Federal Reserve
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Gross agricultural income: means total income, exclusive of adjustments or deductions, derived from the production or growing of crops, plants, animals, aquaculture products, nursery, or floral products, including income from the rental of property for such purposes and income from federal set aside and related agricultural management programs. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Handgun: means any firearm with a barrel length of less than twelve inches (12") that is designed, made or adapted to be fired with one (1) hand. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • hearing examiner: includes an administrative judge serving by appointment of the state board of equalization or an administrative judge serving on behalf of the board under appointment by the secretary of state. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1505
  • Hemp: means the plant Cannabis sativa L. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
  • Intentional: means that a person acts intentionally with respect to the nature of the conduct or to a result of the conduct when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • Knife: means any bladed hand instrument that is capable of inflicting serious bodily injury or death by cutting or stabbing a person with the instrument. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1301
  • Law enforcement officer: means an officer, employee or agent of government who has a duty imposed by law to:
    (A) Maintain public order. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • Levy: as used in this title , includes the power of distraint and seizure by any means. See Tennessee Code 67-1-1404
  • Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Livestock: means all equine as well as animals that are being raised primarily for use as food or fiber for human utilization or consumption including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and poultry. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Mental institution: means a mental health facility, mental hospital, sanitarium, psychiatric facility and any other facility that provides diagnoses by a licensed professional of an intellectual disability or mental illness, including, but not limited to, a psychiatric ward in a general hospital. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1301
  • Metals recycling facility: means any business that is predominantly engaged in performing the process by which scrap, used or obsolete ferrous or nonferrous metals are converted into raw materials consisting of proper grades and having an existing or potential economic value. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1401
  • Minor: means any person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Motor vehicle: means any vehicle which is self-propelled. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1401
  • nursery stock: means all trees, shrubs, or other plants, or parts of such trees, shrubs or other plants, grown or kept for, or capable of, propagation, distribution or sale on a commercial basis. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obtain: includes , but is not limited to, the taking, carrying away or the sale, conveyance or transfer of title to or interest in or possession of property, and includes, but is not limited to, conduct known as larceny, larceny by trick, larceny by conversion, embezzlement, extortion or obtaining property by false pretenses. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Open space easement: means a perpetual right in land of less than fee simple that:
    (A) Obligates the grantor and the grantor's heirs and assigns to certain restrictions constituted to maintain and enhance the existing open or natural character of the land. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Open space land: includes greenbelt lands or lands primarily devoted to recreational use. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Owner: means a person, other than the defendant, who has possession of or any interest other than a mortgage, deed of trust or security interest in property, even though that possession or interest is unlawful and without whose consent the defendant has no authority to exert control over the property. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Owner: means the person holding title to the land. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • PCB-containing capacitor: means a capacitor that contains polychlorinated biphenyls and is regulated under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act ( 15 U. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1401
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, organization, association, or other legal entity. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or other business entity. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1401
  • Person: means any individual, firm, fiduciary, partnership, corporation, trust, or association. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Personal representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Planning commission: means a commission created under §. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Present use value: means the value of land based on its current use as either agricultural, forest, or open space land and assuming that there is no possibility of the land being used for another purpose. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Proof of age: means a driver license or other generally accepted means of identification that describes the individual as twenty-one (21) years of age or older, contains a photograph or other likeness of the individual, and appears on its face to be valid. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Property: means anything of value, including, but not limited to, money, real estate, tangible or intangible personal property, including anything severed from land, library material, contract rights, choses-in-action, interests in or claims to wealth, credit, admission or transportation tickets, captured or domestic animals, food and drink, electric or other power. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Property: means any and all real property and all improvements thereon or used in connection therewith. See Tennessee Code 67-5-2201
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Public place: means a place to which the public or a group of persons has access and includes, but is not limited to, highways, transportation facilities, schools, places of amusement, parks, places of business, playgrounds and hallways, lobbies and other portions of apartment houses and hotels not constituting rooms or apartments designed for actual residence. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Public place: means any public street, sidewalk or park, or any area open to the general public in any publicly owned or operated building. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Rifle: means any firearm designed, made or adapted to be fired from the shoulder and to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire a projectile through a rifled bore by a single function of the trigger. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1301
  • Rollback taxes: means the amount of back tax differential payable under §. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Scrap vehicle: means any motor vehicle that has been crushed, flattened or dismantled or that has been otherwise damaged to the extent that it cannot be economically repaired. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1401
  • Serious bodily injury: means bodily injury that involves:
    (A) A substantial risk of death. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Services: includes labor, skill, professional service, transportation, telephone, mail, gas, electricity, steam, water, cable television, entertainment subscription service or other public services, accommodations in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admissions to exhibitions, use of vehicles or other movable property, and any other activity or product considered in the ordinary course of business to be a service, regardless of whether it is listed in this subdivision (a)(38) or a specific statute exists covering the same or similar conduct. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Smoking hemp: means hemp that is offered for sale to the public with the intention that it is consumed by smoking and that does not meet the definition of a vapor product. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • State forester: means the director of the division of forestry. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1004
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Tax: means any obligation due a governmental body, which obligation is secured by a lien on real property. See Tennessee Code 67-5-2201
  • Tax entity: includes counties, cities, metropolitan governments, municipal corporations, quasi-municipal corporations, and political subdivisions having authority to levy a property tax. See Tennessee Code 67-5-105
  • Tax lien: means the lien securing a tax as defined in this section. See Tennessee Code 67-5-2201
  • Tax suit: means any suit brought to enforce a tax lien as defined in this section. See Tennessee Code 67-5-2201
  • Taxpayer: as used in this part or part 15 of this chapter, means the owner of the property under appeal or any lessee legally obligated to pay ad valorem taxes for which the property is liable. See Tennessee Code 67-5-1412
  • Taxpayer: means any owner of property subject to taxation or any party liable for property taxes. See Tennessee Code 67-5-105
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Tobacco product: means any product that contains tobacco and is intended for human consumption, including, but not limited to, cigars, cigarettes and bidis. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.