About Us
Offering experience-driven advice and representation in the areas of property tax, property tax incentive compliance, state agency administrative procedures and legislative drafting and process.
If you own a home, farm or business and are puzzling over property taxes or reporting obligations, if you are a church, charity or other non-profit organization acquiring property or planning a new or different use of property, look closer to see how we may help.
Our practice
Property tax assessment review and appeals, real property or tangible personal property, taxable value, assessment and classification issues.
Review of property transactions involving ‘greenbelt’ farm and forest property, to anticipate greenbelt eligibility and rollback assessment issues.
Review payment-in-lieu-of property tax (PILOT) incentives for new and existing businesses, including compliance with incentive program reporting and requirements.
Developing legislative solutions for tax and other issues affecting businesses or business associations.
Advising your non-profit organization regarding governance and tax exemption issues.
Representing you or your business before state regulatory agencies.
Participating as a third party neutral in arbitration or mediation of disputes regarding property rights, property valuation, and business disputes over allocation of responsibility for taxes.
News & Views
Annual assessment deadlines
Although the property tax in Tennessee typically isn’t billed until October, taxpayer renditions for tangible personal property assessments must be filed by March 1 each year, and protests of either real or tangible personal property assessments must generally be made before adjournment of the annual session of the county board of equalization.
The county board session usually begins June 1 and may last only a few days. Unless properly protested these assessments become final for the year. By all means let us know if we can help, but at the very least visit the website of the county assessor of property to learn more about assessment appeals (all property) or business equipment reporting in your county, or visit the State Board of Equalization web site http://comptroller.tn.gov/SBOE/sbptxov.asp) where appeals of assessor and local board decisions may be filed.
Exemptions and tax relief
Property tax exemptions are authorized for churches and other religious institutions, for charitable organizations, and for non-profit schools. These exemptions must be approved through application to the State Board of Equalization, before they may be given effect. To learn more visit http://comptroller.tn.gov/SBOE/sbexempt.asp.
Note, obtaining a sales tax exemption does not make you or your property exempt from property taxes, and obtaining exemption at one property location does not extend to new or alternate locations.
Tax rate limitations
Tennessee counties recalculate property tax values every four to six years, and the law requires reappraising cities and counties to determine tax-neutral rates to avoid hiding tax increases in the reappraisal. The law does not prevent tax rate increases following a reappraisal, but it does require disclosure of the tax-neutral rates and a public hearing before those rates may be exceeded. To learn more visit http://comptroller.tn.gov/SBOE/sbcert.asp.
The property tax is one of the oldest taxes, with arcane verbiage dating back 200 years and new provisions added each legislative session. For questions, or to explore if we may be able to help in this or another area of our practice, use our contact information elsewhere on site.