A closer look at Nashville's proposed property tax increase
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Combined tax rate. Equalization process. Median home value.
- The recently completed property appraisals combined with Mayor Freddie O'Connell's proposed tax increase bring up some fairly confusing bureaucratic terms.
Why it matters: As the Metro Council goes through its budget process, most people want to simply figure out how much their Davidson County property tax bill may go up.
How it works: We'll walk you through how to calculate your taxes under the newest proposal. You can also compare them to what they would have been if O'Connell didn't pitch an increase.
To figure out your tax bill:
- Determine the assessed value of your home (25% of the total appraised value). The Assessor's Office sent letters to homeowners with new appraisals a few weeks ago.
- Divide that by 100.
- Now, multiply by the proposed tax rate of $2.814.
Context: The Davidson County Assessor of Property recently completed the appraisal process, which takes place every four years. The result of that process was that the median home value increased by 45% since 2021.
Yes, but: State law prevents local governments from making a windfall from appraisals. Through a process called equalization, the combined tax rate is lowered so that the appraisal is revenue neutral for Metro.
- The combined tax rate prior to the appraisal was $3.254 per every $100 of assessed value. After equalization, the rate was reduced to $2.222.
By the numbers: O'Connell proposes raising the rate by 26.64% to $2.814. Someone living in a house with Zillow's current average Nashville home value of $449,000 would get an annual property tax bill of $3,158.72 under the mayor's plan.
- If O'Connell proposed to keep property tax revenues flat, the same house would have had a bill of $2,494.20. That means the typically priced home in Nashville will see its tax bill go up by $665 under O'Connell's proposal.
Caveat: Property appraisals aren't uniform. Your increase is contingent on how much your home's value increased in the most recent appraisal.
The intrigue: According to the Assessor's office data, not a single Metro Council district had the median home value go up by less than 38%.
- The Bellevue area went up by 52% to lead the county.
What we're hearing: Metro Council could be gearing up for a battle to lower the rate.
- Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston tells Axios she's collaborating with other council members on an alternative budget plan with a lower tax rate than O'Connell's.
- She said it's too soon to know how much lower their proposed rate will be, but promised it will include spending reductions.
What she's saying: "We're trying to balance out what we actually need to deliver efficient, effective services to the public while not overburdening the taxpayer," she says.
- Metro Councilmember Delishia Porterfield, who chairs the budget committee, could also propose a different tax rate than O'Connell's.
State of play: The cost of running the government has gotten more expensive since Metro's last tax increase in 2020. The city has only raised property taxes twice since 2005.