If you’re a property owner in Davidson County, you may already have received official notice of just how much you’ll owe in taxes this year.
If not, you likely will soon. Metropolitan Trustee Erica Gilmore’s office announced in early October that property tax statements were en route and would soon reach homeowners’ mailboxes.
Once they do, it’ll put a cap on what has been a historic year for Davidson County, but likely in a way that will have homeowners none too pleased. After all, this year saw a record-high increase in property values countywide. That meant once the Metro Nashville Council made the city’s fiscal year 2026 budget official, homeowners with properties appraised at the city’s average value were staring down the barrel of a roughly $4,000 property tax bill.
The process as a whole is something the trustee’s office has acknowledged as stressful for property owners.
“Paying property taxes on these reappraised values can place a strain on many households, and confusion about how the numbers are calculated often adds to the frustration,” the trustee’s office said in an Oct. 7 email to Nashvillians.
Here’s what to know about how to read your bill and what happens next.
How do I interpret my property tax statement?
The document, first and foremost, lists in several places the final balance due for the current tax year, but that number’s also broken down a bit more in several areas.
For one example, a chart breaks down which portions of a property’s value come from the land versus from improvements to the home that sits on it. The document also does the math for the elements needed to calculate a property tax bill, including the state assessment ratio, assessed value and tax rate.
Another section of the statement shows the city funds and expenditures the taxes being paid will be distributed to.
On the back of the bill, the trustee’s office describes which groups qualify for tax relief or tax freeze programs, both of which must be applied for by April 5, 2026. The tax freeze program, which allows for “freezing” the taxes due on a property at the amount for the year a homeowner qualifies even if the tax rate increases later, is open only to seniors age 65 or older who own and live on a property and did not earn an income higher than $61,920 in 2024.
The statewide tax relief program, meanwhile, is open to more groups. Seniors 65 or older, disabled homeowners, disabled veterans and spouses of deceased veterans may all qualify, depending on factors like income and disability status.
How do I pay my bill? And what happens next?
Even though tax bills typically arrive during October, the full amount isn’t due right away.
Tax bills won’t be considered delinquent and start accruing interest until after Feb. 28, 2026, meaning taxpayers will have several months to pay the full amount. Tax statements include a suggested monthly payment amount as well, if homeowners would prefer it over paying the full amount at once.
There are several ways to pay a tax bill, including in person at 700 President Ronald Reagan Way, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There’s also a secure drop box on the same city office campus, outside the Howard Office Building, where taxpayers can leave their payments in a sealed envelope.
Payments are also available online at www.nashville.gov/departments/trustee or by mail with a check payable to “Metropolitan Trustee” and addressed to PO Box 196358, Nashville, TN 37219. Participating First Horizon Bank locations will also accept tax bill payments from October through February, but only if they’re made in full for the current tax year.
Many mortgage companies pay the tax bill with money from homeowners’ escrow accounts.
As for property owners who have yet to receive a tax statement in the mail, they should contact the trustee’s office at 615-862-6330 if they still haven’t by November.
Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@tennessean.com.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Here’s how to understand your Nashville property tax bill
