If Blount County cut its property tax rate by 30 cents this year and Maryville cut its own by 27 cents, why are some owners opening a 2026 bill that is higher than last year's?
Two rates came down. The Blount County Commission voted 19-0 on June 18, 2026, to set the county rate at $1.29 per $100 of assessed value, down from $1.59. The City of Maryville's FY 2027 budget sets a city rate of $1.36, down from the $1.63 levied the year before. Both cuts came in the same year as a countywide reappraisal, and that timing explains most of the gap between the headline and the bill. For anyone comparing homes in Maryville and the rest of Blount County this fall, the tax line on a house now depends less on the rate and more on how much that particular house's value moved.
The Rate Follows the County's Total Value
Tennessee uses a two-step system meant to keep a reappraisal from turning into a general tax increase. As The Daily Times explained this spring, once the Property Assessor finishes the new values, the state sets a "certified tax rate." That is the rate projected to bring in the same total dollars as the year before. The commission can then adopt that rate or go higher or lower. In March, budget workshop estimates put the increase in Blount's total property value at 18 to 20 percent, which pointed to a certified rate somewhere around $1.29 to $1.31. The county's announcement describes the adopted $1.29 as below the certified rate.
In other words, a rate cut after a reappraisal mostly offsets the jump in values. The county as a whole collects about what it did before. Individual houses do not land at the average, though. The paper put it plainly: "The areas that saw the greatest increase in average home sale values over the last three years will see the biggest increases in taxes."
The formula itself is fixed. Under the Tennessee Comptroller's method, a home is assessed at 25 percent of its appraised value, the assessed value is divided by 100, and the result is multiplied by the tax rate. Here is what that does to three homes outside any city, each appraised at $250,000 before the reappraisal. These figures are illustrations, not actual parcels.
| Home outside city limits | 2025 value | 2025 county bill at $1.59 | 2026 value | 2026 county bill at $1.29 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose 10% | $250,000 | $993.75 | $275,000 | $886.88 | down $106.87 |
| Rose 20% | $250,000 | $993.75 | $300,000 | $967.50 | down $26.25 |
| Rose 30% | $250,000 | $993.75 | $325,000 | $1,048.13 | up $54.38 |
The rate is identical for all three. The direction of each bill depends only on where the home's appreciation fell compared with the county's.
A Maryville Address Carries Two Rates That Fell by Different Amounts
Inside Maryville, a home pays both rates. The Comptroller notes that county commissions and city governing bodies each set their own rate. For 2026, that means $1.29 to the county plus $1.36 to the city, for a combined $2.65 per $100 of assessed value. Last year the combined rate was $3.22.
The two cuts were not the same size. By simple arithmetic, the county rate dropped about 18.9 percent and the city rate about 16.6 percent. That gap moves the break-even point:
- Outside city limits: a home's 2026 county bill comes out about even with 2025 when its value rose roughly 23 percent. Any faster and the bill goes up.
- Inside Maryville: the combined bill comes out about even at roughly 21.5 percent appreciation, so a Maryville home starts paying more at a slightly lower rate of appreciation.
Take the same $250,000 house inside the city. Its 2025 bill at $3.22 would have been $2,012.50. After a 20 percent increase to $300,000, the 2026 bill at $2.65 works out to $1,987.50. After a 30 percent increase to $325,000, it comes to $2,153.13. Of that $140.63 increase, $86.25 is on the city side, because Maryville's rate is the higher of the two and also fell by a smaller share.
That also changes how two homes at the same price compare. A Maryville home and a home outside the city can carry very different bills. Even two homes on the same street can differ, because each bill depends on how much that particular house was revalued in 2026.
The city's FY 2027 budget also changes utility charges. Sewer customers see a $4 increase in the customer charge and a $0.25 increase in the volumetric rate. Those charges show up on the utility bill, not the tax bill, so they belong in a monthly budget too.
Where the 2026 Bill Meets a Closing
This is where the reappraisal turns into a practical issue for anyone under contract this winter. Tennessee county property taxes are due on the first Monday of October, which was October 5 this year, and municipal taxes collected by the trustee are due the same day. According to guidance from the County Technical Assistance Service, 2026 taxes become delinquent on March 1, 2027. That puts the full 2026 bill, at the new values and new rates, right in the middle of any closing scheduled from now through February.
The standard Tennessee REALTORS purchase agreement, the RF401, says taxes "for the calendar year in which the sale is Closed shall be prorated as of the Closing Date." If the current year's rate has not been set by closing, the prior year's rate and assessment are used, and the parties agree to pay their recalculated shares if taxes change after closing. Taxes from prior years are the seller's to pay. Under that wording, timing shapes the closing statement in three ways:
- Closing between now and December 31. The 2026 rates are already set and the 2026 bill is already out. The proration uses the 2026 numbers, so it reflects the new appraisal. That bill is still payable until the end of February.
- Closing in January or February 2027. The 2026 bill is still due before the March 1 deadline, while the new owner's 2027 share is prorated on a year whose rate has not been set. Blount and Maryville adopt their rates with their budgets each June, so the agreement falls back on the prior year's figures and a later settle-up.
- Any tax figure carried over from an older bill. A 2025 number reflects the old $1.59 county rate, Maryville's old $1.63, and the pre-reappraisal value. It describes last year's bill, not the one the next owner will pay.
The Next Reset Is 2028
The 2026 numbers will not hold long. The Comptroller's reappraisal schedule lists Blount County's last reappraisal as 2026 and its next as 2028, on a two-year cycle. According to The Daily Times, commissioners voted 17-3-1 to move from a three-year cycle to two, after the county had already gone from four years to three in 2024. One reason the paper reported was that more frequent reviews could smooth out big swings in market value and reduce reappraisal sticker shock.
For a buyer, that means the comparison in the table above will run again in two years. A house bought this winter will be revalued in 2028. Its next bill will again depend on how its value moves against the rest of the county over those two years, and on whatever rate the commission and city council adopt afterward. State law adds a check. Under Tennessee's truth-in-taxation law, a local government must hold public hearings before adopting a rate that would bring in more total tax in a reappraisal year than the previous year's bills did.
One more program matters for some households. The Comptroller lists Blount County as taking part in the state property tax freeze, with a 2026 income limit of $63,470. The program applies to qualifying homeowners 65 or older on their principal residence, and they must apply every year.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm the figures for any specific property and your own situation with the Blount County Trustee, a tax professional, or your closing attorney.
If you are comparing homes in Maryville and around Blount County this winter, I can help you check the taxes on a specific house before you make an offer. That means looking at its 2026 appraisal and current bill, whether it sits inside city limits, and where your closing date falls against the February deadline. My background in project management and accounting makes this kind of detail work a natural fit. Let's Connect with Debra Gauthier to walk through the numbers on the homes you are considering.
