Property taxes lowest in the state

Nov. 17—Cumberland County property owners pay the lowest property tax rate in the state, according to figures recently released by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.

The Cumberland County Commission set the property tax rate for the county at $1.135 per $100 of assessed value following the countywide reassessment that saw property values increase an average of about 40% earlier this year.

Cumberland County Trustee Kim Tollett Wyatt said tax notices have been mailed to all county property owners, and they should be receiving those now.

"Normally our tax notices get mailed out in the middle of September," Wyatt said, noting the notices were mailed Oct. 13 and 14 by the vendor County Record Services. The vendor also handles printing and mailing tax notices for most counties in the state, she said.

"County Records ran into the same problems all companies are having," Wyatt told the Chronicle. "Trouble getting paper, envelopes and people not working. So mailing, not only for our county but several others in the state, was delayed."

Wyatt recommends property owners allow a few more days for tax notices to arrive in their mailboxes.

"If not, we are more than happy to mail a statement," she said.

Property tax revenue provides funding for county services like law enforcement and fire protection, as well as operating the clerk's, court, election and other county offices.

A portion of the property tax also pays for solid waste and sanitation services to provide convenience centers and recycling programs and to pay for waste transport and disposal as the county no longer operates a landfill. Property taxes also pay the county's loans for large projects like construction of the jail, library, and local schools.

Some of the property tax also goes to the school system, providing local funding to match state education dollars. Cumberland County also pays for school expenses through its share of local option sales tax collections.

Residential property is assessed based on 25% of the property value.

The "certified tax rate" establishes a property tax rate that brings in about the same amount of revenue collected the prior year when the property tax rate was $1.5653.

Each penny of the property tax is expected to generate about $215,184 in county revenue — about $24.4 million.

The city of Crossville also collects property tax — 60.59 cents per $100 of assessed value — to support their budget.

City property taxes are due by Nov. 30. Taxes may be paid at Crossville City Hall, 392 N. Main St. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m., or in the night drop box. Interest and penalties will be calculated at a rate of 1.5% per month if not paid by the due date.

Municipal property tax rates in Tennessee range from 4.57 cents in Vanleer in Dickson County to $2.7297 in Humboldt, TN, in Gibson County.

Gibson County in West Tennessee does report a lower base county property tax rate — $1.0322 per $100 of assessed value. However, Gibson County has five independent school districts within the county. These special school districts set an additional property tax levy for property within their boundaries. The Gibson County Special School District set their tax rate at $2.01030 for 2022, for a combined tax rate in the county of $3.0425 per $100 of assessed value.

Fayette County's tax rate of $1.2915 is the next lowest county tax rate.

Shelby County's tax rate of $3.39 is the highest reported in Tennessee for 2022.

Cumberland County property taxes are due by Feb. 28. Penalties will begin March 1, 2023, and accumulate at a monthly rate of 1.5%.

Some property owners may have their property taxes paid by their mortgage company through escrow accounts. If so, property owners need only check with their mortgage company that the taxes have been paid.

Others may mail or bring their payment to the Cumberland County Trustee's office, 2 S. Main St., Suite 111, Crossville, TN 38555. A drop box is available outside the office for after-hours payments.

Wyatt's office also accepts payments online or by phone with a credit card — a 2.75% fee applies.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.