Hamilton County property tax

Chattanooga is the largest city in Hamilton County. A Chattanooga home pays the county tax and the city tax, and the two come on separate bills. See Chattanooga property tax for the city bill.

The county starts with your appraised value. That is what the Assessor says your property is worth. A home is taxed on 25% of it. That part is the assessed value. The tax rate is a charge on each $100 of assessed value.

Appraised value × 25% = assessed value
Assessed value ÷ 100 × tax rate = tax for the year

A property inside a city pays the county tax and the city tax. The table shows the two rates together. A property outside a city pays the county rate, $1.5157.

The Chattanooga rate is $3.4457. At that rate a home pays $861.43 a year for each $100,000 of appraised value. $100,000 × 25% is $25,000 of assessed value. $25,000 ÷ 100 × $3.4457 is $861.43.

These are the 2026 rates, as the Trustee published them. A commercial property is taxed on 40% of its appraised value, at the same rates.

Figure the tax on your own value, or see the rate in every Tennessee county.

When the bill comes and when it is due

The Trustee mails tax bills in late September. Pay in full by the last day of February to avoid interest. The Assessor sets your value. The Trustee sends the bill and takes the payment.

The Trustee has a second office at 6125 Preservation Drive, Suite 101, in the Bonny Oaks Industrial Park. The Trustee also collects the city tax for Collegedale, East Ridge, Lakesite, Red Bank, Ridgeside, Soddy-Daisy and Walden. The City of Chattanooga sends its own bill. The City Treasurer takes that payment at City Hall, 101 East 11th Street, Room 100, from October 1 to the last day of February. The City Treasurer’s phone number is (423) 643-7262. Interest on the county tax is 1.5% for each month from March 1.

Office

Hamilton County Trustee

Trustee

Bill Hullander

Address

625 Georgia Avenue, Room 210
Chattanooga, TN 37402

Phone

(423) 209-7270

Hours

Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

You can ask the Assessor to look at your value again. This is the informal review. It costs nothing.

When to file

The Assessor asks owners to file the informal review before May 20. The 2026 review is closed, and the Assessor has not published the 2027 dates.

You can get ready now. Sign your authorization and upload supporting documents, and we file when the window opens.

How the review works in Hamilton County

You file the request on the Assessor’s online Informal Review form, one request for each property. The form asks for your parcel ID, the current appraisal and your own opinion of the value. You can attach up to 4 PDF files. An owner or a representative can file. You can also ask for a review by phone at (423) 209-7300, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Assessor mails you the result.

A review can lower your value, leave it the same or raise it.

What to send

Send facts about the value. The Assessor sets the value and does not set the tax rate, so a complaint about the bill does not help.

• Recent sales of similar homes near yours, for less than your appraised value.
• Errors in your record, such as the wrong square footage or a basement marked as finished.
• Photos and repair estimates for problems that lower the value.
• Your closing statement, if you bought the home for less than its appraised value.

More evidence helps. A price estimate from a website is not a sale, and an assessor does not count it. See how to find comparable sales and the Tennessee appeal guide.

If the Assessor keeps your value

The next step is the Hamilton County Board of Equalization. The Board meets on June 1. Call the Assessor’s office at (423) 209-7300 and ask for an appeal form. In 2026 the last day to appeal to the Board was June 5. After the county Board, you can appeal to the State Board of Equalization. See the appeal dates for every Tennessee county.

TN.tax can file it for you

TN.tax files informal reviews with the Hamilton County Assessor. We find the sales, write the report and file the request. Our fee is 40% of the first year’s tax saving on a home you live in, and 30% on a rental or commercial property. If your value does not come down, you pay nothing.

We do not file with the Board of Equalization. If a Board appeal makes sense for your property, we tell you, and you decide. Start your free review.

Hamilton County set new values for every property in 2025. The next reappraisal is in 2029, on the state Comptroller’s schedule.

The county is on a 4-year cycle. You can ask for a review in any year. You do not have to wait for the next reappraisal.

Your value stays the same between reappraisals unless the property changes or a review changes it. A sale does not reset it. If you bought your home for less than its appraised value, the county keeps the higher value until you ask for a review. See how a purchase price can lower your value.

A reappraisal does not raise the county’s total tax by itself. State law makes the county set a rate that brings in the same total as before. The county commission then votes on the rate for the year.