Delinquent Property Taxes in Tennessee: The Confirmation Order Starts a Clock of One Year or Ninety Days
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Tennessee · Last updated October 21, 2026
Three years of delinquency is the line that now decides how long a Tennessee homeowner has to buy back a house sold for unpaid taxes. Delinquent property taxes are taxes an owner did not pay by the date the state fixed, after which interest is added and the taxing bodies can force a sale of the property to collect them. No investor buys a lien certificate here. The delinquent tax attorney files suit in the names of the taxing entities that certified a delinquent tax list, and the clerk or special master conducting the sale sells the parcel under a court decree (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2405, 67-5-2502). Nothing is final at the gavel. The court must still enter an order confirming the sale, and that entry is what starts the redemption clock (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(a)(1)). Its length changed this year. Public Chapter 971 of 2026 rewrote the scale effective July 1, 2026: one year from that entry if the period of delinquency is three years or less, ninety days if it is more than three years, measured by the longest consecutive run of delinquent years. Vacant or abandoned property drops to thirty days. Redeeming is a court filing, not a counter payment. You pay the clerk of the court the delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and court costs plus twelve percent a year on the entire purchase price the buyer bid, then file a motion to redeem in the same case. Attorney review of a redemption motion is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Tennessee
Where are you with the unpaid property taxes?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
How long do I have to redeem my home after a Tennessee tax sale?
It depends on how far behind the parcel was. If the period of delinquency is three years or less, the redemption period is one year from the entry of the order confirming the sale. If it is more than three years, the period is ninety days (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(a)(1)(C)).
How much does it cost to redeem property sold at a Tennessee tax sale?
The delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and court costs, plus interest at twelve percent per annum on the entire purchase price the buyer paid rather than on the back taxes alone (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(b)). The whole amount goes to the clerk of the court before the motion to redeem is filed.
When do Tennessee property taxes become delinquent each year?
Taxes are due and payable the first Monday in October (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-1-701) and can be paid through the last day of February without interest. On March 1 following the due date, interest of one and one-half percent is added, and again on the first day of each succeeding month (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2010(a)(1)).
Who actually sells a Tennessee home for unpaid property taxes?
A court does. The delinquent tax attorney files suit in the names of the taxing entities that certified a delinquent tax list (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2405), and the clerk or special master conducting the sale sells the parcel under the court decree (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2502). The county trustee does not run the auction.
Why the confirmation order is the only Tennessee date that matters
Nothing moves against a Tennessee parcel until a lawsuit does, and nothing is final until a chancellor signs. Delinquent property taxes are taxes an owner missed by the statutory date, after which interest is added and the property can be sold to satisfy the debt. Interest of one and one-half percent lands on March 1 and again on the first of every month after it (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2010(a)(1)). The delinquent tax attorney sues, the court decrees a sale, the clerk and master sells, and the court then enters an order confirming the sale. That entry, not the auction, is the date everything afterwards counts from. Since July 1, 2026 it buys one year for a parcel three years or less delinquent and ninety days for anything longer (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(a)(1)(C)).
A Cookeville duplex where four delinquent years cut the window to ninety days
Four open tax years are what decide this Putnam County example, long before anyone names a sale date. A duplex in Cookeville carries unpaid county taxes for the 2021 through 2024 tax years, about 7,600 dollars before interest, with one and one-half percent added each March 1 and on the first of every month after (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2010(a)(1)). The delinquent tax attorney sues, the chancery court decrees a sale, and the clerk and master sells the parcel for a 19,000 dollar bid. Because the longest consecutive run of delinquent years is four, the confirming order starts a ninety day clock rather than a year (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(a)(1)(C)). Redeeming inside it means paying the clerk the taxes, penalty, interest and costs plus twelve percent a year on the full 19,000 dollars. What that figure is on a given day is for the clerk and master to compute.
Relevant Laws
2026 Tenn. Pub. Ch. 971 (S.B. 1983, 114th Gen. Assem.), amending Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(a)(1)(C)
The enacted act that replaced the redemption scale. It provides that the redemption period is determined for each parcel based on the period of delinquency, and must be set on a scale of one year from the entry of the order confirming the sale if the period of delinquency is three years or less, or ninety days from that entry if it is more than three years. Section 2 makes the act effective July 1, 2026 and applies it to entries of orders confirming a tax sale of a parcel subject to redemption occurring on or after that date, which means it can govern a sale of an older delinquency. The same text is published as signed Public Chapter No. 971 by the Tennessee Secretary of State at publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0971.pdf.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701 (redemption of property sold at a delinquent tax sale)
Vests a right to redeem in all interested persons once the sale is confirmed, requires the redemption period of each parcel to be determined by the court prior to the tax sale, and provides that in no event shall the right to redeem be exercised more than one year from the entry of the order confirming the sale. Defines the period of delinquency as the longest consecutive number of years the property taxes on that parcel are delinquent. Sets a thirty day period from the entry of the confirming order, without regard to the number of years of delinquent taxes owed, where a showing is made under the vacancy and abandonment provisions, which require periodic inspections of the property over a two month period. Requires the redeeming party to pay the clerk of the court the delinquent taxes, penalty, interest, court costs and interest on the entire purchase price at twelve percent per annum before filing the motion to redeem. Tennessee publishes no free official copy of the Code, so this link is a codified republication stated to be current as of January 2, 2024, and its redemption scale is the superseded one.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-1-701 (when property taxes are due and payable)
Makes state, county and municipal taxes collected under this part and the related parts payable the first Monday in October in each year, excluding municipalities authorized to collect their own property and privilege taxes. Allows a county trustee, with the consent of a majority of the county legislative body, to establish due dates other than those set forth in the subsection where the county has consolidated governmental functions with a municipal charter and the change is needed to avoid disrupting existing municipal fiscal policies, and applies the same option to municipal taxes the county trustee collects.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2010 (interest on delinquent property taxes)
Provides that interest of one and one-half percent shall be added to the amount of tax due and payable on March 1 following the tax due date and on the first day of each succeeding month, except as otherwise provided for municipal taxes. Allows a county with a population in excess of eight hundred thousand whose tax due dates differ from the first Monday in October to establish the date interest begins to accrue in place of March 1. Permits the rate to be reduced to not less than twelve percent per annum, on approval by a two thirds vote of the governing body that levied the taxes, only in a county of not less than twenty four thousand six hundred and not more than twenty four thousand seven hundred population. Applies the same one and one-half percent added on March 1 to municipal taxes collected by the county trustee.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2401 (the January notice to delinquent taxpayers)
Requires the trustee or collector to publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two consecutive weeks in the month of January, stating that after February 1 additional penalties and costs will be imposed for suits enforcing the lien for prior years' property taxes, and that until those suits are filed taxpayers may pay the delinquent taxes at the official's office. Where no newspaper is published in the county, the notice is posted on the courthouse door instead. The taxing entity, not the taxpayer, pays for the publication.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2405 (the delinquent tax suit and the filing deadline)
Requires the delinquent tax attorney to bring the actions in the names of the taxing entities that have certified a delinquent tax list, and to file not later than the last business day of March following the publishing of a notice under section 67-5-2401. The actions collect delinquent real and personal property taxes owed to the county and the municipality, plus interest and costs, and those amounts are declared a first lien upon the assessed parcels of real and personal property. Costs may include attorney fees.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2502 (the court ordered sale and the notice of it)
Refers to the clerk or special master conducting the sale, who may withdraw a parcel on the delinquent tax attorney's suggestion. Requires one sale notice listing each owner's name, describing the property and stating the judgment amount against each defendant, published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, with the first publication at least twenty days before the sale date; with court approval, printed handbills posted publicly in the county may be used instead. Requires the delinquent tax attorney to make a diligent effort to give actual notice to interested persons identified through record searches, allows notice to be forwarded to the address of an owner on record with the assessor, and requires new notice by regular mail at least ten days before a new sale date where a sale is postponed more than thirty days.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2702 (claiming excess proceeds of a tax sale)
Lets any interested person as defined in the chapter file a motion for disbursement of excess sale proceeds after the order confirming the sale is entered, and sets the priority of payment: the tax entity for remaining taxes that are a lien, then lienholders whose claims existed at the time of the sale, then lienholders whose claims arose after it, then taxpayers according to their interest at the time of sale. Requires service on all interested persons no later than thirty days before the hearing, and requires a claimant asserting ownership to record the ownership document, an abstract of it, or an affidavit of heirship with the county register of deeds before thirty calendar days prior to the hearing, failing which they are not entitled to notice. Allows a motion to be filed until the funds are actually forwarded to the state under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, with the presumption of abandonment not arising until all filed motions are finally decided or one year after the parcel's redemption period ends, whichever is later.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2504 (the time limit on attacking a confirmed tax sale)
Provides that a tax deed or an order confirming the sale is intended to give the purchaser an assurance of perfect title, and that the conveyance may be invalidated only on narrow grounds including proof that the land was not liable to sale for taxes or substantial noncompliance with mandatory statutory provisions. Requires a suit to invalidate a tax title to be filed within one year of accrual, which is the date of entry of the order confirming the sale, with an extension to one year after the plaintiff discovered or with reasonable diligence should have discovered the claim, and an absolute limit of no action more than three years after the entry of the order. Bars the suit from beginning at all until the challenger has paid or tendered the amount of the bid and all taxes subsequently accrued, plus interest and charges.
Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2001 (partial payments of delinquent property taxes)
Permits a county trustee, a municipal tax collector or a qualifying taxing entity to accept partial payments of delinquent taxes, but only after filing a plan with the comptroller of the treasury at least thirty days before it begins accepting them, with the comptroller acknowledging receipt before the plan takes effect. The plan must describe the accounting technology or manual processes used, state that partial payments reduce the tax, interest, statutory fees and court costs on a pro rata basis, say whether the office will operate within existing resources or obtained prior county legislative approval, and document internal controls. A partial payment does not release the tax lien except to the extent of the payment, interest applies to the remaining unpaid tax, and if the full amount is not paid before the lists go to the delinquent tax attorney the entire property remains subject to the lien and can be enforced through a tax sale.
Hamilton County Clerk and Master, Notice of Redemption to Tax Sale Purchaser, Form 270T (Rev. April 15, 2026)
A county chancery court form showing how the redemption is administered. It states that the purchaser has thirty days from the date of tender to waive protest, protest the redemption, or move for any other lawful charges, including property taxes due or delinquent on the property and reasonable payments made for required maintenance and insurance expended to preserve the value of the property, supported by receipts and sworn before a notary. It states that on redemption the clerk and master will disburse the purchase price plus interest at a rate of twelve percent per annum computed from the date of the sale, that interest does not accrue after redemption, and that the redemption fee and court costs are retained by the clerk and master.
Blount County Clerk and Master, Delinquent Property Tax Sale
A county chancery court page confirming that the sale is not complete until the chancellor signs the Order Confirming Sale, that the redemption period runs from the date of that order under Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701, that the purchaser is refunded the purchase price plus interest per annum and reimbursed for other property taxes paid since the purchase date, and that thirty days after the Order of Redemption or the Order for Excess Proceeds is entered the clerk will release the funds from the court registry. The office's 2026 sale procedures document states the refund as the purchase price plus twelve percent per annum interest calculated from the date of sale until the motion to redeem is filed.
Hamilton County Trustee: when county taxes go delinquent
A county trustee page stating that the payment period for county taxes begins on October 1 and continues through the last day of February of the following year, that on March 1 county taxes become delinquent and begin to accrue one and one-half percent per month interest, that Tennessee law does not require the mailing of tax notices indicating the amount of taxes due, that owners of property are presumed to know that taxes are due without personal notice, and that failure to receive a tax bill neither relieves the responsibility of payment nor is a reason for interest charges to be dismissed.
Obion County Trustee: due dates, partial payments and unwaivable interest
A county trustee page stating that property taxes become due the first Monday in October of each year and may be paid through the last day of February of the following year without interest charges, that the trustee's office can and will accept partial payments, that interest charges are required by the state and cannot be waived by the trustee, and that interest accrues monthly at a rate of one and one-half percent after the last day of February for each tax year.
Coffee County Trustee: the April 1 handover to chancery court
A county trustee page stating that the payment period for county taxes runs from the first Monday of October through the last day of February of the following year, that the office accepts partial payments with interest applying to all unpaid balances on March 1, that on March 1 county taxes become delinquent and begin to accrue one and one-half percent penalty and interest increasing each month thereafter, and that the only time postal cancellation is not honored is when delinquent taxes are turned over to chancery court on April 1.
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments, Summary of Legislation (August 18, 2026)
The state agency memorandum listing every act of the 114th General Assembly related to property assessments or assessors, used here as the currency check on the property tax chapter. It names Public Chapters 6, 138, 357 and 498 from 2025 and 583, 649, 982, 1049, 1053 and 1089 from 2026, none of which amends the delinquent tax collection, tax sale or redemption provisions relied on above. Its scope is the assessment side of the chapter, so it does not list Public Chapter 971.
Regional Variances
Tennessee delinquent property tax rules at a glance
Sale mechanism
Judicial. The delinquent tax attorney files suit in the names of the taxing entities that have certified a delinquent tax list, and the delinquent taxes, interest and costs are a first lien upon the assessed parcels (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2405). The court decrees the sale and the clerk or special master conducting the sale sells the parcel (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2502). No lien certificate is sold, the county trustee does not auction the parcel, and the clerk and master's deed issues only after the redemption period expires.
Delinquency dates
One annual cycle, not installments. Taxes are payable the first Monday in October in each year (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-1-701) and county trustees accept payment through the last day of February without interest. March 1 following the due date is the delinquency line (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2010(a)(1)). A county that has consolidated governmental functions with a municipal charter may set other due dates with the consent of a majority of the county legislative body, so confirm the date with your own trustee.
Interest before any sale
One and one-half percent a month, added on March 1 following the tax due date and again on the first day of each succeeding month (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2010(a)(1)). It attaches at calendar month boundaries rather than accruing day by day, so crossing into a new month costs another full one and one-half percent. County offices describe the same charge either as interest or as combined penalty and interest, and trustee pages state that it cannot be waived by that office.
Time before sale
No statutory minimum number of delinquent years. The trustee publishes notice once a week for two consecutive weeks in January warning that suits will follow after February 1 (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2401(a)), and the delinquent tax attorney must file suit no later than the last business day of the following March (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2405(a)). One county trustee states that its delinquent taxes are turned over to chancery court on April 1. The sale then follows under the court's decree.
Redemption period and clock
The clock starts at the entry of the order confirming the sale, not at the sale and not at the delinquency date (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(a)(1)). Public Chapter 971 of 2026 set the length on a two step scale effective July 1, 2026: one year if the period of delinquency is three years or less, ninety days if it is more than three years, with the period of delinquency being the longest consecutive number of years the parcel's taxes are delinquent. Vacant property, and vacant land shown to be abandoned, gets thirty days. The right to redeem can never be exercised more than one year from that entry.
Redeemer's charge
A simple annual rate, not a flat penalty and not a bid-down rate: twelve percent per annum on the entire purchase price the buyer paid, including any overbid above the taxes, rather than on the back taxes alone (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(b)). Because it accrues with time, redeeming sooner costs less. It stops running when the motion to redeem is filed rather than when the court rules, and Tennessee clerk and master offices compute it from the date of the sale.
Other redemption costs
The delinquent taxes, penalty, interest and court costs, all paid to the clerk of the court before the motion to redeem is filed (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(b)), with the clerk retaining a redemption fee and court costs out of what is tendered. The purchaser then has thirty days from the tender to file a sworn, receipted motion for lawful charges, which county clerk and master offices describe as including taxes paid on the property and reasonable payments for required maintenance and insurance expended to preserve its value. One county refunds subsequent taxes with twelve percent a year from the date they were paid.
Notice to the owner
No mailed bill is guaranteed. County trustees state that Tennessee law does not require the mailing of tax notices indicating the amount of taxes due and that owners are presumed to know taxes are due without personal notice. Published notice runs twice in January (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2401(a)); in the lawsuit the delinquent tax attorney must make a diligent effort to give actual notice to interested persons found through record searches, and notice may go to the owner's address on record with the assessor; and the sale notice is published with first publication at least twenty days before the sale date (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2502).
Where to redeem
The clerk of the court, meaning the clerk and master of the chancery court in which the delinquent tax suit was filed (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701(b)). Not the county trustee and not the purchaser. Redeeming is two acts in that court: pay the clerk the whole amount first, then file a motion to redeem in the proceeding in which the parcel was sold. The clerk notifies the purchaser, the court enters an order of redemption, and one county mails the purchaser's refund within thirty days after the chancellor signs it.
Surplus proceeds
Claimable by motion in the same case after the confirming order, with no fixed filing deadline (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2702). The taxing entity ranks first, then lienholders whose claims existed at the sale, then later lienholders, then taxpayers. Service on all interested persons is due no later than thirty days before the hearing, and a claimant asserting ownership must record the ownership document, an abstract of it, or an affidavit of heirship with the county register of deeds before thirty calendar days prior to the hearing or lose the right to notice.
Payment plan
A local option, not a statewide right. A county trustee, municipal tax collector or taxing entity may accept partial payments of delinquent taxes only after filing a plan with the comptroller of the treasury at least thirty days before it starts, and the comptroller must acknowledge receipt (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2001(d)). A partial payment does not release the lien beyond what is paid, and if the balance is unpaid when the lists go to the delinquent tax attorney the entire property stays subject to the lien and a tax sale.
Challenging a confirmed sale
Narrow grounds and a short fuse. A tax deed or order confirming the sale is intended to give the purchaser an assurance of perfect title, and may be invalidated only on grounds such as the land not being liable to sale for taxes or substantial noncompliance with mandatory statutory provisions. A suit must be filed within one year of the entry of the confirming order, extendable to one year from discovery, and never more than three years after that entry, and it cannot begin until the challenger pays or tenders the bid and all taxes subsequently accrued (Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2504).
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Tennessee guides
Adult Guardianship in Tennessee
Adverse Possession in Tennessee: Four Seven Year Sections and a Twenty Year Tax Bar
Asset Protection Planning in Tennessee (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Tennessee (2026)
Expunging a Criminal Record in Tennessee (2026)
Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Tennessee
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