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Tennessee tax lien & tax deed sales

Tennessee sells redeemable tax deeds through the courts. Read more…

There is no tax lien certificate auction: when property taxes go unpaid, the county's delinquent tax attorney files a collection suit in chancery court (or circuit court in some counties), and the court orders the parcel sold at auction for the total taxes, interest, penalties, and costs. The winning bidder pays a premium above that floor if there is competition. The order confirming the sale acts as the deed, but for up to one year after its entry any interested person can redeem by repaying the purchase price plus 12 percent per annum interest. Parts 25 through 27 of Title 67, Chapter 5 govern the sale, the purchaser's rights, and the redemption.

Rules verified Aug 18, 2026 against Tennessee Statutes.

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Sale type: Redeemable deed
Maximum rate: 12%
Auction method: premium bid
Over-the-counter: Available

Every displayed fact carries a source badge. Verified Aug 18, 2026 against official county and state pages.How we verify

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Tax deed sales

A tax deed sale auctions the property itself to the highest bidder. Win, and you can take ownership, but the deed is not clean, insurable title on its own.

Auction method: premium bid (highest bidder)

Runs afterThe county trustee delivers the delinquent tax list to a delinquent tax attorney between February 1 and April 1, and the attorney files the collection suit by the last business day of March following publication of the delinquency notice. More…

Suits may be filed in chancery or circuit court and follow chancery procedure either way. Once the court ascertains the total amount due, it orders the parcel sold, subject to the right of redemption.

Run by

Clerk of the court hearing the county's delinquent tax suit, most often the Chancery Court Clerk and Master

DepositNo statewide deposit percentage exists. The statute fixes the form of payment (cash, certified funds, cashier's check, money order, or ACH transfer) and each court sets its own payment terms. More…

Davidson County takes cashier's checks only, Rutherford County requires payment by close of business the day after the sale, and counties selling through GovEase collect payment through the platform. Confirm the terms with the clerk and master that runs the sale before bidding.

Balance dueNot fixed statewide. Payment deadlines are set by the court that orders the sale and published in its bidder terms; full payment on or shortly after sale day is typical. More…

Interest on the redemption side starts only when the purchaser actually pays the purchase price to the clerk.

Surplus proceedsSale proceeds pay the delinquent tax attorney, then court costs, then the taxing entities. More…

Any excess is claimed by motion in the same case: remaining taxes are paid first, then lienholders in order of priority (pre-sale liens before post-sale liens), then the former owner. Filing the motion ends any remaining redemption period as to the movant. Excess proceeds nobody claims pass to the state under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.

Redemption, delinquency, and over-the-counter at a glance

Redemption

How longThe right to redeem vests when the court enters the order confirming the sale and never runs longer than one year from that date. More…

The court sets each parcel's period before the sale on a statutory scale: one year when the taxes were delinquent 5 years or less, 180 days when delinquent more than 5 but less than 8 years, 90 days when delinquent 8 years or more, and 30 days when the court finds the property vacant and abandoned. To redeem, an interested person files a motion in the same lawsuit and must first pay the clerk the full redemption amount; the purchaser then has 30 days after notice to ask the court for additional reimbursements. When the court declares the redemption complete, title divests from the purchaser and the clerk refunds the purchase money plus everything owed. During the redemption period the purchaser owes no duty to insure the parcel and is not liable for damage to it except from the purchaser's own intentional acts. Separately, a suit attacking the validity of the sale itself must normally be filed within one year of the confirmation order, with an absolute three-year outer limit.

What the owner paysThe total delinquent taxes, penalty, interest, and court costs, plus interest at 12 percent per annum on the entire purchase price from the date the purchaser paid the clerk until the motion to redeem is filed, all paid to the clerk before filing. More…

The purchaser may also be awarded additional sums: later taxes paid with 12 percent interest, reasonable insurance, costs to prevent waste, code compliance expenses ordered by an authority, homeowner association dues secured by the parcel, and recording costs. If the ordered additional funds are not paid by the deadline, the redemption fails.

Delinquency

How it startsProperty taxes are payable from the first Monday in October, and interest of 1.5 percent per month begins on the following March 1, which is the practical delinquency date in most counties (a county over 800,000 population with its own due dates may set a different accrual date). More…

The taxes, penalties, interest, and costs are a first lien on the property from January 1 of the tax year. Once the delinquent list goes to the delinquent tax attorney and suit is filed, a further penalty of 10 percent of the base delinquent taxes accrues in most counties to cover prosecution of the suit, and the whole proceeding runs in rem against the parcel.

Over-the-counter

How to buyParcels the clerk bids in for the county at the tax sale pass to the county mayor's charge, and state law gives every county a resale process an investor can use. More…

Any person may file a written offer for a parcel; the county publishes the offer's details, and for ten days anyone else may raise it by 10 percent or more, which forces a small auction among the offerors with the highest written offer as the starting bid. Unless county regulations say otherwise, parcels are offered with no minimum bid and no county board approval, and the county mayor may run the resale online instead. A parcel bought from the county before the redemption period has run stays subject to redemption.

What is availableEach county mayor must prepare an annual listing of all parcels the county acquired at tax sales, by July 1 each year, and publish it in a newspaper of general circulation or post it on a website with newspaper notice of the posting. More…

Municipalities keep the same listing for parcels they hold. That published list is the place to shop for county-held property.

Governing statutes

Tenn. Code Ann. Title 67, Chapter 5, Parts 25-27 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2010 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2101 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2405 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2410 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2501 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2502 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2504 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2507 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2515 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2701 Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-2702

All 95 Tennessee counties

Sales are organized by county. Search your city or county, or filter by whether the tax deed sale runs online or in person. Each row shows the certificate-sale platform for quick comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Does Tennessee sell tax liens or tax deeds?

Tennessee sells redeemable tax deeds. There is no tax lien certificate auction. The county files a delinquent tax lawsuit, the court orders the parcel sold, and the clerk auctions the property itself. The buyer takes title through the order confirming the sale, subject to a redemption period of up to one year.

How long is the redemption period in Tennessee?

Up to one year from entry of the order confirming the sale, on a sliding scale set by the court for each parcel: one year when the taxes were delinquent 5 years or less, 180 days when delinquent more than 5 but less than 8 years, 90 days when delinquent 8 years or more, and 30 days when the court finds the property vacant and abandoned. It never runs past one year.

What does a Tennessee tax sale purchaser earn if the owner redeems?

Interest at 12 percent per annum on the entire purchase price, accruing from the day the purchaser pays the clerk until the motion to redeem is filed, plus reimbursement of later taxes paid with the same interest and certain court-approved expenses such as insurance and repairs that prevent waste. There is no minimum return, so an early redemption pays only the interest that has accrued.

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