HB 733 - SB 771
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
March 14, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Justin Billingsley | Email: justin.billingsley@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 733 - SB 771
SUMMARY OF BILL: Makes changes to the appeal process regarding industrial and
commercial property assessments. Specifies that a commercial taxpayer or owner need not obtain
the consent of the assessor of property prior to making a direct appeal to the State Board of
Equalization (SBE) and requires any appeal to indicate it is a direct appeal to the SBE.
Establishes, should a collecting official decline to accept a disputed portion of a tax assessment, such
official is required to send a written notice to the taxpayer within seven calendar days by registered
or certified mail which explains the reasons for such declination. Specifies that no penalties or
interest accrue on any portion of any property tax payment that is subject to an appeal and for which
the local collecting official has declined to accept payment; however, penalty and interest may accrue
beginning 30 days after issuance of the final assessment certificated by the SBE and until the
undisputed portion is paid.
FISCAL IMPACT:
STATE GOVERNMENT
REVENUE State Board of Equalization
FY25-26 & Subsequent Years >$3,000
OTHER FISCAL IMPACT
A precise impact to local government revenue and expenditures cannot be reasonably determined.
Assumptions:
• Pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-1412(b)(2), a taxpayer or property owner may, with
written consent of the local property assessor, appeal any disputed portion of a property tax
payment on industrial and commercial real and tangible personal property to a local board
of equalization or directly to the SBE.
• All appeals of such property are initially made to the local property assessor.
• Currently, when the owner appeals directly to the SBE, the property assessor is required to
provide concurrence or nonconcurrence of the appeal, in writing, and at least 10 days prior
to the adjournment of the respective county board of equalization.
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• If the assessor does not concur with any direct appeal to the SBE, the assessor must state
such in writing to the appellant, whom must direct such appeal to the local board of
equalization.
• If the county assessor fails to meet such 10-day deadline, the SBE is required to accept the
appeal.
• This legislation will authorize the property owner to make direct appeals to the SBE
without consent of a local assessor of property.
• According to the Comptroller of the Treasury (COT), it is unknown how many direct
appeal requests are currently denied by local assessors of property or how many
assessments are not directly filed with the SBE.
• The SBE is staffed by the COT and appeal hearings are heard by administrative judges in
the Administrative Procedures Division of the Secretary of State’s Office.
• According to the COT, the SBE receives and processes between 2,000 and 5,000 appeals
each year, or 3,500 average annually.
• Based on information provided by the COT, approximately 85 percent of such appeals are
made on behalf of industrial and commercial property; therefore, the SBE hears
approximately 2,975 appeals on behalf of such properties annually (3,500 x 85%).
• This legislation will increase the number of property owners appealing directly to the SBE.
• There is a $10 filing fee to appeal to the SBE.
• It is reasonably assumed that this legislation would result in at least a 10 percent increase in
direct appeals to the SBE, as applied to the number of appeals made.
• This legislation will result in an increase in filing fee revenue to the SBE in FY25-26 and
subsequent years exceeding $2,975 [(2,975 x 10%) x $10].
• Based on information from the COT, this legislation will have no significant impact to
expenditures incurred by the SBE for hearing appeals.
• This legislation will result in a decrease in the number of appeals heard before local boards
of equalization (LBEs).
• Any decrease in the number of appeals before LBEs is unknown, but is reasonably
estimated to mirror the increase in appeals before the SBE.
• Most LBEs do not impose a fee for making an appeal before the respective board;
therefore, it is estimated that there will be no significant impact upon local revenue.
• Based on information provided by the County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS), this
legislation may result in shorter or decreased numbers of LBE meetings in small-to-medium
counties. However, any decrease in local expenditures is estimated to be not significant.
• The proposed legislation requires the local collecting official to send a written notice by
registered or certified mail to a taxpayer if the official declines to accept a disputed portion
of tax and provides that interest must not accrue on the disputed portion from the
delinquency date until 30 days after issuance of the final assessment certificate by the SBE
and until the undisputed portion is paid. A precise impact to local revenue and expenditures
cannot be estimated.
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CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director