Tennessee tax burden — broken down.
Tennessee’s combined tax burden (income + property + sales) lands at 7.71% on our composite — ranking #42 of 51 jurisdictions. Tennessee levies no state income tax — burden comes entirely from property and sales taxes.
Tennessee burden, broken into 3 components
| Component | Tennessee rate | National median |
|---|---|---|
| Top marginal income | 0.00% | ~5.30% |
| Effective property | 0.71% | ~1.07% |
| State sales tax | 7.00% | ~5.50% |
| Combined composite | 7.71% | ~11.87% |
National medians from CalcFi’s 51-state composite. Top marginal is the headline single-filer rate, NOT the effective rate most households actually pay.
Retirement + Social Security in Tennessee
Tennessee does NOT tax most retirement income (pensions, IRA / 401(k) distributions). Social Security benefits are NOT taxed by Tennessee. Federal taxation of these income sources is unchanged regardless of state.
How Tennessee compares
Of all 51 US jurisdictions ranked by combined burden composite, Tennessee sits at #42. That puts Tennessee in the bottom 10 lowest-burden states — high-earners frequently move here from CA/NY for the income-tax savings, even when factoring property/sales tradeoffs. For the live cross-state heat map, see the interactive tax burden map.
Tennessee metros — local tax overlay
State rates are uniform across Tennessee— but local income, property, and sales taxes vary. Click any metro to run the full income tax calculator pre-populated with that city’s local layer.
- Nashvilleproperty 0.69% · pop 2.0Mmedian $72,200 →
- Memphisproperty 0.69% · pop 1.4Mmedian $50,200 →
- Knoxvilleproperty 0.69% · pop 0.9Mmedian $58,000 →
- Chattanoogaproperty 0.69% · pop 0.6Mmedian $57,800 →
- Clarksvilleproperty 0.69% · pop 0.3Mmedian $56,400 →
- Murfreesboroproperty 0.90% · pop 0.2Mmedian $68,500 →
- Franklinproperty 0.60% · pop 0.1Mmedian $115,200 →
More Tennessee metros coming as we expand city coverage.
Tennessee tax — common questions
What is the Tennessee top marginal income tax rate in 2025?
Tennessee levies no state income tax. Top marginal rate is 0%.
What is the Tennessee effective property tax rate?
Tennessee's statewide effective property tax rate is 0.71% of home value (annual). On a $400,000 home that's roughly $2,840/yr. Local variation can be ±0.5pp.
Does Tennessee tax retirement income or Social Security?
Tennessee does NOT tax most retirement income, and does NOT tax Social Security benefits.
Are there any Tennessee-specific tax quirks I should know about?
No state income tax. Combined state+local sales tax averages 9.55% (one of the highest); 4% state grocery rate (TN taxes groceries fully).
Reviewed by CalcFi Editorial · Source: Tax Foundation State Individual Income Tax Rates (Jan 2025). Last verified 2026-04-19. Methodology at /about/editorial.