City of Memphis Property Tax Due Date and Delinquency

City of Memphis property taxes are due by August 31 each year. The City Council sets the annual tax rate in mid-to-late June, the City Treasurer’s Office mails bills shortly after, and the full balance must be paid by the end of August to avoid penalty. Any amount still unpaid on September 1 is delinquent and begins accruing 1.5% interest per month.¹²

When to Expect Your Bill

Bills go out after the City Council adopts the tax rate, which in recent years has happened in June. If August 1 comes and you still haven’t received a bill, call the City Treasurer’s Office at (901) 522-1111 and request one. Not receiving a bill does not excuse a late payment, and the August 31 deadline holds either way.¹

What Happens If You Miss August 31

Starting September 1, the account is delinquent. Tennessee law sets a uniform penalty: 1.5% interest added on the first of each month the balance stays unpaid, which works out to 18% over a full year.² The rate is state law, so the city cannot waive or reduce it for ordinary late payment.

The charges add up fast. A $3,000 bill picks up $45 in the first month, and another 1.5% lands on the first of every month after that until the account is cleared.

If delinquent taxes go unpaid long enough, the county files a delinquent tax suit. After the suit concludes, the property can be sold at a tax sale to recover what’s owed. Sale proceeds are applied first to legal costs, then to state, county, and city taxes in that order. Tennessee law gives the original owner a right of redemption: you can reclaim the property by paying all delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and court costs before the redemption window closes. By the time it reaches that point, the total owed is well above the original bill.

Shelby County Sends a Separate Bill on a Different Schedule

This is where Memphis homeowners get caught. You owe property taxes to both the City of Memphis and Shelby County, and each government sends its own bill with its own deadline.

Shelby County real estate taxes become due and payable on the first Monday of October. The county deadline is the last day of February the following year, and any unpaid balance becomes delinquent on March 1.³ Delinquent county taxes carry the same 1.5% monthly interest as the city bill.²

City by the end of summer. County by the end of winter. Paying one does not pay the other.

How to Check Your Balance and Pay

Look up your city tax balance at epayments.memphistn.gov. You can search by owner name, street address, or Parcel ID. Parcel ID is the most reliable because it’s unique to each property; the Shelby County Assessor’s office can provide it if you don’t have it on hand.⁴

The city accepts payments several ways:

Online at epayments.memphistn.gov by e-check, credit card, or debit card. A convenience fee applies, and you’ll see the amount before confirming.
By mail. Send the bill stub with a check or money order to City of Memphis Treasury, P.O. Box 185, Memphis, TN 38101.
In person at City Hall, 125 N. Main St., Suite 301, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cash, check, credit card, and money order accepted.
At any First Horizon Bank branch, year-round, with your tax bill and a check or money order.

Keep the receipt. Proof of payment matters if you sell the property, refinance, or need to challenge a delinquency notice later.¹

If Your Mortgage Escrows Property Taxes

Homeowners with an escrow account don’t pay the city or county directly. Your mortgage servicer collects a share of the estimated annual tax with each monthly payment and pays both bills on your behalf. Federal rules require the servicer to send you an annual escrow account statement showing what went out and what’s projected for the year ahead.⁵

Escrow doesn’t mean you can ignore the deadlines. Check the annual statement to confirm your servicer actually paid the city bill by August 31 and the county bill by the end of February. If a servicer misses a deadline, the interest penalty attaches to the property, and untangling responsibility afterward is a slow process. Escrow shortages also happen when taxes rise faster than the servicer projected, which pushes your monthly mortgage payment up to close the gap.

The Bill Amount Traces Back to Your Assessed Value

The size of the check you write on August 31 depends on the appraised value the Shelby County Assessor placed on your property. Residential and farm property is assessed at 25% of appraised value; commercial and industrial property at 40%. The tax rate is then applied per $100 of that assessed value.⁶

An appraisal error flows through to both the city and county bills, so a wrong value costs you twice. If yours looks off, the Shelby County Board of Equalization takes appeals in a fixed window each spring and charges no fee to file.⁷ A successful appeal reduces future bills but does not extend the August 31 deadline for the current year.

1
City of Memphis. Tax Information
2
Justia. Tennessee Code 67-5-2010 – Interest – Delinquent Taxes
3
Shelby County Trustee, TN. Payment Deadlines and Mailing Payments
4
City of Memphis. City of Memphis ePayments Site
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 1024.17 Escrow Accounts
6
Shelby County Trustee, TN. Calculate Taxes
7
Shelby County, TN. Board of Equalization