Williamson County Property Tax Rates 2026: A City Comparison

This month the Williamson County Trustee is mailing property tax notices. Each one combines the county tax and the city tax into a single bill. On every one of those bills, the county share is figured at $1.30 per $100 of assessed value. Commissioners set that rate on June 18, 2026, and described it as no tax increase. The city share is where things change. It runs from 19 cents in Brentwood to almost 74 cents in Spring Hill, and that range comes from choices each city made after the county's 2025 reappraisal.

For a buyer comparing towns, the tax line on two similarly priced homes can differ by well over a thousand dollars a year. Some of the reason is policy that may change soon. The countywide rate held for a second year, but only through budget moves that several of the commissioners who approved it said cannot be repeated.

One notice, two governments, four different city answers

Tennessee assesses residential property at 25% of its appraised value. The tax rate is then applied per $100 of that assessed figure. For a home appraised at $1 million, the assessed value is $250,000. The table below uses that example and applies the county's FY 2026-27 rate plus each city's current rate. It covers only county and city rates and leaves out any other levy that may apply to a specific parcel.

The county portion in every row is $3,250. The spread across these four cities is about $1,370 a year on the same appraisal, and all of it comes from the city line. The rates come from Brentwood's proposed FY 2027 budget, which lists Franklin's, Nolensville's and Spring Hill's rates for comparison, along with Franklin's FY27 budget announcement and Main Street Media's report on Spring Hill's budget vote.

These rates have something in common. Each one was set or reset in 2025, when every Williamson County property was revalued at once.

The reappraisal that reset every rate

The Williamson County Property Assessor revalues all property in the county every four years. Before 2025, the last reappraisal was in 2021. The Williamson Herald reported that overall county property values rose about 52% between the two reappraisals. That was "the largest increase in value over the county's shortest reappraisal time period yet." The 52% figure covers all property in the county. It is not a measure of residential values alone.

When values jump like that, Tennessee requires a certified tax rate. That rate is set so the government collects roughly the same revenue it did before the reappraisal. Each local government then picks its own rate. It can match the certified rate or go higher, and going higher means extra public notice under state law. At a Franklin Tomorrow breakfast on April 29, ahead of that reappraisal, Property Assessor Brad Coleman said the county's certified rate had fallen from $2.31 in 2006 to an estimated $1.25. The county's own rate was $1.88 after the 2021 reappraisal.

That gap between the certified rate and the adopted rate is the decision each government made in 2025. The cities made different ones.

• Brentwood matched its certified rate. It "equalized" from $0.29 to $0.19 after the spring 2025 reappraisal. Its FY 2027 budget proposes keeping the same effective rate, which would make 36 consecutive years without a change. The budget names local-option sales tax as the city's largest General Fund revenue source.
• Franklin went above its certified rate of $0.2310 and adopted $0.296. City documents show 4.4 cents going to Invest Franklin 2.0. The top priority for that money is working with TDOT to widen Mack Hatcher Southeast from two lanes to four. Another 2.1 cents goes to city operations, which Franklin's FY 2026 budget page calls the first additional property tax for operations since 2016.
• Spring Hill kept $0.739. The State Board of Equalization had certified $0.6476 for both the Maury County and Williamson County sides of the city. Main Street Media reported that keeping the higher rate brings in about $3.1 million in additional property tax revenue.
• Nolensville has proposed $0.34 for FY 2026-27. The Williamson Herald reported that the ordinance passed first reading unanimously on May 7.

Each city's rate follows from what it chose to pay for and how it chose to pay for it. Brentwood relies on sales tax. Franklin has a road project. Spring Hill took extra revenue on a rate it already had. The city line on a listing reflects those choices.

How the county held $1.30, and who said it can't last

The county also went above its certified rate in 2025. According to the Williamson Herald, commissioners set the FY 2025-26 rate at $1.30, and the rate amendment passed 16 to 6. That is about five cents above the roughly $1.25 certified rate Coleman had previewed.

Keeping $1.30 a second time took some reshuffling. The Williamson Herald's account of the June 18, 2026 meeting says the meeting lasted six hours. County Budget Director Pheobe Reilly explained that the schools "need three pennies." Commissioners moved two cents of the rate from the General Fund, cutting its share from $0.28 to $0.26 and raising the General Purpose School Fund's share to $0.77. They also reduced budgeted employee insurance by $500 per person. Reilly called the outcome "No new tax rate." The amendment passed 13 to 7, and the final $1.30 rate passed 17 to 3.

Several commissioners who voted on that budget said publicly that it could not continue. Commissioner Jennifer Mason told the Herald:

"We have to accept that this is not sustainable. It's going to come to a head, and whether that's this year or the year after, we have got to figure out how we increase revenue or how we decrease expenses."

The same article quotes Commissioner Tom Tunnicliffe saying the board would "continue to kick the can down the road." Commissioner Matt Williams noted that nine commissioners were leaving in August.

That August election changed the county's leadership. The Tennessean reported that Andy Marshall won the race for county mayor 30,471 to 12,707 in unofficial results on August 6, 2026. As of mid-October 2026, we found no public statement from the new mayor or the new commission about the FY 2027-28 rate. The county's next rate decision will be made by a mostly different group of people than the one that set $1.30. The warnings above came from the commission that just left.

Reading a tax line before you write an offer

What this means for a transaction is practical. The annual tax figure on a listing or in a seller's records reflects one year's rates. Each piece of it can change separately.

1. Confirm the city. The same county rate applies everywhere, so the city rate is what drives most of the difference between two homes in different towns. Spring Hill straddles the Maury County line, so check which county a Spring Hill address is in.
2. Check the rate's status. As of October 2026, our sources show Spring Hill's FY 2026-27 rate as adopted. The Brentwood, Franklin and Nolensville figures in our sources come from proposals or first readings. Each city's final ordinance is the record to rely on.
3. Treat the county rate as a figure set one year at a time. It has been $1.30 for two fiscal years, and some of the commissioners who set it expected pressure on it.
4. Know the four-year rhythm. Reappraisals in 2021 and 2025 reset every rate in the county. If the four-year pattern holds, the next one would come around 2029.
5. Look at the billing calendar. The Trustee mails one combined city and county notice in October. Franklin's property tax page gives March 1 of the following year as the delinquency date. Brentwood's page says penalty and interest apply after February 28. For a closing scheduled between October and the end of February, that means a tax bill for the current year has already been issued.

Frequently asked questions

Does the city where a home sits change its county tax?

No. The county rate of $1.30 per $100 assessed for FY 2026-27 applies across the county. The city rate is added on top, and both appear on the same Trustee notice.

Why didn't every rate go up when values rose about 52%?

Reappraisal is designed to be revenue-neutral at the certified rate. Higher values bring a lower rate that collects about the same total. Governments that wanted more revenue, like Franklin, Spring Hill and the county, adopted rates above their certified rates. Brentwood equalized to its certified rate.

Will the county rate rise for FY 2027-28?

That hasn't been decided. Members of the outgoing commission called the current budget unsustainable. As of October 2026, the new commission and Mayor Andy Marshall had not announced a position that we could find.

Tax rates are one part of the yearly cost of owning a home that changes the most from one city line to the next, and they're seldom part of the first comparison buyers make. If you're weighing a home in Brentwood against one in Spring Hill, or deciding when to list in Franklin before the next budget cycle, the advisors at Parmenter Group can walk you through the city and county figures for the specific addresses you're considering. Contact a Local Real Estate Advisor.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.