How does Tennessee’s tax code compare? Tennessee does not have an individual income tax. Tennessee has a 6.5 percent corporate income tax rate and levies a state gross receipts tax. Tennessee also has a 7.00 percent state sales tax rate and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 9.55 percent. Tennessee has a 0.48 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
Tennessee does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. Tennessee has a 27.4 cents per gallon gas tax rate and a $0.62 cigarette excise tax rate. The State of Tennessee collects $4,236 in state and local tax collections per capita. Tennessee has $7,418 in state and local debt per capita and has a 105 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Tennessee’s tax system ranks 8th overall on the 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Tennessee is no exception. The first step towards understanding Tennessee’s tax code is knowing the basics. How does Tennessee collect tax revenue? Click the tabs below to learn more! You can also explore our state tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
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The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
115 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
24 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
8 min read
Graduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
9 min read
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments and generate a significant share of state and local revenues.
6 min read
Though gas taxes are intended to serve as user fees and pollution deterrents, they vary widely across states. How does your state’s burden compare?
4 min read
As much as 98 percent of vaping products sold in the US are illicit. Most states levy an excise tax on vaping products, but these tax systems vary substantially. The result is a messy tax system covering largely illicit products, and no one knows whether taxes are being collected and remitted on most products sold nationwide.
7 min read
However well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
11 min read
An ideal sales tax is imposed on all final consumption, both goods and services, but excludes intermediate transactions to avoid tax pyramiding.
15 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
8 min read
Summer has arrived and states are beginning to implement policy changes that were enacted during the legislative session (or are being phased in over time).
13 min read
The vaping industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, becoming a well-established product category and a viable alternative to cigarettes for those trying to quit smoking. US states levy a variety of tax structures on vaping products.
4 min read
Different layers of taxation on production and distribution combine to make up about 40 percent of the retail price of beer.
3 min read
Newer products like spirits-based hard seltzers and ready-to-drink cocktails have fueled growth, while also blurring the lines of a categorical tax system. The result has been a spirited competition throughout the alcohol industry for market share, including calls to reform tax policy.
3 min read