City of Kingsport Tax Information

2025 Tax Rate: $1.67
2024 Tax Rate: $1.99

Why did Kingsport raise taxes?

In 2023, as a result of the state of Tennessee mandated ratio appraisal conducted every two years, the City of Kingsport lost approximately $3.8 million in annual property tax revenue in FY24. This loss repeated in FY25.

While the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) considered a tax increase in FY24 to offset the shortfall, they instead chose to use one-time funds for capital needs and redirected recurring revenues to support operating budgets. However, it was made clear in 2023 that if the city was unable to recover from the budget gap created by the ratio appraisal, a tax increase would be necessary for the FY26 budget.

Despite every effort over two years to avoid raising taxes, the continued annual shortfall of $3.8 million ultimately required action. The decision to increase taxes was made in June as part of the FY26 budget to address the shortfall (see 3 areas listed below where the new tax revenue was used).

What were the funding priorities resulting from the tax increase?

1. Paving – The FY24 paving budget was supported by one-time dollars to free up recurring funds for general operations. The tax increase has allowed us to restore and increase recurring paving funds in FY26.
2. Critical Infrastructure – The FY26 budget includes approximately $10 million in our Capital Improvement Plan, funded by a bond issuance. Projects include bridge repairs, intersection upgrades, school facility improvements, and road reconstructions.
3. Employee Pay – Due to the lost revenue, we struggled to offer competitive wages, impacting recruitment and retention across city departments. The tax increase enables the city to offer competitive compensation once again.

Why was such a steep increase necessary? Two reasons.

First, in 2025 Sullivan County conducted a property reassessment, the last reassessment was done in 2021. The reassessment considered the increase in residential property sales/value that has occurred since 2021 (houses selling for more than the appraised value). As a result, nearly every residential property in Sullivan County saw a significant increase in value. However, this wasn’t just isolated to Sullivan County, Washington and Greene saw similar increases in 2024.

Second, the City of Kingsport raised property taxes as part of the FY 2026 budget, which went into effect on July 1.