Property tax in Bedford County, Tennessee

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Bedford County, the property tax bill comes from the Bedford County Trustee. The 2026 bill is due February 28, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Bedford County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Bedford County, Tennessee is $1,345 a year, which is about 0.48% of the county's median home value of $281,200. That effective rate is higher than the typical Tennessee county (0.47%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Who sends the property tax bill in Bedford County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Bedford County Trustee. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Bedford County Property Assessor, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.

The Trustee's bill covers Bedford County taxes. The City of Shelbyville bills and collects its own city property tax, so owners inside the city get a second bill, paid to the City of Shelbyville at City Hall, by mail, by phone or online. Bedford County is not on the state's list of local governments that have adopted Tennessee's optional property tax freeze for seniors. Online payments go through the county's third-party payment portal, and delinquent personal property taxes are paid through a separate collection service.

When are property taxes due in Bedford County?

For the 2026 bill, Bedford County has one due date: February 28, 2027. Under Tennessee law, property taxes are payable from the first Monday in October (October 5, 2026) and become delinquent on March 1, so the last day to pay 2026 taxes without interest is the last day of February 2027. February 28, 2027 is a Sunday. State law adds interest on March 1 and makes no exception for a weekend, and the county has not said whether a payment on Monday, March 1 counts as on time, so pay by Friday, February 26, 2027, or on Saturday, February 27 during the Trustee's Saturday hours (8 a.m. to noon in January and February). Under Tennessee law, 2026 taxes unpaid on March 1, 2027 are delinquent, and interest of 1.5% is added on March 1 and on the first day of each month after that until paid.

From Bedford County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Bedford County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Bedford County's average effective rate of 0.48% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $1,350 / year

Property tax in Bedford County at a glance

Bedford County, Tennessee property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,345
Median home value	$281,200
Effective tax rate	0.48%
Typical Tennessee county rate	0.47%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Bedford County compare in Tennessee?

Among Tennessee's 95 counties, Bedford County has the 37th highest effective property-tax rate: 36 rank higher and 58 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Tennessee. Nationally, it ranks 2702nd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Tennessee county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Bedford County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Bedford County's 14,017 owner-occupied homes, 8.9% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 23.5% pay at least $2,000, and 18.1% pay under $800. Another 3.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Bedford County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	2,531	18.1%
$800 to $1,499	5,426	38.7%
$1,500 to $1,999	2,233	15.9%
$2,000 to $2,999	2,040	14.6%
$3,000 or more	1,246	8.9%
No property tax paid	541	3.9%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,336 and owners without one pay $1,364. That is within 10% either way, so in Bedford County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.

How does the Bedford County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,345 is about 1.6% of the median income of Bedford County homeowner households, $82,844 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 71.9% of Bedford County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Bedford County?

Yes. The median bill went from $973 in 2015-2019 to $1,345 in 2020-2024, a 38.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 86.1%, from $151,100 to $281,200. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Bedford County

Bedford County borders 5 counties.

Bedford County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Coffee County, TN	0.57%	$1,407	$246,800
Marshall County, TN	0.48%	$1,346	$279,800
Rutherford County, TN	0.48%	$1,839	$382,600
Bedford County, TN (this county)	0.48%	$1,345	$281,200
Lincoln County, TN	0.45%	$1,038	$229,700
Moore County, TN	0.45%	$1,288	$285,300

How is a home assessed in Bedford County?

Tennessee assesses homes at 25% of market value in every county, Bedford County included. How Tennessee assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Bedford County?

No. Tennessee has no general homestead exemption; relief comes through the state Tax Relief program and the local-option Tax Freeze. That is the Tennessee rule, and it applies in Bedford County. Tennessee's exemptions and relief programs in full.

How to appeal your Bedford County property assessment

In Bedford County you appeal to the Bedford County Board of Equalization. The deadline: Owners who think the Property Assessor's value is wrong can appeal to the county Board of Equalization, then to the Tennessee State Board of Equalization. Under state law the county board begins its regular session on June 1 each year (or the next business day), and the county has not posted its filing deadline, so contact the Property Assessor's office for the current year's deadline and to schedule a hearing. A county board decision can be appealed to the State Board by August 1 of the tax year or within 45 days of the date the county board's notice was sent, whichever is later. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against state law, because Bedford County does not restate them on its own pages.

How Tennessee's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.

Tennessee rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Tennessee page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Bedford County, Tennessee: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.