Property Tax on Cordell Hull Lake: Five Counties

Tennessee Property Tax Mechanics

Tennessee assesses residential property at 25% of its appraised market value. The county tax rate — expressed in dollars per $100 of assessed value — is applied to the assessed value to produce the annual tax bill. A $450,000 Cordell Hull lakefront home has a $112,500 assessed value. At $1.70 per $100, that produces $1,913 annually. Tennessee charges no state income tax — property tax is the primary ongoing state-level tax burden.

Smith County

Smith County is the southernmost county in the Cordell Hull Lake market, covering the area nearest to Carthage (the county seat, approximately 5 miles from the dam) and the section of the lake closest to Nashville. Smith County has historically had a moderate rural county tax rate — verify the current rate with the Smith County Trustee in Carthage. Smith County is the most service-accessible of the five counties, with the commercial infrastructure of Carthage and the fastest drive to Lebanon and the I-40 corridor.

Smith County Trustee: 122 Turner High Circle, Suite 102, Carthage, TN 37030. Phone: 615-735-9088.

Jackson County

Jackson County covers the middle section of Cordell Hull Lake, north of Smith County. The county seat is Gainesboro, approximately 25 to 30 miles from the dam. Jackson County is more rural than Smith County with a smaller commercial center. Verify the current rate with the Jackson County Trustee in Gainesboro.

Jackson County Trustee: 101 E Hull Ave, Gainesboro, TN 38562. Phone: 931-268-9512.

Clay County

Clay County covers a section of the upper Cordell Hull Lake market, with the county seat in Celina. Clay County also borders Dale Hollow Lake at its northern edge. The county is one of Tennessee's smallest by population. Verify the current rate with the Clay County Trustee in Celina.

Clay County Trustee: 145 Cordell Hull Dr, Celina, TN 38551. Phone: 931-243-3021.

Pickett County

Pickett County is Tennessee's smallest county by area and one of its least populous. The county seat is Byrdstown. Pickett County is the birthplace area of Cordell Hull himself and borders both Cordell Hull Lake and the edge of the Dale Hollow Lake watershed. Rural and remote, Pickett County properties are the most isolated in the Cordell Hull Lake market. Verify current rate with the Pickett County Trustee in Byrdstown.

Pickett County Trustee: 1 Courthouse Square, Byrdstown, TN 38549. Phone: 931-864-3158.

Overton County

Overton County covers the uppermost reaches of Cordell Hull Lake toward Livingston, the county seat. Overton County is also the county that includes the lower section of Dale Hollow Lake at its northern border, giving it two significant lake markets in its jurisdiction. The county seat of Livingston is the most commercial center among the upper three Cordell Hull counties. Verify current rate with the Overton County Trustee in Livingston.

Overton County Trustee: 317 W University St, Livingston, TN 38570. Phone: 931-823-2513.

County Reference Table

All rates must be verified directly with each county trustee. Tennessee reappraisal cycles change assessed values and commission-adjusted rates annually. Never rely on online listing data for tax figures.

Tennessee Senior Tax Relief

Tennessee's Tax Relief Program for seniors applies to primary residences of homeowners 65 or older who meet income thresholds, providing a state-funded tax credit against the property tax bill. The program is administered by each county trustee. Contact the trustee for the county where your property is located to confirm current income thresholds, credit amounts, and the April 5 application deadline.

In rural Cumberland plateau counties — Smith, Jackson, Clay, Pickett, Overton — the income thresholds often encompass a meaningful portion of the retiree population that chooses Cordell Hull Lake. Buyers who are retired and on modest fixed incomes should specifically inquire about the program before finalizing their tax burden estimate.

Confirming Your County Before Any Offer

Online property databases — Zillow, Realtor.com, county website portals — frequently list Cordell Hull Lake properties without clearly identifying the county. The lake name appears in the listing, but whether the property is in Smith County or Jackson County or Clay County may require active research. Use the Tennessee Comptroller's online property search tool (comptroller.tn.gov) to look up any parcel by address and confirm the county, the current assessed value, and the most recent tax bill. Do this before you make an offer and certainly before you finalize any budget analysis that includes property tax as a line item.

Tennessee Comptroller Parcel Lookup: The Essential Tool

The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury maintains an online property assessment database accessible at comptroller.tn.gov. This database allows buyers to look up any Tennessee property by address or parcel ID number and retrieve the county, current assessed value, tax district, and most recent tax bill. For Cordell Hull Lake buyers who need to know which of the five counties a specific parcel is in — and what the current assessed value and tax obligation are — this database is the authoritative source.

Online listing platforms, including major national real estate sites, frequently show incorrect county information for Cordell Hull Lake properties. The lake's five-county span means that address-based county inference fails for many listings. A property with a Carthage mailing address may be in Smith County or may be in Jackson County depending on its specific location relative to the county line. A property listed as being in Clay County may actually be in Pickett County. The Comptroller database shows the ground truth. Use it for every Cordell Hull Lake property before you make any offer.

The same database shows the current assessed value, which determines your actual tax bill regardless of what the listing claims. Tennessee reappraises property on a regular cycle, and assessed values change with each reappraisal. A tax bill shown in an old listing or in a prior year's county records may be substantially different from the current obligation after a recent reappraisal. Pull the current Comptroller data for each specific parcel — not the county's historical records, not the listing agent's estimate.

Comparing Cordell Hull Lake Property Tax to Nashville-Area USACE Lakes

The most relevant tax comparisons for Cordell Hull Lake buyers are to J. Percy Priest Lake and Old Hickory Lake — the other major USACE Nashville District lakes in the Middle Tennessee market. Both of those lakes are significantly closer to Nashville and carry higher land prices, higher assessed values, and higher tax bills reflecting their metro proximity.

J. Percy Priest Lake in Davidson County carries a combined city-county rate that can exceed $4.00 per $100 of assessed value for properties in the city of Nashville. Old Hickory Lake in Sumner County and Wilson County has county rates that are lower than Davidson but still higher than the rural Cordell Hull Lake counties. On a $450,000 lakefront home at three different Middle Tennessee USACE lakes:

• J. Percy Priest (Davidson County, city of Nashville, estimated): ~$4,500+/yr
• Old Hickory (Sumner County, estimated): ~$2,400–$2,800/yr
• Cordell Hull (Smith County, estimated): ~$1,700–$2,000/yr (verify current rate)

The Cordell Hull Lake tax advantage over J. Percy Priest is substantial — but it accompanies a 40-mile distance from Nashville that Percy Priest does not have. Buyers who can work remotely and do not need Nashville proximity daily will find Cordell Hull Lake's combination of low tax burden and USACE-quality lake recreation compelling.