Knoxville sales tax rate (TN)

9.25% in Knoxville — high. It ranks 13 of 94 covered metros, +1.3 pts against the 7.95% median. On $26,000 of taxable household spending that is $2,405 a year, $338 above it.

Local government sets 2.25% of the total, 24% of the bill; the state takes 7%. 2 layers stack: Tennessee state 7%, Knox County 2.25%. The Knox County increment at 2.25% is the largest local piece — 100% of everything local, worth $585 a year on its own.

3 of 4 covered Tennessee metros, level with the 9.25% state median. The in-state spread runs 9.25% in Chattanooga to 9.75% in Memphis — 0.5 points wide. Knoxville is the cheapest covered metro in Tennessee; no in-state line is worth crossing.

Same bracket nationally: Nashville, TN (9.25%); Chattanooga, TN (9.25%). A household relocating between Knoxville and any of them sees no meaningful change in sales tax.

Scale: 192,648 residents, roughly 77,059 households. At $26,000 of taxable spend each, the 2.25% local share pulls about $45,079,515 a year from residents alone — before any visitor or business spending, which in a metro this size is where the rest comes from.

Knox County's local option rate matches Davidson's, so Knoxville and Nashville charge the same total despite very different budgets.

Rates move when a district measure passes or a local option expires. Confirm the current figure with the Tennessee Department of Revenue before filing or quoting it to a customer.