Finance

Property Tax

Property taxes are due from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 each year. Penalty for late payment begins accruing Jan. 1 at the rate of 1.5% per month, or any portion of a month, applied to the base tax.

Property tax assessments are made by the Rutherford County Property Assessor. Rutherford County prints out the property tax notices and forwards them to the City of Murfreesboro after applying our tax rate to the county’s assessment value. For the year 2006 the property tax rate for the City of Murfreesboro is $1.407 per $100 of assessed value. If a property owner has questions regarding their assessment or needs to correct their mailing address they should contact the Rutherford County Property Tax Assessor’s office at (615) 898-7750.

Annually the city reconsiders its tax rate as it deliberates budget needs. You can compute your tax amount to see how tax increases/decreases will effect you. First you need to find your notice from the county tax assessor’s office to see the appraisal value of your property. To compute the assessed value you will multiply the appraisal amount by 25% if your property is residential, 30% if your property is commercial personal property, and 40% if your property is commercial. Next you will take the assessed value of your property and divide it by $100 and then multiply that by the tax rate. The City of Murfreesboro rounds the tax bill to the nearest dollar.

Beer and Liquor Permits

Beer permit applications may be obtained from the finance department or by mail. There is a $250 non-refundable application fee and the application process can be lengthy so interested applicants should apply well in advance before they open or buy a business. The City of Murfreesboro does not issue temporary permits. The city council is the beer board and beer applications are considered during regularly scheduled city council meetings. There is a $100 annual beer privilege tax.

Liquor-by-the-drink licenses are issued by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC). The City of Murfreesboro is to receive a copy of the state liquor license application and also has an additional questionnaire to be completed by the applicant. The annual fee is determined according to seating available at the establishment. The business will pay the annual fee to both the State and to the City on an annual basis.

A license for a retail liquor package store must be obtained from the ABC, but before an application can be submitted, the applicant must be approved by Murfreesboro City Council. A $100 fee must be submitted along with an application. Additionally, the business must be posted as applying for a liquor license (new location or new owner). The applicant must pay to advertise in the local paper they have applied for a liquor license and when the public hearing will be to consider the application. The City will provide the information for the advertisement.

Business Licenses

State law requires all business inside city limits to obtain a business license from the city and the county. There are some exceptions to this law such as a business that does not gross $3,000 annually in receipts, manufacturers, and professionals such as doctors and lawyers. You may obtain your business license at the finance department or by mail. The initial license is $20 and annually the business will receive a form to be completed to calculate additional tax due. If the applicant has a business in their home there will be an additional form to complete to obtain approval from the city planning and zoning department.

Payment Information

Payments may be made with cash, check or money order. We do not accept credit or debit cards, bank counter checks or two-party checks.

Payments made by mail should be made payable to the City of Murfreesboro and mailed to:

P.O. Box 1139
Murfreesboro, TN 37133-1139

Payments made in person are to be made at:

City Hall, 1^st Floor
Finance Department
111 West Vine Street
Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Please call (615) 893-5210 if you have questions.

Welcome!
from Melissa Wright,
City Recorder

Welcome to the Finance, Tax and Records Department for the City.

The services of this department encompass city property taxes, business licenses, beer and liquor permits, the city budget, accounts payable and records of the City Council meetings.

The staff of the Finance Department strives to provide efficient, courteous and accurate service in all areas of the department. Our goal is to do our very best to serve you in a professional manner.