Collection of Property Taxes

The trustee collects all property taxes levied by the county and the municipalities within the county, unless a municipality collects its own taxes.¹However, owners of land are presumed to know taxes are due without demand or personal notice,²and assessed taxes become a personal debt of the person whose property is assessed.³The whole proceeding for collection of taxes, from the assessment to the sale for delinquency, is a proceeding in rem; even if the land were listed or assessed for taxation to the wrong owner or to an unknown owner, the process is not invalidated. All interested persons are made parties to the proceedings by virtue of the seizure of the parcel occurring upon the filing of a complaint for the purpose of enforcement of the first lien provided for in T.C.A. § 67-5-2101. The filing of a complaint for the purpose of enforcement of the first lien provided for in T.C.A. § 67-5-2101, creates a lien lis pendens as to each parcel which is included in the proceeding, during the pendency of the proceeding, affecting all subsequent owners, without the recording of any copy or abstract thereof in the office of the register of deeds.⁴