Tennessee voters will be asked on Tuesday, November 3, to write a ban on a statewide property tax into the state constitution. The measure appears on ballots as Amendment 2, and a yes vote would stop the General Assembly from ever creating such a tax.

Tennessee does not levy a state property tax today, so passing the amendment would not lower a bill that homeowners are paying now. It would close the door on one that lawmakers could otherwise open.

What Amendment 2 says

The question on the Davidson County sample ballot asks whether Article II, Section 28 of the Tennessee Constitution should be amended. The new language says the Legislature “shall not levy, authorize, or otherwise permit any state tax upon such property.”

Voters choose Yes or No. A yes vote adds the prohibition to the constitution, and a no vote leaves Section 28 as it reads today, with the General Assembly free to act on its own judgment in the future.

Who is paying for the campaign

The campaign backing the measure, Yes on 2, had raised $109,500 through June 30, according to Ballotpedia. That was the most money raised for any of the 13 property tax measures in seven states on 2026 ballots.

The other measures show how different the questions are. Florida’s Amendment 3 would expand the non-school property tax exemption from $25,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Tennessee’s question carries no exemption amount at all, only the ban.

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Will this change a Tennessee property tax bill?

Property tax bills in Tennessee come from counties and cities, and Amendment 2 is aimed at the state. A homeowner in Nashville, Memphis or a rural county would still receive the same local bill whichever way the vote goes. That is the answer for most households: a state ban does not set, cap or reduce what a county assessor charges.

The people who feel the vote most directly are those who care about what the legislature can do later, since a constitutional change takes the option off the table without another statewide vote. Anyone who wants lower local bills would look to county and city decisions instead, and to the relief programs that cut a bill for older homeowners.

How it compares with other states’ ballots

Ballotpedia counts 13 property tax measures in seven states this year, and most of them change what residents pay at home. The Tax Foundation’s 2026 state tax ballot roundup lists a separate set of income and other tax questions on the same ballots, including a proposal in North Carolina to reduce the maximum state income tax rate from 7 percent to 3.5 percent.

Voters in Tennessee will see a short question and a clear choice, without a dollar figure attached. That is part of why the campaign spending stands out, since there is no tax cut to promote, only a ban to protect.

What happens after the vote

The sample ballot is published by Davidson County, and the measure is statewide, so voters in every county will see Amendment 2 on their own ballots. Anyone unsure of their polling place or ballot can check with their county election commission before November 3.

If Amendment 2 passes, it takes effect as part of the Tennessee Constitution and applies to the General Assembly from then on. If it fails, nothing changes in the law and the legislature keeps the same authority it has now.

The amendment’s text and the campaign’s $109,500 are the firm numbers so far. No dollar figure has been published for what a Tennessee household would save or pay under either result, since there is no state property tax to measure.

Tennessee homeowner wondering about a local property tax bill?

Amendment 2 leaves the county and city bill where it is, and that bill is the one that rises with a new assessment. Older homeowners who skip the relief programs can end up paying more than they have to.

The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit lays out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief, along with an application log and renewal calendar so that each program’s yearly deadline is tracked. Part 4 walks through appealing an assessment.

Open the property-tax relief kit and its renewal calendar for the local bill →

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.