Shelby County Assessor of Property

“Where we value people over property.” Your property tax bill starts with one number — and checking that number takes about ten minutes.

For most working families, the house is the biggest thing they'll ever own — and the property tax bill is one of the biggest bills of the year. That bill starts with the value the Assessor of Property puts on your home. Most people never look at it. You can — free, online, in minutes: look up your home's appraised value, see what nearby homes actually sold for, and if the number looks wrong, appeal it. The Assessor's office under Melvin Burgess has built the tools to make all of that public: property search, neighborhood sales, GIS maps, forms, and community outreach. Knowing what the county says your home is worth — and what to do if they're wrong — is money in a working family's pocket.

What the Assessor's Office Does

Look Up Your Home's Value

The Property Search tool shows the appraised and assessed value the county has on your home — the number your tax bill is built on. Free, public, no login. Search your address and read it for yourself.

Neighborhood Sales — Your Evidence

See what homes near you actually sold for. If your appraisal is higher than real sales around you, those comparable sales are exactly the evidence an appeal hearing wants to see.

Think It's Too High? Appeal It.

You can ask the Assessor's office for an informal review any time — but a formal appeal goes to the Shelby County Board of Equalization, and the window is short: May 1 through June 30. File online, by mail (postmarked by June 30), or in person. Miss it and you generally wait a year.

GIS Map Search

A public mapping system that lets you explore parcels across Shelby County — boundaries, values, and property data — the same picture the county sees, open to everyone.

Tax Relief & Tax Freeze

Seniors 65+, disabled homeowners, and disabled veterans may qualify for property tax relief or a tax freeze — applied for through the Shelby County Trustee (901-222-0200), generally by early April. If you're caring for an aging parent, this is worth a phone call.

Small Business? Personal Property Counts

Businesses file a Personal Property Schedule (due March 1 each year) covering equipment and fixtures. If you run a shop from our Local Business Hub, the Assessor's forms page is where that paperwork lives.

Leadership

Melvin Burgess

Assessor of Property · Tennessee Assessor of the Year, 2021

A Memphis native with an accounting degree from Grambling State University, Melvin Burgess spent his career in public service before the assessor's office — as Director of Internal Audit for Memphis and Shelby County Schools and as a Shelby County Commissioner. Elected Assessor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, he became the first African American named Tennessee Assessor of the Year (2021). Under his leadership the office eliminated the largest property-appeals backlog in Tennessee history, opened satellite offices to meet people where they are, put GIS parcel data in the public's hands, launched the IAAO-certified Shelby County Appraisal Institute to train and diversify the next generation of appraisers, and confronted appraisal bias in historic neighborhoods like Orange Mound — where property values rose for the first time in 20 years. His office motto — 'we value people over property' — is the rare government slogan that shows up in the actual work.

The Ten-Minute Check Every Homeowner Should Do

Once a year, do this: (1) Search your address on the Property Search tool and find your appraised value. (2) Ask yourself — could I actually sell my house for that? (3) Check Neighborhood Sales for what similar homes nearby really sold for. (4) If your number looks high, call the Assessor's office for an informal review, and file a formal appeal with the Shelby County Board of Equalization between May 1 and June 30 — the law presumes the Assessor is right, so bring evidence: comparable sales, repair estimates, or an independent appraisal. Keep paying your taxes while any appeal is pending. And if you're 65+, disabled, or a disabled veteran — ask the Trustee's office about tax relief and the tax freeze before the spring deadline.

A Community Partner of Labor Education

Labor Education features the Shelby County Assessor of Property as a public resource — this is your government office, serving every homeowner and small business in the county, and its tools are free. A property tax bill is a working-family bill, and knowing how the number gets set — and how to challenge it — is exactly the kind of everyday power this app exists to hand people. Deadlines above can shift year to year; always confirm current dates with the Assessor's office or the Board of Equalization.

Connect with Shelby County Assessor of Property

Want to get involved, partner, or learn more? Reach out through their website.