Memphis, TN Local Taxes & Fees: Vacancy Tax (2026)

Chapter 9-94, adopted by Ord. No. § 6-54-113 authority, creates a vacant property registry rather than a tax on vacant land: it's a registration and fee scheme aimed at abandoned and foreclosure-adjacent housing, not a general vacancy surtax on property taxes. Section 9-94-2 requires the City of Memphis or its designee to establish the registry and require registration by the mortgage holder of single-family residential real property, including condominiums, once a housing code official's sworn affidavit documents vacancy, abandonment or tax delinquency. Section 9-94-3(A) gives the mortgagee 30 days from that notice to register, though subsection (B) lets a mortgagee avoid registration entirely by paying off the tax delinquency within that window.

00 annual fee per property parcel, paid by the mortgagee or agent, and covers required contact, servicer and tax-parcel information for both the mortgagee and the owner. Properties stay on the registry, and subject to the department of housing code enforcement's maintenance standards, for as long as they remain vacant, abandoned and tax-delinquent, and any change in the registered information must be reported within ten days under § 9-94-3(G). Funds collected under Chapter 9-94, including fines and fees, are earmarked for the office of code enforcement's blight-removal work under § 9-94-4(D).