Taxes & Insurance in Bristol
Bristol's property tax picture layers a City of Bristol rate that carries a real, disclosed conflict across FY2026 budget-process sources on top of a Sullivan County rate that carries its OWN separately disclosed conflict (documented identically in kingsport-tn.js, since Bristol and Kingsport share the county) -- plus Tennessee's zero state income tax and a combined sales tax of 9.25%.
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Learn moreThe City of Bristol's own FY2026 rate: a real, disclosed conflict across the budget process
Sources genuinely disagree, likely reflecting different stages of the same FY2026 budget cycle: a proposed levy of $1.98 per $100 of assessed value, an approved rate reported at $1.87 (33 cents above the certified rate), and a separate figure citing $1.845 as of October 2025. Confirm the current, final rate directly with the City of Bristol, TN before budgeting a purchase.
Sullivan County's own rate carries the same disclosed conflict documented for Kingsport
Because Bristol and Kingsport sit in the same Sullivan County, this record reuses (rather than re-derives) the county-level conflict already disclosed in kingsport-tn.js: one source cites the county's 2026-27 rate held flat at $1.6129 per $100, while a separate aggregator cites a ~$2.07 per $100 county "base rate" -- not reconciled in either record. The countywide effective property tax rate is separately cited at 0.63%, with a median annual bill of $1,205 on a $190,800 home.
Tennessee's zero state income tax, and a combined sales tax lower than Kingsport's
Tennessee levies no tax on wages or salaries (see the state record for the full constitutional/statutory history). Bristol's own combined sales tax is cited at 9.25% (7.00% state + 2.25% Sullivan County + 0% city add-on) per Avalara -- genuinely lower than Kingsport's 9.5%-9.75% in the same county, because Bristol does not levy its own municipal sales tax add-on the way Kingsport does.
Homeowners insurance: a real, statewide-average figure without a Bristol-specific number resolved
Tennessee's statewide average homeowners insurance premium is cited at $3,408/year (LendingTree, June 2026, the 7th-highest average in the country -- see the state record). A Bristol-specific premium figure was not independently confirmed to a single reliable source this pass -- disclosed as a gap. Tennessee's Property Tax Relief program for qualifying elderly, disabled, and veteran homeowners applies here as it does statewide -- relevant given Bristol's above-average 65-plus population share.
Key takeaways
- The City of Bristol's FY2026 property tax rate carries a real, disclosed conflict across sources ($1.845-$1.98 per $100) -- confirm the current, final rate directly with the city before budgeting.
- Sullivan County's own rate carries the same disclosed conflict documented in kingsport-tn.js ($1.6129 vs. ~$2.07 per $100) -- the countywide effective rate is 0.63%, with a $1,205 median bill on a $190,800 home.
- Tennessee's zero state income tax is paired with a 9.25% combined sales tax in Bristol -- lower than Kingsport's 9.5%-9.75% in the same county, since Bristol has no city-level sales tax add-on.
- A Bristol-specific homeowners insurance premium was not confirmed this pass; the statewide average is $3,408/year, the 7th-highest in the US -- get an address-specific quote.
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