Key Takeaways

• Tennessee assesses vacant land at 25% of appraised value: All real property in Tennessee—residential and vacant alike—falls under a uniform 25% assessment ratio set by state law, but farm and forest land enrolled in the Greenbelt program is assessed on its current-use value instead, substantially lowering the tax bill
• Stewart County's county property tax rate is $1.48 per $100 of assessed value: At Tennessee's 25% assessment ratio, that works out to an effective rate of roughly 0.37%—well below the national median of about 1.02%, according to Ownwell—and Tennessee levies no state income tax
• Population grew from 13,324 in 2010 to 13,657 in 2020 and an estimated 14,439 in 2025: Stewart County is a small, slowly growing rural county, with nearly 44% of its land controlled by federal and state agencies and not for sale, according to U.S. Census Bureau and county data

How Can You Sell Land in Stewart County Tennessee?

Selling land in Stewart County, Tennessee is shaped by three forces: a state property tax system that taxes all real property at 25% of appraised value, a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of consideration, and the Agricultural, Forest and Open Space Land Act—the "Greenbelt Law"—that offers significant tax relief for qualifying farm, forest, and open space land. When Greenbelt-enrolled property is sold, the buyer or seller may face rollback taxes stretching back three to five years, depending on the land's classification.

Stewart County sits in northwestern Middle Tennessee, wrapped around the southern end of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, with Lake Barkley (the impounded Cumberland River) on the east and Kentucky Lake (the impounded Tennessee River) on the west. Dover serves as the county seat, the small courthouse town on the Cumberland just below Fort Donelson. The landscape is classic oak-hickory upland—rolling timbered ridges, hollows, and lake-shoulder tracts prized for deer and turkey hunting, hardwood timber, and weekend cabins. Crucially, nearly 44% of the county is owned by federal and state agencies—Land Between the Lakes, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, and wildlife management areas—so a large share of the county's most scenic ground is public and not for sale at all.

For landowners considering a sale, this guide walks through the county's carrying costs, the closing process, how Stewart County stacks up against its neighbors, and your practical options for exiting a parcel. For the statewide picture first, see our Tennessee land selling guide.

What Are the Tax Costs of Holding Land in Stewart County?

Tennessee uses a uniform 25% assessment ratio for all real property categories, which differs from states like Mississippi that apply separate ratios to owner-occupied versus vacant land. The assessed value equals 25% of the county assessor's appraised value. Tax rates are then applied to that assessed figure.

Stewart County's property tax rate is $1.48 per $100 of assessed value, per the county's 2024 rate. Because Tennessee taxes only 25% of appraised value, the resulting effective property tax rate across the county is approximately 0.37%, based on data from Ownwell—comfortably below the national median of roughly 1.02%. Tennessee also levies no state income tax, which is part of why holding costs here are low in absolute terms.

For a parcel with an appraised value of $100,000, the assessed value is $25,000. At the county rate of $1.48 per $100 assessed, the annual county tax would be approximately $370. That figure is modest, but it adds up year after year for remote, timbered land producing no income—and a long-held lake or hunting tract can quietly accumulate carrying cost over a decade.

The Greenbelt Program: Lower Taxes, Deferred Liability

Tennessee's Greenbelt Law—formally the Agricultural, Forest and Open Space Land Act of 1976—allows qualifying land to be assessed on its current-use value rather than fair market value. To qualify:

• Agricultural land: At least 15 acres of actual farm use, or as few as 10 acres if the farm produces $1,500 or more in annual gross farm income
• Forest land: At least 15 acres of managed timber
• Open space land: Requires a written agreement with a state or local government

The tax savings can be substantial on Stewart County's timbered ridges, where market value—especially on lake-adjacent and hunting ground—far exceeds agricultural productivity, and forest enrollment is common. However, when Greenbelt land is sold or converted to a non-qualifying use, the new or former owner owes rollback taxes—the difference between taxes actually paid and taxes that would have been owed at full assessment—for up to three years on agricultural and forest land or five years on open space land, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service. Rollback taxes can be a surprise cost for buyers unaware of the existing classification, so always verify Greenbelt status before closing.

Stewart County's Assessor of Property is Martha Wallace, located at the Stewart County Courthouse, 225 Donelson Parkway, Dover, TN 37058, phone (931) 232-5252.

If you're carrying land with delinquent taxes, see our guide on how to sell land with back taxes.

What Zoning and Closing Rules Apply in Stewart County?

Tennessee does not require an attorney to be present at real estate closings—transactions may be handled by title companies or closing agents. In practice, many rural land closings in Middle Tennessee are completed by title companies or real estate attorneys acting as closing agents. The deed is recorded with the Stewart County Register of Deeds, Derek W. Earhart, at the Stewart County Courthouse, 225 Donelson Parkway, Dover, TN 37058 (P.O. Box 57), phone (931) 232-5990.

A typical Stewart County land closing follows these steps:

• Title search and examination to confirm clear ownership and surface any liens, easements, or severed mineral rights
• Purchase agreement signed by buyer and seller setting price and terms
• Deed preparation with the correct legal description matching the recorded plat or prior deed
• Settlement handled by a title company or closing agent—an attorney is optional, not required
• Payment of the realty transfer tax at $0.37 per $100 of consideration
• Recording of the deed with the Stewart County Register of Deeds

Tennessee's Realty Transfer and Mortgage Taxes

Tennessee charges a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of consideration (the purchase price, or the fair market value if higher), per Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service. On a $50,000 land sale, that's $185 in transfer tax. Certain transfers are exempt—including transfers between spouses, certain corporate reorganizations, and gifts—but arm's-length land sales to third parties are fully taxable. Tennessee also imposes a separate mortgage recordation tax of $0.115 per $100 on the principal of indebtedness recorded over $2,000, which falls on buyers who finance rather than on cash sellers. There is no state real-estate transfer tax beyond the realty transfer tax, and Stewart County does not levy an additional county transfer tax.

Zoning and Land Use

Stewart County is a largely rural county with limited municipal zoning outside Dover and Cumberland City. The county does not operate a comprehensive zoning ordinance across all unincorporated areas. Building permits are required for new construction, and parcels near the lakes or public land carry extra considerations. Buyers and sellers should contact Stewart County's planning or building authorities to confirm specific requirements for their parcel's location, particularly if the property abuts Land Between the Lakes, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, a wildlife management area, or the federally managed lake shoreline.

The rolling, wooded terrain means many parcels have constraints—steep grades, wet hollows and seasonal drainages, and floodplain near the lake pools—that may affect buildability regardless of zoning classification. Just as important, legal road access is not guaranteed: many interior timber tracts are reached only by old logging roads, easements across neighboring property, or no recorded access at all, and shoreline-adjacent parcels can be bounded by federal land with no private frontage. Buyers interested in development or even reliable entry should confirm a legal access route and obtain a soil and site evaluation before purchase.

If you've inherited the property and are unsure about title, our guide on how to sell inherited land walks through the process, and our overview of the paperwork needed to sell land covers what documents to gather.

How Does Stewart County Compare to Neighboring Tennessee Counties?

Stewart County's population of approximately 14,439 (2025 estimate) reflects steady, modest growth from 13,657 at the 2020 census and 13,324 in 2010. It is one of the smaller counties in Middle Tennessee, with U.S. 79 running southeast from Dover toward Clarksville and west across Kentucky Lake into Henry County. Its neighbors range from fast-growing Montgomery County—home to Clarksville and Fort Campbell—to quiet rural Houston and Henry counties.

Factor	Stewart County	Montgomery County	Houston County	Henry County
Population (2025 est.)	~14,439	~245,000	~8,300	~32,500
Population trend	Slow growth	Rapid growth	Stable	Stable
Effective tax rate	~0.37%	~0.60%	~0.50%	~0.55%
Distance to Clarksville	~35 mi	— (county seat)	~40 mi	~60 mi
Key economic driver	Recreation/tourism, timber, gov't land	Fort Campbell, manufacturing, retail	Agriculture, timber	Agriculture, Paris Landing tourism
Closing attorney required	No	No	No	No

Stewart County's economy leans heavily on recreation, tourism, and the public lands that draw hunters, anglers, boaters, and visitors to Land Between the Lakes and Fort Donelson. Unlike its booming neighbor Montgomery County, Stewart has no major manufacturing center or interstate corridor; its private land market is thin and slow, with most rural acreage held for hunting, timber, lake recreation, and rural homesteads rather than development.

A Federal-Land County With a Recreation Economy

What sets Stewart County apart from typical rural Tennessee counties is how much of it is publicly owned. With nearly 44% of the land controlled by federal and state agencies—Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, and wildlife management areas—the supply of private land is constrained, and much of the privately held acreage sits adjacent to public ground. That proximity is a selling point for recreational buyers but also a complication at sale time: shoreline setbacks, federal boundaries, and access through or alongside public land all surface in title and survey work. Many wooded parcels throughout the county carry existing Greenbelt classifications for forest use.

Hunting, Timber, and Lake Land

Stewart County's USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture data is published in the NASS county profile for Stewart County (FIPS 47161), reflecting a modest farm base set against a heavily forested, recreation-driven landscape. Row-crop and pasture farming exist but are limited; managed hardwood timber and recreational woodland dominate the rural acreage. Deer, turkey, and waterfowl hunting drive much of the demand for interior tracts, while frontage and near-shore parcels along Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley draw cabin and second-home buyers.

If your tract is timbered or held for game, our guides on selling timberland and selling hunting land cover what recreational and timber buyers look for. For the full picture of what drives land values, our land valuation guide explains the factors assessors and buyers weigh.

What Are Your Options for Selling Land in Stewart County?

Stewart County landowners sit at a crossroads familiar across rural Tennessee: heavily timbered or lake-shoulder land that may have been in the family for generations, Greenbelt classifications that kept holding cheap for years, and a thin, slow-moving local market for remote tracts. Add the wrinkles common to a federal-land county—shoreline boundaries, public-land access questions, old logging-road frontage—and a given recreational parcel can sit unsold for a long time. If you own the land from out of state, those frictions multiply; our guide on selling land as an out-of-state owner covers the extra steps.

Before listing or accepting any offer, take these steps. Verify your deed and legal description through the Stewart County Register of Deeds (Derek W. Earhart, 931-232-5990). Confirm the property's Greenbelt status and calculate potential rollback tax liability with the Stewart County Assessor (Martha Wallace, 931-232-5252). Confirm there is a legal, recorded access route to the parcel—critical near public land and the lakes. If the land has merchantable timber, a timber cruise from a registered forester will quantify the standing value. Check for any delinquent tax balance through the Stewart County Trustee (Laura Crain, 931-232-7026).

Sellers have several paths. Listing with a land-specialist agent gives exposure to recreational, timber, and lake buyers across Middle Tennessee and the Kentucky Lake region, but agent commissions of 5–6% plus the $0.37/$100 transfer tax reduce your net proceeds—and access or boundary issues can stall a listing for months. (Our guide on whether you need a realtor to sell land weighs that trade-off.) Online platforms—LandWatch, Lands of America—reach buyers hunting for recreational and lake land around Land Between the Lakes. For landowners who want a firm number fast, without months of showings and uncertain closing timelines, Jerez Land provides a direct cash offer for your land. Each offer is parcel-specific and made in writing; as the buyer, we absorb the carrying costs, marketing, boundary risk, and resale timeline—so the number you see is one number, with no commissions and a closing timeline measured in weeks, not months.

A direct cash sale will not be the highest theoretical price a perfectly marketed parcel might eventually fetch. What it offers instead is certainty and speed on land that is otherwise hard to move. If you want to understand the process before you commit to any path, our blog covers what to expect at each stage.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I sell vacant land in Stewart County TN?

Confirm your legal description and any existing Greenbelt enrollment with the Stewart County Assessor (931-232-5252) and verify clean title and legal access through the Register of Deeds (931-232-5990). Tennessee does not require an attorney at closing—a title company or closing agent can handle the transaction. You can list with a local agent, use online platforms like LandWatch, or request a direct cash offer from a land buyer like Jerez Land.

What is the property tax rate in Stewart County Tennessee?

Stewart County's property tax rate is $1.48 per $100 of assessed value, per the county's 2024 rate. All real property in Tennessee is assessed at 25% of appraised value, yielding an effective tax rate of approximately 0.37%, according to Ownwell—below the national median of roughly 1.02%. Tennessee also levies no state income tax. Land enrolled in Tennessee's Greenbelt program is assessed on current-use value instead, producing a significantly lower tax bill.

What is Tennessee's Greenbelt program and how does it affect a land sale?

Tennessee's Greenbelt Law (1976) allows agricultural land (15+ acres, or 10+ acres with $1,500+ in annual farm income), forest land (15+ acres), and open space land to be assessed at current-use value rather than fair market value. When Greenbelt land is sold or disqualified, rollback taxes are owed for up to three years (agricultural/forest) or five years (open space)—covering the gap between what was paid and what full-assessment taxes would have been, according to the UT County Technical Assistance Service. Always verify Greenbelt status before closing.

Does Tennessee charge a transfer tax on land sales?

Yes. Tennessee charges $0.37 per $100 of consideration on all publicly recorded realty transfers, per Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-409. On a $100,000 sale, the transfer tax is $370. Tennessee also imposes a separate mortgage recordation tax of $0.115 per $100 on financed amounts, which falls on buyers, not cash sellers. Certain transfers—gifts, spousal transfers, corporate reorganizations—may qualify for exemptions. Stewart County does not levy an additional county-level transfer tax.

How much of Stewart County is public land I can't sell?

Nearly 44% of Stewart County is controlled by federal and state agencies, including the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, and wildlife management areas, according to county data. That public ownership constrains the supply of private land and means many private parcels sit adjacent to government boundaries—so shoreline setbacks, federal boundaries, and access questions often surface in title and survey work before closing.

Is Stewart County Tennessee population growing or declining?

Stewart County's population has grown slowly and steadily, rising from 13,324 in 2010 to 13,657 at the 2020 census and an estimated 14,439 in 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The modest growth reflects the county's appeal as a quiet, rural, recreation-oriented area near the lakes and Land Between the Lakes, along with spillover from the fast-growing Clarksville–Fort Campbell area to the east in Montgomery County.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. Laws and regulations vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Always consult with qualified professionals before making land purchase decisions. Jerez Land is not responsible for actions taken based on this information.