Tennessee state income tax

Last updated: 2026-04-27

TL;DR / ELI5

Tennessee does not tax wage income the way states with a Form 1040 companion do. Think of it as one less puzzle piece on your state return—though you still file federal and should watch for special local taxes or business taxes. No wage income tax; Hall tax repealed.

Primary form:

BasilTax engine: Not yet — federal plus manual state review

Structure: No state income tax

No wage income tax; Hall tax repealed.

Tennessee income tax at a glance

This guide explains how Tennessee fits into your overall filing picture. Your federal Form 1040 is only half the story—states add their own definitions, subtractions, credits, and withholding rules.

Because Tennessee has no broad-based wage income tax, many residents will not file a traditional state income tax return for wages. No wage income tax; Hall tax repealed.

Withholding and W-2 boxes

If you work in Tennessee (or your employer withholds for Tennessee), compare boxes 15–17 on your Form W-2 to what you expect on the state return. Mismatches here are a common source of balance due surprises.

Credits, deductions, and quirks

State returns often start from federal adjusted gross income (AGI) and then apply state-specific subtractions, additions, credits, and alternative minimum taxes. Read your state instructions for the exact list—this page is a hub, not a substitute for official guidance.

Verification workflow

Upload your PDFs, assign them to a return, and run compute. When BasilTax supports Tennessee end-to-end, you can trace state lines to the same documents you used for federal. When support is still in progress, use BasilTax to lock down federal and broker schedules first, then complete Tennessee manually with confidence.

Ready to tie every line to your documents?

Upload your W-2s and 1099s—BasilTax extracts fields, computes federal and state, and explains each number with citations.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Tennessee have a state income tax?
Tennessee does not impose a broad-based individual wage income tax like many states. No wage income tax; Hall tax repealed.
What form do I file for Tennessee?
Most residents use — for the state return, subject to exceptions for part-year residents and special situations. Always confirm the latest state instructions each filing season.
Does BasilTax calculate Tennessee state tax?
BasilTax is focused on federal accuracy for Tennessee today; you should still review state-specific rules and forms outside the app until engine support ships.