Tennessee conventional mortgage: limits, down payment math and the state rules

Conforming limit $832,750, median about $320,000, property tax about 0.64%: those three figures decide most of what a conventional mortgage costs in Tennessee. Below, the down payment and monthly numbers at 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% down, the month PMI can end, and the state rules a conventional borrower here should know.

Loan limits: the Tennessee picture

Two numbers decide the question in Tennessee: the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 and the price you pay. Keep the loan at or under the limit — by price, by down payment, or with a conforming first plus a second lien — and you get Fannie/Freddie pricing and flexibility (3% down programs, automated underwriting, appraisal waivers). At the state median of $320,000, every scenario below is conforming. Every Tennessee county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

Conforming limits for all 95 Tennessee counties

The 95 counties of Tennessee split into two groups for 2026: 81 at the $832,750 baseline and 14 FHFA high-cost counties (bold in the table) with one-unit limits up to $1,029,250. A buyer who crosses into Cannon County, Cheatham County, Davidson County and 11 more gains $196,500 of conforming room over a baseline county.

Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (county list, mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026). Limits are for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans; FHA and VA use their own county figures.

Down payment and monthly payment, four ways

Worked at an illustrative 6.5% over 30 years on the $320,000 median. PMI uses order-of-magnitude annual rates by down payment; tax uses Tennessee’s approximate 0.64% effective rate. Your county, score and insurer will move every column.

For other loan amounts and rates, the payment tables show principal and interest, total interest and the PMI break points.

How long you pay PMI here

Federal rules, identical in Tennessee: you may request cancellation at 80% of the original value and the servicer must cancel at 78%. On the scheduled amortization alone, the 5% down loan above reaches 80% after about 10 years and 4 months and 78% after about 11 years and 3 months; the 10% down loan, 80% after about 7 years and 11 months; the 3% down loan, 80% after about 11 years and 1 months. At roughly $190 a month on the 5% scenario, that is about $23,560 of PMI over the period — the strongest argument for extra principal payments or a value-based cancellation request once prices rise.

Closing costs and taxes in Tennessee

Tennessee closings are conducted by title companies and by real estate attorneys in roughly equal measure, and no lawyer is required at the table; the state’s unauthorized-practice statute (Tennessee Code Annotated § 23-3-101 and following) lets a non-attorney closing agent handle the settlement as long as no legal advice is given. Funding is wet, with the deed of trust recorded in the county Register of Deeds right after signing. Settlement fees generally run from a few hundred dollars up to about a thousand, often shared by buyer and seller.

Tennessee is one of the states that taxes the loan itself: the mortgage or recordation tax under Code Annotated § 67-4-409(b) is 11.5 cents for every $100 of debt secured by the deed of trust above the first $2,000, collected by the Register of Deeds when the instrument is recorded and normally paid by the borrower. A separate realty transfer tax of 37 cents per $100 of consideration applies to the deed and is customarily paid by the buyer. Tennessee’s realty transfer tax is $0.37 per $100 (0.37%), customarily paid by the buyer, plus a mortgage tax of $0.115 per $100 of the loan amount above $2,000, also paid by the borrower.

Because both the transfer and mortgage taxes fall on the buyer, Tennessee closing costs run a bit higher than its neighbors — about 2.5% to 3.5% of the price including title and lender fees.

Three Tennessee rules to read before signing

Prepayment. Tennessee generally permits prepayment penalties on residential loans within the federal qualified-mortgage limits, but the Tennessee Home Loan Protection Act sharply restricts them on high-cost home loans, and loans made by industrial loan and thrift companies follow the prepayment rules in Code Annotated Title 45. The federal ability-to-repay rule caps penalties tightly and bans them on adjustable or higher-priced loans.

Spouses and title. Tennessee is not a community property state, but it is one of a few that let married couples opt in through a community property trust (Tennessee Community Property Trust Act of 2010, Tennessee Code Annotated § 35-17-101 and following); a home placed in such a trust becomes community property for tax and creditor purposes.

Homestead. Tennessee’s homestead exemption in Code Annotated § 26-2-301 was for decades among the lowest in the nation, a few thousand dollars, before the legislature raised it in 2021 to $35,000 for an individual and $52,500 for married joint owners, with higher tiers for owners over 62 and for a parent with custody of a minor child; verify the current amounts because they have been amended several times.

The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in Tennessee.

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Tennessee for 2026?

It depends on the county. The 2026 baseline of $832,750 applies in 81 of Tennessee’s 95 counties; 14 high-cost counties carry a higher one-unit limit, up to $1,029,250 in Cannon County, Cheatham County, Davidson County and 11 more. The full county table is on this page.

When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in Tennessee?

The request point is 80% of the original value, the automatic point 78% — federal rules, identical in Tennessee. With 5% down on the state’s $320,000 median at 6.5%, the amortization schedule alone gets you to 80% in roughly 10 years and 4 months; with 10% down, in about 7 years and 11 months. Paying extra principal shortens both.

Does Tennessee add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?

Tennessee is one of the states that taxes the loan itself: the mortgage or recordation tax under Code Annotated § 67-4-409(b) is 11.5 cents for every $100 of debt secured by the deed of trust above the first $2,000, collected by the Register of Deeds when the instrument is recorded and normally paid by the borrower. Tennessee’s realty transfer tax is $0.37 per $100 (0.37%), customarily paid by the buyer, plus a mortgage tax of $0.115 per $100 of the loan amount above $2,000, also paid by the borrower. Because both the transfer and mortgage taxes fall on the buyer, Tennessee closing costs run a bit higher than its neighbors — about 2.5% to 3.5% of the price including title and lender fees.

Related: Seller concessions limits: how much a seller can pay toward your closing costs, Conventional loans for condos and second homes: the extra rules, Refinancing with bad credit: what is realistic below 620, 660 and 700, Mortgage rate locks: how long to lock, what extensions cost, when to float. First home in Tennessee: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.