CC CountyClock
Excess proceeds register

Tennessee excess proceeds — money the court is holding for a former owner

When a property sells at a delinquent tax sale for more than the taxes owed, the surplus does not go to the buyer and it does not stay with the county. It is held for the person who lost the property — or for their heirs.

What Davidson County is holding right now

$2,913,570
held across 42 claims
$896,524
largest single amount
9
estates or heirs

Register as of September 4, 2026, taken from the Clerk & Master's published list. Where a claim is an estate or heirs, the people entitled to the money frequently do not know it exists — the notice goes to an address the owner no longer uses.

How the money gets claimed

  1. The property sold at the delinquent tax sale for more than the debt, costs and fees.
  2. The Clerk & Master of the court that handled the sale holds the surplus.
  3. The former owner — or their heirs, successors or assigns — files a claim for it.
  4. The court reviews and orders the money released.

The governing provision is T.C.A. § 67-5-2702. Claims are filed with the Clerk & Master, not with the county trustee and not with the purchaser. The court publishes its own claim forms and instructions.

If someone contacts you about this

Recovery services exist, and some charge a large percentage of the money you are owed. The claim itself is filed directly with the Clerk & Master, and the register is public. Check the court's own record before signing anything or paying anyone a share.

Find a claim

We match the court's register against Metro Nashville property records so a claim can be tied to a parcel, an owner and a land use — which is usually how you recognise a name that matters to you. The register is browsable, and it is included in full with a subscription.

Open the register See plans How the tax sale works

Figures compiled from the Davidson County Chancery Court Clerk & Master's published excess-proceeds register, register as of September 4, 2026. Public-records research, not legal advice — confirm any claim with the Clerk & Master.