Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: No. The Tennessee Department of Revenue says the Hall income tax was repealed and “Please do not file a return” for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2021.
How Tennessee treats a pension earned elsewhere
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Nonresidents | Tennessee has no tax on a nonresident’s pension. The Department of Revenue says its only individual income tax, the Hall income tax, was repealed. The federal rule in 4 U.S.C. 114 separately bars states from taxing a nonresident’s retirement income. |
| Residents with a pension earned elsewhere | Tennessee has no individual income tax on pensions. The repealed Hall income tax applied only to interest from bonds and notes and dividends from stock. The source says: “imposed only on individuals and other entities receiving interest”. The Department of Revenue page does not mention pension income. |
| Part-year residents (year of a move) | No Tennessee personal income tax return exists for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, so a move creates no part-year filing. The Department of Revenue says no Hall income tax return is to be filed for those years. |
| Rate | Tennessee prints no current income tax rate. The last Hall income tax rate was 1% for tax years beginning January 1, 2020, with repeal beginning January 1, 2021. The rate stepped down from 4% for tax years beginning January 1, 2017. |
| Return to file | None. The Department of Revenue tells taxpayers not to file a Hall income tax return for any tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2021. |
A $40,000 move-year example
A retiree receives $40,000 of pension in the year of a move: $20,000 before the move date, as a Tennessee resident, and $20,000 after leaving.
Tennessee levies no personal income tax, so the $40,000 is not taxed by Tennessee whether it was paid before or after the move: $0 on $40,000. Federal tax still applies.
The federal rule that protects a nonresident
4 U.S.C. 114(a) bars a state income tax on retirement income of an individual “who is not a resident or domiciliary of such State”. Retirement income means certain plan payments made as a “series of substantially equal periodic payments”, so not every payment is covered.
Related: how Tennessee taxes retirement income, whether Tennessee taxes pensions, California to Tennessee retirement taxes, Colorado to Tennessee retirement taxes, out-of-state pension tax by state, and deferred compensation lump sums after a move.
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Answer againSources
- Hall Income Tax (Tennessee Department of Revenue): https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/hall-income-tax.html
- Hall Income Tax: Due Date and Tax Rates (Tennessee Department of Revenue): https://www.tn.gov/revenue/taxes/hall-income-tax/due-date-and-tax-rates.html
- 4 U.S.C. 114, Limitation on State income taxation of certain pension income (U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2023 edition): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title4/html/USCODE-2023-title4-chap4-sec114.htm
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.