Tennessee has two property tax programs that reduce what qualifying homeowners actually pay, and both are easy to miss because neither happens automatically. One is a state reimbursement. The other is a freeze. They have different eligibility rules, different administrators, and different applications.
If you are buying in Tennessee, or you already own and have crossed an age or disability threshold, they are worth understanding.
Tennessee state law provides property tax relief for low-income elderly and disabled homeowners, as well as disabled veteran homeowners and their surviving spouses. It is a reimbursement program funded by appropriations authorized by the General Assembly — the state reimburses qualifying homeowners for part or all of property taxes paid, rather than exempting the property from tax.
Applications are received by tax collecting officials, including county trustees. If your property is inside city limits, you may also apply through your city collecting official.
The statutory basis is Tennessee Code Annotated sections 67-5-701 (administrative provisions and appropriations), 67-5-702 (elderly low income homeowners), 67-5-703 (disabled homeowners), and 67-5-704 (disabled veteran's residence).
Elderly homeowners. You must be 65 on or before December 31 of the tax year, own your home and use it as your primary residence, and provide annual income from all sources. For the 2026 program year, the maximum 2025 income of the applicant, spouse, co-owner, and resident remainder is $38,470, and the maximum market value on which relief is calculated is $33,600.
Disabled homeowners. You must be disabled on or before December 31 of the tax year, own and occupy the home as your primary residence, and provide annual income from all sources. The same $38,470 income limit and $33,600 market value cap apply.
Disabled veteran homeowners. You must own the home and use it as your primary residence, and complete form F-16, a consent form releasing disability and income information from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. You must meet one of the statutory disability requirements, which include a service-connected disability from paraplegia or permanent paralysis of both legs and lower body resulting from traumatic injury or disease to the spinal cord or brain, legal blindness, or loss or loss of use of two or more limbs from any service-connected cause; 100% permanent total disability resulting from having served as a prisoner of war; or service-connected permanent and total disability as determined by the VA. The maximum market value on which relief is calculated is $175,000.
Surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. You must own and occupy the home as your primary residence, complete form F-16S, provide a copy of your spouse's death certificate and personal identification, and have been married to the veteran at the time of death without having remarried. The veteran must have met one of the disability requirements, or relief may extend to the surviving spouse of a veteran whose death resulted from a service-connected, combat-related cause as determined by the VA, or of a soldier whose death resulted from being deployed away from any home base of training in support of combat or peace operations. The $175,000 market value cap applies.
Note the structure: elderly and disabled applicants face an income test and a low market value cap. Veterans and surviving spouses face no income test in the same form and get a much higher cap.
You may apply when you receive your property tax bill. The deadline to apply is 35 days after the delinquency date, and taxes must also be paid by that date.
That second condition catches people. Relief is a reimbursement, so the taxes have to be paid before the state can reimburse you. Missing the payment deadline can cost you the benefit for that year even if you otherwise qualify.
Income documentation may be required — a tax return, 1099, W-2 or similar. If you are a sole owner within $100 of the income limit, or there is a co-owner and combined income is within $200 of the limit, documentation must be provided for all sources.
The freeze is separate from relief, and you can be eligible for one and not the other.
It is also a local option. State law lets each county and city decide whether to adopt the freeze, so it is available only where your county or city participates. The Comptroller's office publishes the list of participating jurisdictions and their income limits.
To qualify, a homeowner must:
Homeowners who qualify have the property taxes on their principal residence frozen at a base tax amount — the amount owed in the year they first qualified. The application must be filed every year with the county trustee or city collecting official. The base amount can still change if improvements increase the property's value, or if you sell and buy another residence.
A freeze is not a reduction. It stops future increases at the base amount rather than lowering what you pay today, which makes it most valuable in an area where assessments and rates are climbing.
Do not assume the seller's benefit continues. Both programs attach to a qualifying owner, not to the house. If you are buying from an elderly homeowner receiving relief or a freeze, the tax figure on the listing may reflect their benefit and not what you will pay.
Ask for an unadjusted tax estimate. Before you write an offer, ask your loan officer to model the payment using the full tax amount rather than a figure that may include someone else's relief. That is the number your escrow account will actually have to fund.
If you are a veteran buying in Tennessee, check both. The $175,000 market value cap for qualifying disabled veterans is substantially higher than the elderly and disabled cap, and it is not means-tested in the same way. Our VA loan page covers the financing side.
Apply through the county trustee. Not through a third-party service. Contact your county trustee, or your city collecting official if your property is within city limits.
For county-level financing limits in the Nashville market, see our Nashville loan limits guide. Local page: Nashville. You can model payments with our calculators, and see program options on our loan programs page.
To get a Tennessee payment estimate that reflects your actual tax situation, browse our loan officer directory or get started.
Four groups: elderly homeowners 65 or older, disabled homeowners, disabled veteran homeowners, and surviving spouses of disabled veterans. Elderly and disabled applicants must meet an income limit; veterans and surviving spouses qualify through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs using consent forms F-16 and F-16S.
For the 2026 program year, the maximum 2025 income of the applicant, spouse, co-owner, and resident remainder is $38,470 for elderly and disabled homeowners. Relief is calculated on a maximum market value of $33,600 for those groups and $175,000 for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses.
You may apply when you receive your property tax bill, and the deadline is 35 days after the delinquency date. Your taxes must also be paid by that date, because the program reimburses taxes you have already paid.
The freeze locks the taxes on your principal residence at the base amount owed in the year you first qualified. It is available only in counties and cities that have adopted it, and requires you to be 65 by the end of the year you apply, to meet the county income limit, and to reapply annually. Relief is a state reimbursement of taxes paid, with income and market value limits.
No. Both programs attach to a qualifying owner rather than the property, so the tax figure shown for a home owned by someone receiving relief or a freeze may be lower than what you will pay.
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. State law and investor guidelines change; confirm current requirements with a licensed professional before making decisions. Xpert Home Lending, Inc. is an Equal Housing Lender.