Who qualifies for the Property tax relief (elderly homeowner) in Tennessee?

You are 65 or older on or before December 31, 2026. You own and live in the home as your main home. Your combined 2025 income (you, your spouse, any co-owner and any resident remainder owner) is $38,470 or less. The state pays you back the tax on up to $33,600 of your home's market value. It is not an exemption. First year: you pay the bill, then the state refunds you. Later years: a voucher is applied to your bill. Some counties add a local match. Deadline: 35 days after your local delinquency date. Robertson County states April 5, 2027, for 2026 bills.

Who qualifies for the Property tax relief (disabled homeowner) in Tennessee?

You are totally and permanently disabled on or before December 31, 2026, at any age. You own and live in the home, and your combined 2025 income is $38,470 or less. The state pays you back the tax on up to $33,600 of your home's market value, the same as the elderly program. Deadline: 35 days after your local delinquency date.

Who qualifies for the Local-option property tax freeze in Tennessee?

You are 65 by the end of the application year and live in the home as your main home. Your county or city must have adopted the freeze, and your income must be within that place's 2026 limit. About 28 counties have adopted it. Examples: Davidson, Shelby and Knox at $63,470, and Williamson at $69,150. Your tax amount is frozen at the base year. Later rate increases or reappraisals do not raise it. New improvements or a move to another house reset the base. It does not freeze your value and does not forgive the base-year tax. Deadline: Set locally. File for the 2026 tax year with your jurisdiction.

Rules by state / Tennessee

Tennessee property tax, line by line.

Your county trustee sends the property tax bill, and a city that taxes may send its own. There is no state property tax. The bill is based on your home's appraised value, and the assessed value is 25% of that.

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At a glance

Who sends the bill: The county trustee. A city that levies its own tax collects through the city collecting official or through the county.
When it comes: Set by the county and the city, if any. The bill states the due date and the delinquency date.
When it's due: There is no single statewide due date. Your bill shows the due date and the delinquency date.
If you pay late: Interest and penalty start on your local delinquency date. If you apply for tax relief, you must pay by the relief deadline, which is 35 days after the delinquency date.
Value is set as of: January 1
Limits on increases: No statewide cap on appraised value.

Bill dates source · Assessment source

What may come off

4 programs homeowners can claim

None of these are applied for you automatically. Each one is free to apply for. If you upload your bill, we check which ones are already on it and which may fit you.

Property tax relief (elderly homeowner)

Who: You are 65 or older on or before December 31, 2026. You own and live in the home as your main home. Your combined 2025 income (you, your spouse, any co-owner and any resident remainder owner) is $38,470 or less.
What you get: The state pays you back the tax on up to $33,600 of your home's market value. It is not an exemption. First year: you pay the bill, then the state refunds you. Later years: a voucher is applied to your bill. Some counties add a local match.
How to apply: Apply with your county trustee, and with the city collecting official if your home is in a city that taxes. Apply when your 2026 bill arrives.
Deadline: 35 days after your local delinquency date. Robertson County states April 5, 2027, for 2026 bills.

Source

Property tax relief (disabled homeowner)

Who: You are totally and permanently disabled on or before December 31, 2026, at any age. You own and live in the home, and your combined 2025 income is $38,470 or less.
What you get: The state pays you back the tax on up to $33,600 of your home's market value, the same as the elderly program.
How to apply: Apply with your county trustee or city collecting official. Bring proof of disability from Social Security or another qualifying agency.
Deadline: 35 days after your local delinquency date.

Source

Property tax relief (disabled veteran or surviving spouse)

Who: A veteran with a service-connected permanent and total disability, or a qualifying surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. There is no income limit.
What you get: The state pays you back the tax on the first $175,000 of your home's full market value. It is not an exemption, and your home can be worth more.
How to apply: Apply with your county trustee or city collecting official. Veterans sign a VA release so the Comptroller can confirm the rating. Form: F-16 / F-16S (used by collecting officials).
Deadline: 35 days after your local delinquency date. You must pay the tax to get a first-year refund.

Source

Local-option property tax freeze

Who: You are 65 by the end of the application year and live in the home as your main home. Your county or city must have adopted the freeze, and your income must be within that place's 2026 limit. About 28 counties have adopted it. Examples: Davidson, Shelby and Knox at $63,470, and Williamson at $69,150.
What you get: Your tax amount is frozen at the base year. Later rate increases or reappraisals do not raise it. New improvements or a move to another house reset the base. It does not freeze your value and does not forgive the base-year tax.
How to apply: Apply every year with your county trustee or city collecting official, in a place that has adopted the freeze.
Deadline: Set locally. File for the 2026 tax year with your jurisdiction.
After that: Every year.

Source

Think your value is too high?

Asking for a lower appraised value

Free review: Meet with your county assessor of property after you get your assessment notice. It is free.
Formal appeal: Your county board of equalization, then the State Board of Equalization.
Deadline: The deadline runs from the date of your assessment notice. County boards usually sit in late spring. If you are denied tax relief, appeal within 90 days of the Comptroller's decision. That is a separate track from a value appeal.
Good to know: Ask the county board whether it can raise your value before you file. Check your notice for exact dates.

A formal appeal reopens your whole value: the board can raise it as well as lower it. Bring recent sales of similar homes.

Source · We never charge for help asking for a lower value.

What can't come off

Charges you can't remove

There is no general homestead exemption that lowers the value for every homeowner.
Tax on market value above $33,600 for elderly and disabled relief, and above $175,000 for disabled veteran relief.
The need to pay your bill before your first reimbursement.
A tax freeze in a county or city that has not adopted one.
Special assessments.

City taxes are a separate levy. Relief and the freeze apply to the county, the city, or both, depending on where you apply and whether the city has adopted a freeze. State reimbursement does not remove special assessments, and no general homestead exemption reduces them.

Watch out. New construction can raise a frozen tax. A spouse's or co-owner's income counts for the relief income test, even if that person does not live in the home.

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Rules checked October 28, 2026 against official Tennessee sources. Rules change: check the deadline with your county before you rely on it. Not legal or tax advice.