Tennessee property tax relief for disabled veterans

Tennessee pays part of the property tax on the home of a disabled veteran. It also pays for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. There is no income limit and no age limit. The state pays the tax on up to $175,000 of your home's market value.

Who qualifies

You must own the home and live in it as your main home. Your disability must also meet one of these tests:

• Paraplegia or permanent paralysis of both legs and the lower body, from an injury or disease to the spinal cord or brain, connected with your service.
• Legal blindness connected with your service.
• The loss, or loss of use, of two or more limbs from a service-connected cause.
• A 100% permanent and total disability from your time as a prisoner of war, as the VA rates it.
• A service-connected permanent and total disability, as the VA rates it.

The VA decides whether you meet a test. You sign form F-16 at the trustee's office. It lets the VA share your disability and income information with the state.

Surviving spouses

A surviving spouse can get the same relief. You must have been married to the veteran when the veteran died, and you must not have remarried. You must own the home and live in it as your main home.

One of these must also be true:

• The veteran met one of the disability tests above.
• The veteran died from a service-connected, combat-related cause, as the VA decides.
• The veteran died while deployed away from home base, in support of combat or peace operations.

You sign form F-16S. Bring a copy of the death certificate and a photo ID.

How much it pays

The state pays the tax on up to $175,000 of your home's market value. A senior or a disabled owner who is not a veteran gets relief on up to $33,600. The dollar amount depends on your county's tax rate and your city's rate. It is different in each county and can change each year.

Tax relief is not an exemption. You still get your tax bill, and you pay any amount that relief does not cover.

How to apply

Apply at your county trustee's office. If your city sends its own tax bill, apply at the city's office too. Find your county's trustee.

You can apply when you get your tax bill. Most counties mail bills in the fall. The deadline is 35 days after the tax becomes delinquent. Where the tax is due at the end of February, the deadline is April 5. You must also pay the rest of your tax by that day.

After you are approved, a tax relief voucher comes with your bill each year. Take the voucher to the trustee with your payment by the deadline.

Questions about your rating go to the VA at 1-800-827-1000. Questions about the program go to the state's Tax Relief office at 615-747-8871.

The tax freeze

If you are 65 or older, you may also qualify for a tax freeze. It holds the tax on your home steady. Only some counties and cities have it, and it has an income limit. The freeze adds to tax relief. See how the tax freeze works.

Relief and an appeal

Tax relief lowers the tax on the county's value. An appeal lowers the value. If your home's market value is under $175,000, tax relief may already pay all of your tax. Above that, a lower value lowers the part of the tax that you pay.

See the guide to Tennessee property tax appeals, or start a free review of your value.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. The VA decides disability ratings. Confirm the rules with your county trustee.