Shelby County Property Tax Relief Matching Program

Tennessee's disabled veteran property tax relief is a state payment toward the tax on the first $175,000 of a home's market value; the Tennessee entry on it sets out who qualifies. Section 67-5-701(j) lets a county add its own money on top, and Shelby County does. The match. Ordinance No. 563, adopted September 9, 2024 and codified as Shelby County Code 2-350, commits at least $2,500,000 of each year's county operating budget to a 100 percent match of the state relief paid to approved participants, "up to the amount of their current year tax bill". The money sits in a special revenue fund, the Trustee administers it under the state rules in 67-5-701 to 67-5-705, and the Commission may raise the match above 100 percent in any year's budget. Like any appropriation it depends on the Commission funding it each year. The match began in 2021 with federal rescue plan money and was topped up by $215,000 for fiscal 2025 after the forecast ran short; in June 2025 the Commission took up a resolution of up to $3,000,000 for the match and the Trustee's financial empowerment center for fiscal 2026. The Trustee's 2026 brochure says "Shelby County matches this program up to your tax amount". What it is worth. For tax year 2026 the Trustee lists the state's maximum relief on Shelby County taxes as $1,182.30 for a disabled veteran, the widow or widower of a disabled veteran, or the spouse of a soldier killed in action. The match doubles what the state pays, so the county-tax relief can reach about $2,364.60, though never more than the county tax actually billed. The match is on county taxes only. City taxes. The state relief also applies to city taxes, and the Trustee collects them for Arlington, Bartlett, Lakeland and Millington, with 2026 state maxima for a disabled veteran of $494.38, $726.25, $411.25 and $525.00. Memphis, Germantown and Collierville collect their own taxes and take their own applications. The application for relief on City of Memphis taxes is due October 6, 2026. How to apply. Call Trustee Customer Service, (901) 222-0200, for the 2026 application; there is no separate application for the match. Signed applications for Shelby County, Arlington, Bartlett, Lakeland and Millington must be postmarked by April 5, 2027, which is thirty-five days after county taxes go delinquent on March 1, as 67-5-701(d) sets. Paying the bill is not a condition of eligibility, but where a mortgage company pays the taxes the Trustee holds the application until the payment arrives. A new application is needed every year. Where the Trustee's FAQ narrows the law. The Trustee's answer for spouses of soldiers killed in action says "combat-related only". That is subsection (f). Subsection (g) separately covers the spouse of a soldier whose death resulted from being deployed away from home base in support of combat or peace operations, so a death on a peacekeeping deployment qualifies though the FAQ suggests it does not. The FAQ also leaves out subsection (e)'s rule that a later widening of the veteran's eligibility reaches the surviving spouse. Its discharge rule is right: only a dishonorable discharge bars relief. The Trustee's other programmes, the senior tax freeze and the quarterly payment plan, are for homeowners 65 and older and have income limits; a disabled veteran over 65 may use them as well.