Death & Survivor Benefits

Tennessee Property Tax Relief for Surviving Spouses

Three separate routes carry the disabled veteran’s property tax relief to a surviving spouse who does not remarry. The cap is the same $175,000 the veteran had, which is not what the state’s own veterans department page says.

Also called: surviving spouse, widow, widower, 67-5-704, F-16S, remarry, combat-related, deployed, $175,000.

For: Survivor.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

TennesseeState

Tennessee carries the disabled veteran property tax relief to a surviving spouse three different ways, and they reach three different people. Subsection (e) is the inherited route. Relief extends to the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran who, at the time of the veteran's death, was eligible for disabled veterans' property tax relief. The second sentence is the one worth reading twice: if a subsequent amendment to the law concerning eligibility as a disabled veteran would have made the deceased veteran eligible, relief extends to the surviving spouse anyway. A spouse whose veteran died under a narrower definition can be pulled in by a later widening of it. Subsection (f) does not require the veteran to have been disabled at all. It extends relief to the surviving spouse of a veteran whose death results from a service-connected, combat-related cause as determined by VA. Subsection (g) reaches further still and uses a different noun. It extends relief to the surviving spouse of a soldier whose death results from being deployed, away from any home base of training and in support of combat or peace operations. A death on deployment in support of a peace operation is inside this subsection and outside the other two. All three require that the spouse not remarry. Subsections (e) and (g) require that the spouse solely or jointly own the property and use it exclusively as a home; subsection (f) requires that the property be owned by and used exclusively by the surviving spouse as a home. Now the figure, because Tennessee's own pages disagree and one of them is nine years out of date. The Department of Veterans Services page for surviving spouses states a maximum property value of $100,000 and attributes it to Public Chapter 481 of 2015. That was true from 2015 until July 1, 2017, when section 37 of the IMPROVE Act deleted "one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)" wherever it appeared in 67-5-704(a) and substituted "one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000)". The cap in subsection (a) is the only cap in the section, and subsections (e) through (g) extend relief under the section rather than setting a figure of their own. The Comptroller administers the program and its 2026 brochure prints $175,000 for the widow or widower of a disabled veteran, the same as for the veteran. Public Chapter 710 of 2018 then added subsection (m), which says that as used in the section "disabled veteran" includes the veteran's otherwise qualified surviving spouse, which closes the question. A surviving spouse told $100,000 at a counter is being quoted a repealed number by the state's own veterans page. The administering agency is the Comptroller, not the Department of Veterans Services, and the brochure is the document the trustee works from. The form is the F-16S rather than the F-16. It is a consent for VA to release disability and income information, and it goes with a copy of the veteran's death certificate and a form of personal identification. The spouse must have been married to the veteran at the time of death. One asymmetry in the administrative provisions. Section 67-5-701(h) lets a surviving spouse present the tax relief voucher selected by a taxpayer who dies after applying, and collect the final payment for that year. By its terms it covers taxpayers eligible under 67-5-702 or 67-5-703 and does not name 67-5-704.

Thresholds

Thresholds for Tennessee Property Tax Relief for Surviving Spouses
Gate	Rule
The veteran was eligible at death, or a later amendment would have made them so	Subsection (e). The second sentence reaches back: a subsequent amendment widening the definition of disabled veteran carries the spouse in even though the veteran died under the narrower one.
Or the death was service-connected and combat-related	Subsection (f) requires no disability rating during life. It runs on a VA determination that death resulted from a service-connected, combat-related cause.
Or the death happened on deployment, including a peace operation	Subsection (g) reaches the surviving spouse of a soldier whose death results from being deployed, away from any home base of training and in support of combat or peace operations.
Does not remarry	Every one of the three routes ends if the surviving spouse remarries.
Owns and uses the property as a home	Subsections (e) and (g) require sole or joint ownership and exclusive use as a home. Subsection (f) requires the property be owned by and used exclusively by the surviving spouse as a home.
The cap is $175,000, not the $100,000 the state page prints	Section 67-5-704(a)(2) sets one cap for the section and section 37 of Public Chapter 181 of 2017 put it back to $175,000. Public Chapter 710 of 2018 added subsection (m), defining disabled veteran to include the otherwise qualified surviving spouse. The Comptroller’s 2026 brochure prints $175,000 for this category.
Form F-16S, with the death certificate	The surviving spouse files the F-16S rather than the F-16, with a copy of the veteran’s death certificate and personal identification, and must have been married to the veteran at the time of death.

Documents the source lists

What the official source lists for an application, and where to get each document. It is a reference read from the source, not a full list of what the office may ask for; check with the office or an accredited representative before you apply. Needed means the source asks for it; Helps means the source calls it optional or says it speeds things up.

Needed Copy of the veteran’s death certificate
Where to get it The vital records office of the state or territory where the death occurred. The funeral home usually orders copies for the family.
Listed by 2026 Property Tax Relief Program brochure, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury read 2026-10-10
Needed A form of personal identification
Where to get it Your state’s motor vehicle agency, or the U.S. Department of State for a passport.
Listed by 2026 Property Tax Relief Program brochure, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury read 2026-10-10

Sources

Legislation

Law the tracker is watching for this entry. See the legislation tracker for every jurisdiction.

Senate Bill 1798 of 2026 Would have raised the disabled veteran cap to $200,000, and did not pass

Needs reviewDid not pass

114th General Assembly

Introduced Done, 2026-01-20, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2026-01-22, step 2 of 6
Died Stopped here, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Not reached, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Not reached, step 5 of 6
In effect Not reached, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Would have raised the disabled veteran property tax relief from the first $175,000 of market value to the first $200,000.

Filed January 20, 2026 to raise the property value on which disabled veteran relief is paid from $175,000 to $200,000. It was recommended for passage by the Senate State and Local Government Committee nine votes to nothing on March 10, 2026 and referred to Senate Finance, Ways and Means, where it was placed on the calendar three times in April 2026. The bill record shows no floor vote in either chamber and no public chapter. It is not law and the cap is still $175,000, which is what the statute says and what the Comptroller’s 2026 brochure prints. Tracked under the exception for bills that died, because it is being reported as current law: multiple guides state that the cap rises to $200,000 effective July 1, 2026 and advise veterans filing for the 2026 tax year to use the higher figure. A veteran who claims on $200,000 is claiming on a bill.

Sponsors

Touches Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-704

Also touches

Tennessee Disabled Veteran Property Tax Relief

Official record

Public Chapter 710 of 2018 (Senate Bill 1675) Kept property tax relief alive during a health care relocation, retroactively

Catalog reconciledEnactedScope changed

110th General AssemblyTakes effect 2018-04-12

Introduced Done, 2018-01-18, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2018-01-24, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2018-02-15, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2018-03-12, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2018-04-12, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2018-04-12, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Keeps a disabled veteran's property tax relief while the veteran is temporarily relocated for health care.

Section 3 added subsections to 67-5-704 providing that a disabled veteran continues to qualify for property tax relief while temporarily relocated for health care to the home of a friend or relative, or to a hospital or skilled or intermediate care facility, if the veteran indicates an intent to return when recovered sufficiently; that the residence is determined by the principles of 2-2-122, the election-law residence provision; and that veterans whose reimbursement ceased for that reason between October 3, 2017 and the effective date are paid retroactively. Sections 1 and 2 did the same for the elderly and disabled homeowner programs. The same section added the definition that does the most work in the chapter: as used in 67-5-704, "disabled veteran" includes the veteran’s otherwise qualified surviving spouse, which carries every protection in the section across to the spouse. Tracked because guidance written before April 2018 describes a veteran who enters a nursing facility as losing the relief.

Sponsors

Touches Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-704 · Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-702 · Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-703

Also touches

Official record

Public Chapter 181 of 2017 (House Bill 534), section 37 Restored the $175,000 disabled veteran property tax relief cap, inside the gas tax bill

Catalog reconciledEnactedFigure moved

Signed 2017-04-26Takes effect 2017-07-01

Introduced Done, date not recorded, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2017-02-09, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2017-04-19, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2017-04-19, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2017-04-26, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2017-07-01, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Restored the disabled veteran property tax relief to the first $175,000 of market value.

Section 37 of the IMPROVE Act, the 2017 Tax Cut Act, amended 67-5-704 by deleting "one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)" wherever it appeared and substituting "one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000)". Section 38 gave named sections immediate effect and put all others, including section 37, at July 1, 2017. This is the act that set the figure Tennessee uses today, and almost nobody looking for it would find it, because the bill is known as the gas tax bill and its subject is fuel taxes, vehicle registration and the sales tax on food. Every standalone veterans bill filed in the same General Assembly to do the same thing died: House Bill 5 and Senate Bill 25 were taken off notice in the Local Government Subcommittee on January 17, 2018, and House Bill 176 and Senate Bill 254 met the same end the same day. A House amendment to this bill covering the elderly program was withdrawn on April 19, 2017, so the restoration reached the floor through the bill text rather than an amendment. Tracked because a reader tracing the $175,000 through veterans legislation will find only failures.

Sponsors

Touches Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-704

Also touches

Tennessee Disabled Veteran Property Tax Relief

Official record

Public Chapter 1065 of 2016 (Senate Bill 1796) Repealed the income limit on disabled veteran property tax relief

Catalog reconciledEnactedProgram repealed Scope changed

109th General AssemblyTakes effect 2016-05-20

Introduced Done, 2016-01-19, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2016-01-21, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2016-04-19, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2016-04-21, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2016-05-20, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2016-05-20, step 6 of 6

Expands benefits Repealed the income limit on the disabled veteran property tax relief.

One sentence of operative text: section 1 amended 67-5-704 by deleting subdivision (a)(2) and the accompanying subsection, which was the entire sixty thousand dollar income limit added the previous year. The disabled veteran program has had no income test since. Sections 2 and 3 raised the 67-5-702 and 67-5-703 figures from $23,000 to $23,500. Notably the act did not touch the market value cap, which stayed at the $100,000 that Public Chapter 481 had set, so between this act and July 2017 a disabled veteran faced no income limit and a $100,000 cap. Tracked because the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services still points readers to "Public Chapter No. 1065" for program changes, which is correct as to the income limit and silent as to the figure that moved afterward.

Sponsors

Touches Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-704 · Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-702 · Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-703

Also touches

Official record

Public Chapter 481 of 2015 (Senate Bill 1336) Cut the disabled veteran property tax relief cap and added an income limit

Catalog reconciledEnactedFigure moved Scope changed

109th General AssemblyTakes effect 2015-05-18

Introduced Done, 2015-02-12, step 1 of 6
In committee Done, 2015-02-18, step 2 of 6
Passed one chamber Done, 2015-04-22, step 3 of 6
Passed both chambers Done, 2015-04-22, step 4 of 6
Signed by the governor Done, 2015-05-18, step 5 of 6
In effect Done, 2015-05-18, step 6 of 6

Restricts benefits Cut the market value covered by the disabled veteran property tax relief from $175,000 to $100,000 and added an income limit.

Titled the "Save the Tax Relief Act." Section 5 deleted "one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000)" wherever it appeared in 67-5-704(a) and substituted "one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)", cutting the covered market value for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses by forty-three percent. Section 4 added a new subdivision (a)(2) capping the taxpayer’s annual income from all sources at sixty thousand dollars, indexed to the social security cost of living adjustment, counting the income of all owners, the spouse and any owner of a remainder or reversion. The income limit was grandfathered: it applied only to taxpayers who had not received a reimbursement for tax year 2014, so a continuing recipient kept relief regardless of income, while the cut to $100,000 carried no grandfather and reached everyone. Section 6 required new applicants to document income. Tracked because it is the origin of every wrong Tennessee figure still in circulation, and because the income limit it created is still described as current by sources that did not follow what happened next.

Sponsor

Touches Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-704 · Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-702 · Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-703

Also touches

Official record

Updated

Last updated 2026-09-29.

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.