Image Credit: washingtoncountytn.org
Tennessee Conservative News [By Paula Gomes] –
Washington County Commissioners voted unanimously to take another step toward implementing a property tax freeze program for senior homeowners this week. The commission has approved the establishment of a Property Tax Freeze Implementation Committee.
In June, County Commissioners participated in a workshop about a state program that could allow homeowners over the age of 65 and who meet the income requirements to apply annually.
The program, while state-run, is funded at the local level and would allow elderly homeowners and those on a fixed income. To qualify, applicants must meet the age requirement, own and occupy their principal residence and also meet annual income limits that are set by the state.
For those that qualify, property taxes are frozen at the amount they owe in the first qualifying year for those who are approved. The freeze applies even if property taxes increase in the future or due to a county-wide appraisal.
During the workshop, Mayor Joe Gandy stated that most of the initially, the cost of the program would be administrative due to both the assessor’s office and the trustee’s office needing to assign personnel the time to work through applications.
Before the vote earlier this week, staff from the state comptroller’s office gave a presentation about the details of the program.
Comptroller’s Office staff Kim Morel an Dale Maxfield described how it would work with the county trustee accepting and determining eligible applicants, the assessor identifying the portion of a parcel that would be subject to the freeze, and a state system that is web-based linking applications and data from the assessor.
The state-calculated standard income limit for Washington County for tax year 2026 is $45,100 with an optional higher tier, adjusted by Social Security cost-of-living increases, showing as $63,470. The adoption of the statutory optional higher income tier is a local choice that some jurisdictions have made.
