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SB1798 • 2026

Taxes, Ad Valorem

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67, Chapter 5, Part 7, relative to property tax relief for veterans.

Taxes
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Watson, Hakeem
Last action
2026-04-14
Official status
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and official digest do not explicitly mention that the state will directly pay property taxes for veterans. The language suggests reimbursement rather than direct payment.

Property Tax Relief for Disabled Veterans

This bill increases property tax relief for disabled veterans by raising the threshold of home value eligible for reimbursement from $175,000 to $200,000.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the amount of property tax relief for disabled veteran homeowners.
  • Increases the maximum home value that qualifies for tax relief from $175,000 to $200,000.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Disabled veterans who own and live in their homes in Tennessee.

Terms To Know

disabled veteran
A person who has served in the U.S. armed forces and has a disability from paraplegia, paralysis of both legs, legal blindness, or loss of use of at least two limbs due to service-connected causes.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how much it will cost the state beyond $5.684 million in fiscal year 2027-2028.
  • It is unclear how this change might affect local government budgets.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/21/2026

  2. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 4/14/2026

  3. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  4. 2026-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  5. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed behind the budget

  6. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  8. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/11/2026

  9. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee to 3/11/2026

  10. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/10/2026

  11. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  12. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  13. 2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  14. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee

  15. 2026-02-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

  16. 2026-02-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  17. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 2/18/2026

  18. 2026-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  19. 2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 2/11/2026

  20. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  21. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee

  22. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  23. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  24. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  25. 2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  26. 2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law requires disabled veterans to have their property taxes, on property owned by the veteran and used as the veteran's residence, paid or reimbursed from the general fund of the state. As used in such provision, a "disabled veteran" means a per
son who has served in the armed forces of the United States, and who has (i) acquired in connection with such service a disability from paraplegia or permanent paralysis of both legs and lower part of the body resulting from traumatic injury or disease to
t
he spinal cord or the brain, or from legal blindness, or from loss or loss of use of at least two limbs from any service-connected cause; (ii) acquired 100% total disability, as determined by the department of veteran's affairs, as a result of having serv
ed as a prisoner of war; or (iii) acquired service-connected permanent and total disability or disabilities, as determined by the department of veteran's affairs.

Present law provides that reimbursements and tax rates, as described above, are based on the first $175,000 of the full market value of such property. This bill raises that threshold to the first $200,000 of the full market value of the disabled veteran
's property.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 1687
By Hakeem

SENATE BILL 1798
By Watson
SB1798
011200
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67,
Chapter 5, Part 7, relative to property tax relief for
veterans.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 67-5-704(a), is amended by deleting
"one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000)" wherever it appears in subdivisions (2),
(3), and (4), and substituting instead "two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000)".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to tax years beginning on or after that date.