Sevier seniors get break with property tax freeze

Are you 65 or older and have a limited income? If so, you may qualify for Tennessee’s property tax freeze program.
Sevier County opted to participate in the program in 2008. As a resident, you have until April 1 to get in on the program, effectively freezing your property tax rates. Blount County decided to get in on the program in 2007 and seniors there have only until March 31 to apply.
Sevier County Trustee Jettie Clabo said she views the program as a good thing.
“It helps people who are on fixed income,” she said.
Because this is the first year of the program for Sevier County, Clabo said it is impossible to gauge its full impact and how many residents will take part in it.
She said the county figures on 1,100 to 1,200 applications, noting that more than 1,000 have already applied for the state tax relief program. Qualified applicants can benefit from the tax relief and property tax freeze at the same time, she said.
Not everyone who qualifies for the state tax relief program will qualify for the property tax freeze because the income limits are different, Clabo said. The income limit for the tax relief program is $24,790, while the property tax freeze limit is set at $31,710 for this year.
Clabo said the income limit for the property tax freeze includes Social Security, IRAs, pensions, etc. “Some people don’t think that Social Security counts as income, but it does,” she said.
Clabo estimated that the tax freeze program will have “very little impact” on the county budget, “about a penny” on the rate. “If the tax rate for next year were to go up a nickel, the tax rate increase would be 6 cents to encompass the property tax freeze.
About 16,000 low-income Tennessee seniors have frozen their property tax rates since 2007, getting a much-needed economic boost, when the state constitution was amended. But anyone participating must reapply each year to keep his/her tax rate frozen.
According to the state Comptroller’s Office, the 105th General Assembly passed the enabling law in 2007, which authorizes the legislative body of any county and/or municipality to adopt the property tax freeze program.
Twenty counties thus far are participating in the program. Most county deadlines range from March 31 to April 7.
“Unfortunately, most Tennessee communities haven’t approved tax freeze programs,’’ said AARP Tennessee State Director Rebecca Kelly. “That’s a real shame, because the older, poorer residents of our state need all the breaks they can get in these tough economic times.’’
The program is available for people 65 and older who own their principal residence and do not exceed the county income limit. That limit is based on the median income levels in counties for those 65 and over, with a base combined income level of $24,000.
The 2009 income limit for Blount County it’s $32,990. The state Comptroller’s Office calculates the income limit for each county annually using a formula outlined in state law. Limits in 2008 were $31,710 in Sevier County and $32,250 in Blount County. Income is verified annually.
The only situation in which the base tax amount changes is if improvements are made to the property, causing an increase in value, or if the homeowner decides to sell the residence.
Any county or municipality that has adopted the property tax freeze program can terminate it by adopting a resolution or ordinance. The program would actually terminate the following year.
For more information on Sevier County’s program, call 865-453-2767. More information on Blount County’s program is available by calling 865-273-5900.
More information is also available at the AARP-Tennessee website www.aarp.org/tn, and click on “Read the Latest Tennessee News’’ to see other participating counties’ deadlines and further information. More information also is available at the state Comptroller’s website, http://www.tn.gov/comptroller/pa/taxfreeze.htm#. Be sure to read the FAQs included as a link on the site.