Wilson County Property Tax Freeze for Seniors: Income Limits and How to Apply

The Wilson County property tax freeze for seniors locks your annual property tax bill at a fixed dollar amount so it stops rising with rate hikes or reappraisals. You qualify if you are 65 or older, own and live in the home as your principal residence, and your total household income is at or below the county’s annual limit, which is $63,470 for the 2026 tax year. Once the Trustee’s office approves you, you pay the lesser of your frozen base tax or the actual tax due that year.

Who Qualifies

Tennessee’s Property Tax Freeze Act sets the eligibility rules, and Wilson County applies them as written. Three requirements have to be met:

You must turn 65 by December 31 of the tax year you’re applying for.¹
You must hold legal title to the property and use it as your principal residence through the application deadline.²
Combined household income from all sources cannot exceed $63,470 for the 2026 tax year.

Only one property per person qualifies, and the applicant has to confirm under oath that the home is their principal residence for voting purposes.³ The county income limit is recalculated every year by the Comptroller’s office using the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment.⁴ Wilson County adopted the higher local option limit first available in 2024, which is why the current ceiling is more generous than the standard formula produces.

How the Income Test Actually Works

The income limit catches more applicants than any other requirement. The statute counts income from everyone with an ownership interest in the property, not just the applicant. You combine your income, your spouse’s income, and the income of any other person who holds title and lived in the home at any point during the year.² If your adult child is on the deed and lives with you, their earnings count.

“Income from all sources” is defined broadly. It includes Social Security (after the Medicare deduction), pensions and retirement benefits (after health insurance premiums), veterans’ benefits, workers’ compensation, unemployment, wages, alimony, interest, and dividends. Business, farm, and rental income count only on a net basis after expenses. Excluded: proceeds from selling your principal residence, AFDC, child support, food stamps, and VA aid-and-attendance payments.³

Social Security, railroad retirement, or VA benefits paid directly to a nursing home for care also do not count.³ If you filed a federal return, start with your adjusted gross income and add back the non-taxable sources listed above.

What “Frozen” Means in Dollars

Your base tax is the tax you owe in the first year you qualify and are approved. From then on, you pay whichever is lower: the actual tax due or your base tax.² If the county raises its rate or a reappraisal pushes your assessed value up, you still pay only the base tax.⁴

Two things change the base tax figure. First, physical improvements that raise your assessed value, such as adding a room or building a garage, trigger an upward adjustment proportional to the assessor’s valuation of the new work. Second, if the actual tax due drops below your base in any year, that lower figure becomes your new base going forward.² Routine maintenance, like a new roof or a kitchen refresh, usually does not change your assessed value and so does not affect your base tax.

How to Apply in Wilson County

Applications are filed with the Wilson County Trustee’s office at 228 East Main Street in Lebanon. You can deliver the application in person or mail it. The form is available at the Trustee’s office or by calling directly.⁵

Have these ready before you go:

Proof of age: a Tennessee driver’s license or birth certificate.
Proof of ownership: a copy of the recorded deed.
Income documentation for every owner: Social Security benefit statements (SSA-1099), 1099s for interest and dividends, pension statements, and a copy of your federal income tax return if you filed one. If you didn’t file, bring proof of each income source.

Tennessee counties that have adopted the freeze generally use an April 5 deadline, but call the Trustee’s office to confirm Wilson County’s exact date for the current tax year. Missing it means waiting a full year to reapply.⁵

You Have to Reapply Every Year

The freeze is not a one-time enrollment. Tennessee requires an application every year to keep it in place.⁴ Each year you confirm that you still own the home, still live there as your principal residence, and still fall below the current income limit. Ask the Trustee’s office whether a simplified renewal form applies to your situation or whether you need to submit a full application with documentation again.

If your income exceeds the limit in a given year, you lose the freeze for that year and pay the full tax. You can reapply the following year if your income drops back below the ceiling, with a recalculated base tax if approved.

When the Freeze Ends or Changes

Beyond the improvement and income scenarios above, several events alter or terminate your frozen status:

Selling the frozen property and buying another in a participating county: you can apply for a new freeze on the replacement home, with a base tax set from the new property’s tax in your qualifying year.⁴
Moving out: the freeze covers only your principal residence, so if you no longer live there, you no longer qualify.
Transferring ownership: removing your name from the deed ends the freeze unless a remaining owner independently qualifies.

The freeze does not transfer automatically to heirs or to a surviving spouse. A surviving spouse who holds title, meets the age requirement, and falls within the income limit has to apply in their own name through the standard process.

Freeze and Relief Are Different Programs

Wilson County participates in two senior property tax programs, and they’re easy to confuse. The freeze caps your annual bill at a fixed base amount. Tennessee’s separate Property Tax Relief program reimburses eligible homeowners for a portion of taxes already paid, is open to homeowners 65 and older, disabled homeowners, and disabled veterans, and uses different income thresholds and a different application process handled partly through the state.⁶

You can qualify for both at once. Relief reimburses a portion of the tax you actually pay, so if the freeze is holding your bill at a lower base, the reimbursement applies to that lower figure. Apply for each one separately through the Trustee’s office.

Adjusting Your Mortgage Escrow After Approval

If your property taxes are paid through a mortgage escrow account, the freeze can create a surplus. Your lender estimates your annual bill and collects a monthly share; when the freeze holds taxes below what the lender projected, the escrow account builds up extra funds.

Lenders run an annual escrow analysis, and a surplus usually results in a refund check or a reduction in your monthly payment. You don’t have to wait for the yearly review. Once your freeze is confirmed, send your mortgage servicer a copy of the tax bill showing the frozen amount and ask them to run an early escrow analysis so your monthly payment adjusts sooner. The servicer may keep a cushion of one to two months’ worth of payments, but the remainder should either come back to you or reduce what you pay each month.

1
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 67-5-705 – Property Tax Freeze Act
2
Tennessee General Assembly. Tennessee Code Annotated 67-5-705 – Property Tax Freeze Act
3
Tennessee Secretary of State. Tennessee Rules of the State Board of Equalization Chapter 0600-9 Property Tax Freeze Program
4
Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. Property Tax Freeze
5
Wilson County, TN. Wilson County Trustee
6
City of Mt. Juliet. Property Tax Relief