Nashville homeowners who get Davidson County’s Tax Relief or Tax Freeze must send back a signed voucher before the April 5, 2027 deadline or risk losing the break. Metro Nashville says Tax Relief can be worth about $1,500 a year for an eligible older homeowner. The vouchers were mailed this fall with the property tax statements.
What the voucher is and where it arrives
Members of both programs get a voucher with the October property tax bill. Metro Nashville’s announcement says it must be completed, signed and returned to the Trustee’s Office. Paying the bill does not renew the break by itself.
The same announcement warns that older homeowners who do not return the voucher can lose the relief. It uses blunt language: “Losing that relief is just devastating.” It lists no separate penalty, because the lost benefit is the cost.
Anyone already enrolled in Tax Relief or Tax Freeze should look through the mail that came with the bill. People applying for the first time follow a different path, with a full application and supporting papers. The voucher is the yearly renewal for people already approved.
That matters for members who stopped opening Metro mail because nothing seemed to change from year to year. The voucher only works if it comes back signed. The announcement describes no reminder step, so the job falls to the homeowner.
Before mailing it, check the income line. The Trustee’s 2026 checklist sets the ceilings at $38,470 for Tax Relief and $63,470 for Tax Freeze. Both are based on 2025 income, counting everyone on the deed and their spouses.
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What counts as income
The checklist is broader than most homeowners expect. Besides Social Security, pensions and wages, it lists IRA withdrawals, rental income, CD rollover interest, unemployment benefits, lump-sum back payments and the sale of a second property or of stocks and bonds. A year with a one-time IRA withdrawal or a stock sale can push a household over a line that its monthly checks never would, so every item on that list belongs in the math before the voucher is signed.
The checklist also says an irrevocable trust owner is not eligible for either program, and that a living trust requires the section naming the grantor. Those rules are written for applicants, but they show how the Trustee’s office reads ownership and income when it reviews a file.
The easier path for members 80 and older
A new state law changed the yearly routine for the oldest members. Under Public Chapter 1063, Tax Relief members who are 80 or older and have received the relief for at least five years in a row no longer have to report income every year. They only certify on the voucher that income is still under the limit and that they still own and live in the home.
That is a shorter form, not a pass on signing it. The certification still has to come back before April 5, 2027. The announcement describes the shortcut for Tax Relief only, so a Tax Freeze member should read the voucher closely for what it asks.
Older Nashville homeowners who are not in either program yet are working from the same April 5, 2027 date, but with a longer list. The checklist says the application must be filed and the taxes paid in full by then. It asks for a driver’s license, a Medicare card and the 2025 federal tax return with every attachment, including Social Security and pension forms.
Someone who filed no 2025 return can bring the 2025 income documents and one month’s bank statement showing the Social Security deposit. Disabled applicants need an award letter from Social Security or the VA approved by Dec. 31, 2026. If the driver’s license shows a different address than the house, the office wants proof such as a 2026 car insurance statement or two 2026 utility bills from separate providers.
Funding for 2027 is not settled
One line in the announcement deserves a second read. It says the 2027 Tax Relief program has no dedicated state funding yet and that the state has not set aside money for the program year. Metro does not say what happens to the payments if the money never arrives.
The $1,500 figure belongs to Tax Relief. The announcement gives no dollar estimate for Tax Freeze, so a Tax Freeze member should read the savings off their own tax bill instead of assuming the same amount.
The Metropolitan Trustee’s office page lists Tax Relief specialists at 615-862-6140 and the main line at 615-862-6330, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office is in the Howard Office Building, 700 President Ronald Reagan Way, Suite 220. Mail goes to P.O. Box 196358, Nashville, TN 37219-6358.
Anyone who cannot find the voucher, or who is unsure whether a household member’s income changed in 2025, can call those numbers before returning it. A relative with power of attorney can handle the paperwork, and the checklist names the power of attorney document among the papers the office asks for.
Is the Tax Relief voucher signed and in the mail?
A voucher left in a pile of tax paperwork is how a Nashville homeowner loses a break worth about $1,500 a year, and the April 5, 2027 deadline is the same whether or not the bill was paid on time.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit explains the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and includes an application log and renewal calendar, so the voucher date is logged with every other yearly deadline on the house.
Get the Nashville voucher renewal calendar and relief kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
