Amends TCA Title 67, Chapter 5, Part 7.

The Property Tax Freeze Act provides the following:<br /> <br /> (1) In order to qualify for a property tax freeze under this Act, the applicant must be 65 years old by the end of the year in which the application is filed, and own and use the property as the applicant's principal residence for which the freeze is sought in the year of application or reapplication and through the deadline date for application or reapplication;<br /> <br /> (2) In addition to the qualifications in (1), the applicant's income, combined with the income of any other owners of the property, the income of the applicant's spouse and the income of any owner of a remainder or reversion in the property if the property constituted the person's legal residence at any time during the year, must not exceed the limit in (3). As used in this (2), "income" means the income from all sources as defined in program rules; and<br /> <br /> (3) The income limit for the property tax freeze program, subject to some cost-of-living adjustments for social security by the comptroller, must be the greater of the following:<br /> <br /> (A) The weighted average of the median household income for the age groups of 65-74 years of age, and 75 years of age or over, who reside within the county as determined in the most recent federal decennial census; or<br /> <br /> (B) The applicable state tax relief income limit of $24,000 or such other amount as set forth in the general appropriations act. <br /> <br /> This bill rewrites (3), such that the income limit for the property tax freeze program, subject to the cost-of-living adjustments for social security, must be the greater of the weighted average of the median household discussed in (A), the applicable state tax relief income limit discussed in (B), or the following:<br /> <br /> (C) $60,000, if approved by the local legislative body of the county or municipality by resolution or ordinance.<br /> <br /> This bill applies to tax years beginning on or after July 1, 2023.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 17, 2023, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 871 FOR HOUSE BILL 366, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 871, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 makes additional revisions to the present law pertaining to the Property Tax Freeze Act. Under the Act, the legislative body of any county or municipality may by resolution or ordinance adopt the property tax freeze program provided by the Act. The county or municipality may thereafter terminate the freeze program by resolution or ordinance. However, the resolution or ordinance terminating the program must not have the effect of terminating the program until the following tax year.<br /> <br /> This amendment adds that a municipality that is located in a county that has already adopted the tax freeze program must use the same income limit adopted by the county if the municipality also adopts the tax freeze program and the county has adopted the income limit set forth by the bill. This amendment requires that a municipality that adopts or has adopted the tax freeze program must use the income limit adopted by the county if the county trustee is accepting tax freeze applications on behalf of the municipality.<br />