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State rules · Tennessee

Tennessee: estate, probate and Medicaid rules in one place

What applies in Tennessee, collected from the site’s state datasets: estate and inheritance tax, transfer-on-death deeds, small-estate procedure, Medicaid long-term-care rules, and state income tax on retirement income. Where the dataset holds a source, the entry links it with its effective marker and check date; where it does not, the entry shows its verification status and the reason.

Quick answers

Does Tennessee have a state estate tax?

State estate tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Tennessee, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Does Tennessee have an inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax: No. The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Tennessee, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

Can you use a transfer-on-death deed in Tennessee?

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate: None — not available for real property. No real-property TOD deed — 2025–26 URPTODA bill (HB 1793/SB 984) withdrawn; verify with the county register of deeds / an attorney

What is the Medicaid look-back period in Tennessee?

Look-back period: 60 months (TennCare Transfer of Assets and Penalty Periods manual; Dated January 5, 2026; divisor effective January 1, 2026).

Does Tennessee tax Social Security benefits?

Social Security benefits: No state individual income tax (www.tn.gov; tax year 2026).

State estate tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

State estate tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Tennessee, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: Tennessee estate and inheritance tax page

Inheritance tax

Estate-tax dataset 2026.v2

Inheritance tax
NoNo dataset row

The pinned estate-tax dataset (2026.v2) has no row for Tennessee, so it cites no state statute; the state page records no state estate or inheritance tax.

· Checked July 20, 2026

Full detail: Tennessee estate and inheritance tax page

Transfer-on-death deed

Transfer-on-death deed for real estate
None — not available for real propertyNot primary-verified

No real-property TOD deed — 2025–26 URPTODA bill (HB 1793/SB 984) withdrawn; verify with the county register of deeds / an attorney

· Checked July 26, 2026

Controlling statute
Not primary-verified

No real-property TOD deed — 2025–26 URPTODA bill (HB 1793/SB 984) withdrawn; verify with the county register of deeds / an attorney

· Checked July 26, 2026

Full detail: Tennessee transfer-on-death deed page

Small-estate procedure

Current rule
$50,000 probate estate; file affidavit after 45 days for limited lettersVerified

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-4-102(9) (2023 Pub. Ch. 297) · Effective: 2023 · Checked August 23, 2026

Full detail: Tennessee small-estate procedure page

Medicaid long-term-care eligibility

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Current institutional Medicaid income limit
$2,982 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: TennCare CHOICES eligibility limits · Effective: 2026 income and resource figures · Checked September 5, 2026

Current individual resource limit
$2,000Verified
  • Applies to: individual applicant.

Source: TennCare CHOICES eligibility limits · Effective: 2026 income and resource figures · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse resource allowance
$32,532 minimum to $162,660 maximumVerified
  • Applies to: one-half of combined countable resources, subject to hearing or court adjustment.

Source: TennCare Resource Assessment manual · Effective: Dated January 5, 2026; figures current January 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse minimum monthly maintenance-needs allowance
$2,705 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: CMS 2026 minimum maintenance-needs standards · Also: TennCare Post-Eligibility Treatment of Income manual · Effective: Minimum maintenance-needs amount effective July 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Community-spouse maximum monthly maintenance-needs allowance
$4,066.50 per monthVerified
  • Applies to: institutionalized applicant with a community spouse.

Source: CMS 2026 SSI and January spousal-impoverishment standards · Also: TennCare Post-Eligibility Treatment of Income manual · Effective: SSI, spousal-impoverishment maximum, and home-equity standards effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Home-equity limit
Not yet verified
  • Applies to: applicant subject to Tennessee's home-equity rule.

The reviewed primary material did not provide a current, effective-dated value or rule for this cell.

· Checked September 5, 2026 · Ask the state agency

Full detail: Tennessee Medicaid eligibility page

Medicaid look-back

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Look-back period
60 monthsVerified

Source: TennCare Transfer of Assets and Penalty Periods manual · Effective: Dated January 5, 2026; divisor effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Transfer-penalty divisor
$295.87 per day ($8,846.10 per month)Verified

Source: TennCare Transfer of Assets and Penalty Periods manual · Effective: Dated January 5, 2026; divisor effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

How the state administers the penalty
Uncompensated value is divided by the average daily nursing-facility cost. The penalty starts on the later applicable otherwise-eligible date, runs consecutively rather than concurrently with another penalty, does not stop once imposed, and includes partial days.Verified

Source: TennCare Transfer of Assets and Penalty Periods manual · Effective: Dated January 5, 2026; divisor effective January 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Tennessee Medicaid look-back page

Medicaid estate recovery

Medicaid dataset 2026.v16

Recovery scope
Probate-estate recovery covers nursing-facility and home-and-community-based services and related hospital and prescription-drug services received at age 55 or older, subject to the state plan's limits.Verified

Source: TennCare Medicaid Estate Recovery program · Also: Tennessee Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: Current service-rate marker June 1, 2026 · Checked September 5, 2026

Controlling authority
Tennessee Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-AVerified

Source: Tennessee Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: TN 24-0002 approved August 13, 2024; effective April 1, 2024 · Checked September 5, 2026

Exemptions and deferrals
Recovery is deferred while a surviving spouse lives and while there is a surviving child under 21 or blind or permanently and totally disabled. The plan also excludes claims of $10,000 or less as not cost-effective.Verified

Source: Tennessee Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: TN 24-0002 approved August 13, 2024; effective April 1, 2024 · Checked September 5, 2026

Hardship waiver
Hardship relief may protect a sole-income-producing family farm or business and qualifying caregiver siblings or children under the plan's stated conditions; an affected person may request a review of the finding.Verified

Source: Tennessee Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: TN 24-0002 approved August 13, 2024; effective April 1, 2024 · Checked September 5, 2026

Lien practice
Tennessee does not impose lifetime TEFRA liens; recovery proceeds as a third-priority claim against the probate estate.Verified

Source: Tennessee Medicaid State Plan Attachment 4.17-A · Effective: TN 24-0002 approved August 13, 2024; effective April 1, 2024 · Checked September 5, 2026

Full detail: Tennessee Medicaid estate-recovery page

State income tax on retirement income

Retirement-income tax dataset 2026.v4

Social Security benefits
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: www.tn.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Public pensions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: www.tn.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Private pensions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: www.tn.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

IRA and 401(k) distributions
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: www.tn.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Military retirement pay
No state individual income taxVerified
  • This jurisdiction has no broad-based state individual income tax; this is not a zero-dollar calculation.

Source: www.tn.gov · Effective: tax year 2026 · Checked June 20, 2026

Full detail: Retirement-income tax dataset, all states (JSON)

About this page

This page assembles entries from datasets the site already publishes; it adds no figure of its own. Entries marked “Not yet verified” or “Pending” have no primary-source value in the underlying dataset yet. Rules change, so confirm anything you plan to act on with the source, the state agency, or a licensed attorney.

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