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County Motor Vehicle Privilege Tax — Waived for a 100% Disabled Veteran or a Former Prisoner of War

The county motor vehicle privilege tax — the wheel tax — is waived for a veteran with a 100 percent permanent total service-connected disability, and for a former prisoner of war. It is claimed from the county officer who collects the tax, not from the state.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The county motor vehicle privilege tax — the wheel tax — is waived for a veteran with a 100 percent permanent total service-connected disability, and for a former prisoner of war. It is claimed from the county officer who collects the tax, not from the state.

What it's worth: The county motor vehicle privilege tax waived — the amount is set by your county

  • The privilege tax is levied county by county, so there is no statewide figure to publish. The saving is whatever your county charges, every year the vehicle is registered.
  • The department describes verification of both routes by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • This is separate from the disabled veteran licence plate and from state registration fees; it is the county tax collected alongside registration.

Who is entitled to it

  • The exemption attaches to the veteran’s own status.
  • You hold a 100 percent permanent total service-connected disability.
  • Former prisoners of war are exempt in their own right.
  • Your home is in Tennessee.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: At registration or renewal
  1. 1Ask the county — usually the county clerk — rather than the state. The department’s instruction is to submit evidence of the disability to the officer in the county charged with collecting the tax.
  2. 2Take documentation verifying the status by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: a rating decision or benefit summary letter showing 100 percent permanent and total, or documentation of former prisoner of war status.
  3. 3If you were a prisoner of war, claim on that basis directly. It is a separate route in the statute and it does not require a disability rating.
  4. 4Ask whether the exemption carries forward or has to be re-evidenced each renewal, because that is administered county by county.
  5. 5Ask what the county tax actually was before the exemption. That is the number to expect to save each year, and it varies widely.
  6. 6Ask about the disabled veteran plate and the free disabled decal at the same visit; those are separate benefits with separate paperwork.
Form
Evidence of the disability or of prisoner of war status
File with
The officer in your county charged with collecting the motor vehicle privilege tax
At each renewal
Claimed again whenever the underlying licence or registration renews.
CorrectionA former prisoner of war does not need a 100 percent rating to claim this. The two routes stand independently in the section the department cites.
Known gapTenn. Code § 5-8-102 itself was not read this session — no official Tennessee host served us the statutory text — so what the section says about documentation and about the number of vehicles covered is unverified here.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.