LGBTQ Advisor Match

Tennessee LGBTQ+ Financial Planning Guide 2026

This guide covers financial planning issues specific to LGBTQ+ households in Tennessee — the June 26, 2015 marriage equality date and its Social Security clock implications, Tennessee's exceptional tax environment (no state income tax since 2021, no state estate or inheritance tax), TennCare's non-expansion and the healthcare coverage gap for low-income LGBTQ+ adults, the complete absence of statewide domestic partner recognition, the SB1 gender-affirming care restrictions and what they mean for financial planning, and the Nashville and Memphis-specific employment contexts. Not legal or tax advice — your specific situation requires qualified professionals.

Tennessee presents a striking financial planning paradox for LGBTQ+ households. On the tax side, it is one of the most favorable states in the country: zero state income tax since January 2021, no state estate tax, no state inheritance tax, and relatively low property taxes. Nashville has transformed into a major city drawing high-income migrants from California, New York, and Illinois precisely for these advantages — and its LGBTQ+ community is large, visible, and professionally organized, with major employers offering strong LGBTQ+-inclusive benefits. And yet Tennessee has among the most restrictive state-level LGBTQ+ legal environments in the South: no statewide non-discrimination protections, no domestic partnership recognition, no paid family leave, a gender-affirming care ban for minors upheld by the Supreme Court in 2025, and a Medicaid program (TennCare) that has not expanded under the ACA — leaving many low-income LGBTQ+ adults in a coverage gap with no path to insurance.

The planning picture is therefore highly status-dependent. For married same-sex couples with solid incomes and strong employer benefits, Tennessee's tax advantages are real and meaningful. For domestic partners without legal marriage, the gaps compound: no state-level protections, no Medicaid CSRA, no PFML, and the same federal-law gaps that apply everywhere. For LGBTQ+ individuals with lower incomes or healthcare needs not covered by employer insurance, TennCare's non-expansion creates genuine financial exposure that requires deliberate planning before it becomes a crisis.

1. June 26, 2015: TN Marriage Equality and the Social Security Clock

Tennessee's marriage equality date

Tennessee same-sex couples could not legally marry in Tennessee until June 26, 2015 — the date the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. Unlike states in the 4th Circuit (Virginia, North Carolina) that saw marriage equality arrive in October 2014 when the Supreme Court denied certiorari, Tennessee is in the 6th Circuit. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals had actually upheld same-sex marriage bans in November 2014 — the opposite result from the 4th Circuit — and the Supreme Court took Obergefell specifically to resolve that circuit split. Same-sex couples in Tennessee who married on June 26, 2015 or later have that date as their legal marriage date for Social Security purposes. This is one of the later marriage equality dates among states with large LGBTQ+ communities.1

What the June 26, 2015 date means for Social Security

Social Security spousal and survivor benefits have two key marriage-length thresholds:

The divorced-spouse SS window is now open for TN couples. If you and your partner married in Tennessee on or after June 26, 2015, and your marriage lasted 10 years or more before divorce, you may now qualify for divorced-spouse Social Security benefits — worth up to 50% of your ex-spouse's Primary Insurance Amount at your Full Retirement Age. The 10-year clock was satisfied as of June 26, 2025. Contact your local SSA office to confirm your marriage date on record and model your benefit using our Same-Sex Couple Social Security Strategy Calculator.

No common law marriage in Tennessee

Tennessee abolished common law marriage within the state in 1858. Tennessee courts do not recognize common law marriages established within Tennessee regardless of the length of cohabitation. This is a critical distinction from states like Texas and Colorado, where same-sex couples can potentially establish a common law marriage predating formal marriage equality — pushing the Social Security clock back to reflect years of actual cohabitation. No such option exists in Tennessee. If you and your partner were together for 25 years before June 26, 2015, your legal Tennessee marriage date is still June 26, 2015 for Social Security purposes.1

Couples who married in another state before 2015

If you and your partner legally married in a marriage-equality state before Tennessee's June 26, 2015 date — for example, Massachusetts (from May 17, 2004), Iowa (from April 3, 2009), New York (from July 24, 2011), California (during the 2008 window), or any other state with an earlier equality date — your SSA marriage date may reflect the earlier out-of-state ceremony, not June 2015. Contact your local SSA office to confirm which date is recorded on your account. An earlier SSA marriage date can push the divorced-spouse 10-year clock back and increase lifetime spousal and survivor benefits significantly.

2. Legal Landscape: SB1, No Statewide Non-Discrimination Law, Nashville and Memphis City Environment

No statewide LGBTQ+ non-discrimination law

Tennessee has no statewide statute prohibiting employment, housing, or public accommodations discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ+ Tennesseans rely on federal Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) for employment discrimination protection — which covers Title VII employers with 15 or more employees — and on local ordinances in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and other cities for additional protections. Outside covered cities and above the 15-employee threshold, state law provides no explicit recourse.2

Tennessee has passed several statutes in recent years that LGBTQ+ households should understand for financial planning purposes:

Nashville LGBTQ+ community and employer environment

Nashville is one of the South's fastest-growing major metros and has an active LGBTQ+ community centered around areas like the Gulch, Midtown, and East Nashville. Major Nashville-area employers — including HCA Healthcare, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Bridgestone Americas, Asurion, and Deloitte — offer comprehensive LGBTQ+-inclusive benefits packages including domestic partner health coverage, adoption and surrogacy assistance, and caregiver leave. The Nashville Business Coalition on Health has pushed large employers toward more inclusive benefits even in the absence of state mandates. If you work for a large Nashville employer, check your HR documentation specifically for "domestic partner" and "chosen family" caregiving provisions — these may provide meaningful practical protections that state law does not.

Memphis context

Memphis has Tennessee's most economically diverse LGBTQ+ community, with significant concentration in Midtown. Memphis employers including FedEx, AutoZone, and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare have implemented LGBTQ+-inclusive benefits programs. Memphis is also notable for lower cost of living relative to Nashville, which reduces the financial threshold for homeownership and retirement savings — but also correlates with lower employer benefit coverage rates for smaller employers and contractors.

Gender-affirming care for adults in Tennessee

SB1 restricts gender-affirming care only for minors. Adults retain the right to access gender-affirming medical care in Tennessee. However:

3. No Tennessee Income Tax: The Relocation Advantage and Roth Conversion Math

Zero state income tax since January 2021

Tennessee has had no state income tax on wages, salaries, or investment income since January 1, 2021. The Hall Income Tax — which levied a 6% tax on dividends and interest — was phased out between 2016 and 2020 and eliminated entirely effective January 1, 2021. Tennessee became the second state in history (after Alaska) to fully eliminate a state income tax. There is no Tennessee income tax on wages, salaries, interest, dividends, capital gains, retirement distributions, Social Security benefits, or any other form of income. Tennessee cities and counties also impose no local income tax. A Nashville LGBTQ+ household earning $250,000 pays $0 in state income tax; the same household in California pays approximately $21,000 in state income tax.3

Roth conversion planning: the cleanest state for DP households

Tennessee's zero income tax makes it one of the most advantageous states for Roth conversions — and Roth conversion urgency is particularly high for domestic-partner households. When one partner in a domestic partnership dies, the surviving partner cannot use the inherited IRA spousal rollover that a legally married spouse can use (IRC §408(d)(3)(C)). Instead, the domestic partner faces the 10-year forced distribution rule, paying ordinary income tax on every dollar withdrawn over a 10-year period. Converting pre-tax IRA and 401(k) balances to Roth during the years before the first partner's death eliminates this future tax problem — and doing it in Tennessee means paying zero state income tax on the conversion. A $100,000 Roth conversion in Tennessee costs only federal income tax. The same conversion in California costs federal + 13.3% state income tax; in Oregon, federal + 9.9%; in New York, federal + up to 10.9%.

The calculation is straightforward: Tennessee domestic partner couples should prioritize Roth conversions at scale, particularly during low-income years (early retirement, gap years, pre-Social Security years) when federal brackets are lower. Use our Roth Conversion Planner to model the federal bracket fill and inherited IRA gap side by side. For Tennessee households, the state tax field is simply zero — making the math unusually clean.

The relocation case: Tennessee as a tax-efficiency destination

High-income LGBTQ+ households relocating from high-tax states — California, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota — achieve substantial annual tax savings by moving to Tennessee. At $400,000 in annual income, the savings versus California are approximately $35,000/year in avoided state income tax. At $600,000, the savings approach $55,000/year. For domestic-partner households who plan to do significant Roth conversions, the no-income-tax advantage multiplies: every dollar converted in Tennessee escapes state income tax that would apply in their origin state. Pre-move planning with a fee-only advisor should include TN residency establishment timing (particularly for California movers, where the FTB requires clear income-tax-year domicile change), equity compensation vest/exercise timing, and the one-time vs. recurring tax comparison.

Relocation without losing protections. If you're relocating from California (RDP with state community property rights and CSRA) or Washington (registered DP with community property) to Tennessee, you lose your state-level DP protections at the Tennessee border. The federal CSRA gap, zero state Medicaid spousal protection, no state PFML, and no community property basis step-up all apply in Tennessee even if you had full protections in your prior state. Relocate your legal documents as well as your address — update wills, trusts, and POAs to be valid under Tennessee law before moving. See our LGBTQ+ Interstate Relocation guide.

4. No Tennessee Estate or Inheritance Tax: The Planning Advantage

Tennessee repealed both its estate tax and inheritance tax

Tennessee repealed its inheritance (estate) tax effective January 1, 2016. No Tennessee state estate tax applies to deaths occurring in 2016 or later. There is also no Tennessee gift tax. This means that for LGBTQ+ households in Tennessee, the only estate and gift tax exposure is federal — and at the OBBBA-permanent $15 million per-person exemption, the vast majority of Tennessee households have zero estate tax exposure at the federal level either.4

The contrast with neighboring and regional states is significant:

For LGBTQ+ households comparing Southeast relocation options, Tennessee's estate tax picture (combined with zero income tax) is among the most favorable in the US.

Federal planning for Tennessee households

For most Tennessee LGBTQ+ households, the estate planning priorities are not about avoiding estate tax — they are about ensuring assets actually reach the intended beneficiary, since domestic partners have no intestacy rights in Tennessee. The estate planning tools matter for asset transfer, not for tax minimization:

5. Domestic Partners in TN: No Statewide Registry

Binary legal structure: marriage or no recognition

Tennessee has no statewide domestic partnership registry. No intermediate legal status exists for unmarried couples under Tennessee state law. Unlike California (registered domestic partnership with near-marriage-equivalent rights) or Nevada (community property for registered DPs), Tennessee is completely binary: legally married or completely unrecognized. Every financial protection that flows automatically to a married spouse in Tennessee — inheritance under intestacy law, medical decision-making authority, financial power of attorney rights, tenancy by the entireties (a creditor-protection tool for married couples), Medicaid CSRA — must be established through deliberate legal documentation for domestic partner couples.5

The five-document estate plan for Tennessee domestic partners

For unmarried Tennessee LGBTQ+ couples, these documents are the non-negotiable minimum:

  1. Will — Tennessee intestacy law (T.C.A. § 31-2-104) provides nothing to an unmarried partner. Without a will, assets pass to blood relatives under a statutory scheme that does not account for chosen family or long-term partners. A will directs assets to your partner and named beneficiaries and appoints them as executor.
  2. Revocable living trust — avoids Tennessee probate (which is a public process) and holds title to real property and financial accounts outside the probate process. Particularly important for Tennessee couples since there is no automatic right of survivorship for unmarried partners beyond JTWROS titling.
  3. Durable financial power of attorney — authorizes your partner to manage your finances during incapacity. Without this, your partner has no legal authority over your bank accounts, bills, or investments while you are alive but unable to act. Tennessee's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (T.C.A. § 34-6-109) allows a durable POA — confirm the document is signed per Tennessee execution requirements.
  4. Healthcare power of attorney / advance directive — designates your partner as your medical decision-maker. Tennessee's Healthcare Decisions Act (T.C.A. § 68-11-1806) provides a statutory surrogate hierarchy for patients without a POA — this hierarchy prioritizes legally married spouses and blood relatives, not domestic partners. Without a properly executed healthcare POA, your partner may have no authority in a medical emergency.
  5. HIPAA authorization — authorizes medical providers to share your health information with your partner. Without this, a hospital may decline to discuss your condition with anyone not legally designated, including a partner of 30 years.

See our LGBTQ+ Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Proxy guide for the complete framework and multi-state recognition issues.

Homestead exemption: marriage matters here too

Tennessee's creditor-protection homestead exemption under T.C.A. § 26-2-301 is $5,000 for an individual homeowner and $7,500 for a joint owner or head of family. This is extraordinarily low by national standards — compare Arizona's $437,600 automatic homestead exemption or Florida's unlimited homestead protection. In Tennessee, a $400,000 home with a $300,000 mortgage carries $100,000 in equity, of which only $5,000 ($7,500 married joint) is protected from most creditor claims. Tennessee married couples can also title real property as tenancy by the entireties — a creditor-protection tool that prevents either spouse's individual creditors from reaching the jointly owned property. Domestic partners cannot use tenancy by the entireties in Tennessee; they must rely on joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS) or individual ownership, with only $5,000 in creditor protection per individual.5

6. Healthcare: TennCare Non-Expansion, Coverage Gap, ACA Cliff, Gender-Affirming Care

Tennessee did not expand Medicaid under the ACA

TennCare — Tennessee's Medicaid program — has not expanded under the Affordable Care Act. Eligibility for TennCare is categorical: you must fit into a specific demographic category (children, pregnant women, adults caring for dependent children under 19, elderly or disabled adults) AND meet strict income limits. Non-disabled adults without dependent children generally cannot qualify for TennCare regardless of income level. This is a fundamental difference from states that expanded Medicaid to cover all adults with incomes up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (approximately $20,783 for a single adult in 2026).6

The coverage gap: the most serious LGBTQ+ financial planning risk in Tennessee

Tennessee's non-expansion creates a healthcare coverage gap with significant financial consequences for LGBTQ+ residents. The gap works like this:

This gap particularly affects:

The financial planning response: if your income may fall below 100% FPL in any year you live in Tennessee, plan for it explicitly. Emergency fund reserves, COBRA coverage from prior employer coverage, and healthcare sharing ministry coverage (a lower-quality but available option) must be sized for the possibility of an uninsured period. Maintaining ACA marketplace income above 100% FPL through Roth conversions or other income sources may be worth the cost to preserve subsidy eligibility.

ACA marketplace: the 400% FPL cliff is back in 2026

Enhanced ACA premium tax credits that ran from 2021–2025 expired and were not extended by OBBBA. In 2026, the 400% FPL income cliff has returned: individuals with income above $62,600 (single, 2026 estimate) lose all premium tax credits and pay full market-rate premiums on ACA marketplace plans. For domestic partner couples, the household-of-one structure creates a planning difference:

For DP couples where both partners have moderate incomes between $20,000–$60,000, the household-of-one structure can preserve ACA subsidy eligibility that a married couple would lose. This is one of the narrow financial planning advantages of domestic partnership status. Use our Marriage vs. DP Calculator to see whether marriage or DP status produces lower combined taxes and healthcare costs in your specific situation.

7. No PFML: The Federal FMLA Gap for Domestic Partners

Tennessee has no state paid family or medical leave

Tennessee has no statewide paid family or medical leave law for public or private sector employers. Workers in Tennessee rely entirely on federal FMLA for job-protected leave. Federal FMLA (29 U.S.C. § 2611) defines "spouse" as a legally married spouse — domestic partners are not covered. A Tennessee domestic partner who takes leave to care for a seriously ill partner has no federal or state job protection and risks job loss without an employer policy that goes beyond federal law minimums.

The financial planning response for Tennessee domestic partner households:

  1. Emergency fund: 6–9 months of household expenses — larger than the 3–6 months often recommended for married couples with federal FMLA protection — to cover income loss from an unprotected caregiving absence.
  2. Employer policy review: Large Nashville-area employers — HCA Healthcare, Vanderbilt, Bridgestone, Deloitte, Amazon — often have domestic partner caregiver leave policies beyond federal minimums. Review your HR documentation specifically for "domestic partner" or "chosen family" caregiving leave before assuming FMLA is your only protection.
  3. Disability insurance: Individual own-occupation disability coverage provides income replacement if the insured partner becomes disabled, not the same as caregiver leave but essential to the household income plan. See our LGBTQ+ Disability Insurance guide for DP-specific sizing.
  4. Life insurance: Sized to replace the lost income stream if one partner dies, accounting for the Social Security survivor benefit gap (DPs receive $0 in SS survivor benefits). See our LGBTQ+ Life Insurance Needs Calculator.

8. Medicaid Long-Term Care: The CSRA Gap for Domestic Partners

The spousal impoverishment gap

When a married individual enters a Medicaid-funded nursing facility, federal spousal impoverishment rules protect the healthy community spouse from complete asset spend-down. Tennessee's 2026 Medicaid CSRA is $162,660 in countable assets — the community spouse retains up to this amount while the institutional spouse spends down their share to Medicaid eligibility. The monthly income protection for the community spouse is $2,643.75/month (MMMNA) as of 2026. These protections extend to legally married same-sex spouses in Tennessee.8

For domestic partners, this protection does not exist. Each partner is treated as a single individual for Medicaid long-term care purposes. If the sick partner has more than $2,000 in countable assets, they must spend down to $2,000 before qualifying for TennCare nursing home coverage. The healthy partner's individually titled assets are generally not counted — but jointly held assets create exposure. The gap: $162,660 (married CSRA) vs. $2,000 (DP individual limit) = $160,660 in unprotected assets for an otherwise comparable couple.

The TennCare non-expansion adds a compounding wrinkle: unlike states that expanded Medicaid (where low-income adults can access Medicaid for pre-institutional care), Tennessee domestic partner couples with lower incomes may have no Medicaid access at all until nursing home level of care. This makes both LTC insurance and clear asset titling more important for Tennessee DP households.

Mitigation strategies for Tennessee domestic partner households:

9. Nashville Music and Healthcare, Memphis Context, and Tennessee-Specific Planning

Nashville: music, healthcare, and the no-income-tax dividend

Nashville's "Music City" identity comes with significant entertainment and music industry employment — major labels (Sony Music Nashville, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Nashville), music publishers, artists and contractors, venue and production companies. LGBTQ+ Tennesseans in the creative economy often have income patterns that are lumpy, intermittent, or contract-based rather than W-2. This creates specific financial planning considerations:

Nashville healthcare sector

HCA Healthcare — headquartered in Nashville — is the largest for-profit hospital system in the US. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is one of the South's major academic medical centers. This concentration means a significant share of Nashville LGBTQ+ professionals work in healthcare, with generally stronger LGBTQ+-inclusive benefits than the statewide average. Notably, Vanderbilt has LGBTQ+ clinical programs and has navigated the tension between state SB1 restrictions and its own patient care mission. Healthcare employees with employer-sponsored coverage are partially insulated from the TennCare non-expansion gap — but the PFML gap and Medicaid CSRA gap for domestic partners apply equally regardless of employer.

Memphis: FedEx, AutoZone, and the DP imputed income cost

Memphis is home to FedEx World Headquarters, AutoZone, and a significant number of distribution and logistics employers. Many offer domestic partner health coverage, creating an imputed income cost for tax purposes. An unmarried domestic partner covered under your employer health plan generates imputed income — the fair market value of the employer's contribution is added to your W-2 as taxable income (IRC §§ 106, 132) unless the partner qualifies as a tax dependent. With zero Tennessee income tax, this imputed income is taxed only at federal rates — lower than in California (adds 13.3% state rate) or Oregon (adds 9.9%). But the federal FICA impact (6.2% SS + 1.45% Medicare on imputed income) and additional Medicare tax at $200,000+ remain. Use our DP Imputed Income Calculator to quantify your exact annual cost in Tennessee.

Get matched with a Tennessee LGBTQ+ financial advisor

Tennessee's financial planning picture for LGBTQ+ households reflects the state's distinctive profile: exceptional tax advantages (zero state income tax, no estate or inheritance tax, no capital gains tax) that benefit high-earning households and Roth-converting domestic partners — combined with a legal environment that offers no statewide LGBTQ+ non-discrimination protection, no domestic partnership recognition, no paid family leave, and a Medicaid program that does not cover many low-income adults, including LGBTQ+ individuals without dependent children. The June 26, 2015 marriage equality date means the 10-year divorced-spouse SS clock was satisfied in June 2025 — if you divorced after that date and your marriage lasted 10 years, you may now qualify for benefits worth modeling. We match you with fee-only advisors who specialize in LGBTQ+ financial planning in Tennessee.

Sources

  1. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) — same-sex marriage became legal nationwide June 26, 2015; Tennessee couples could not legally marry before this date (6th Circuit had upheld TN's ban in November 2014 in DeBoer v. Snyder). Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-3-101 — abolished common law marriage in Tennessee (effective 1858; no common law marriage can be established within the state). SSA policy on same-sex marriage recognition — ssa.gov/people/same-sexcouples/. SS divorced-spouse 10-year requirement: 20 C.F.R. § 404.331.
  2. Tennessee SB1 (2023), enacted March 2023, effective July 1, 2023 — prohibition on gender-affirming care for minors; upheld in U.S. v. Skrmetti, No. 23-477 (S. Ct. June 18, 2025). No Tennessee statewide LGBTQ+ non-discrimination statute as of 2026; Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020) — Title VII prohibits sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination for employers with 15+ employees. Movement Advancement Project, "Tennessee" — lgbtmap.org. HRC, "Tennessee" — hrc.org. ACA Section 1557 vacated November 2025 (Neese v. Becerra).
  3. Hall Income Tax repealed for tax years beginning January 1, 2021 — Tennessee Department of Revenue, "Hall Income Tax (Repealed)" — tn.gov. No local income tax in Tennessee cities or counties. Tennessee Department of Revenue, income tax information — tn.gov.
  4. Tennessee inheritance tax repealed effective January 1, 2016 (T.C.A. § 67-8-202 repealed; graduated phase-out enacted 2012, completed 2016). No Tennessee estate tax or gift tax as of 2026. Nolo, "Tennessee Inheritance Tax: Repealed" — nolo.com. OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, July 2025) permanently raised federal estate/gift/GST exemption to $15M per person; IRC §2056 (unlimited marital deduction for legally married same-sex couples post-Obergefell, not for domestic partners).
  5. Tennessee intestacy law, T.C.A. § 31-2-104 — provides nothing to unmarried partners; T.C.A. § 34-6-109 (Tennessee Uniform Power of Attorney Act, durable by default if properly executed); T.C.A. § 68-11-1806 (Tennessee Healthcare Decisions Act); homestead creditor exemption T.C.A. § 26-2-301 ($5,000 individual / $7,500 joint); tenancy by the entireties available for married couples under Tennessee common law and statute — does not apply to domestic partners. Movement Advancement Project, "Tennessee" — lgbtmap.org.
  6. TennCare eligibility — Tennessee has not expanded Medicaid under the ACA; non-disabled adults without dependent children are generally ineligible for TennCare regardless of income. CMS, "Medicaid Expansion" — medicaid.gov. ACA §1401 premium tax credits require household income at or above 100% FPL; 400% FPL cliff reinstated 2026 (enhanced PTCs from ARPA 2021–2025 expired; not extended by OBBBA). KFF, "Status of Medicaid Expansion" — kff.org.
  7. Federal FMLA, 29 U.S.C. § 2611 — "spouse" defined as legal marriage, does not include domestic partners; no Tennessee statewide paid family or medical leave law as of 2026. DOL, "Family and Medical Leave Act" — dol.gov.
  8. TennCare Medicaid CSRA 2026 = $162,660 (federal maximum per CMS spousal impoverishment update); MMMNA $2,643.75/month; individual Medicaid asset limit $2,000 for single applicants. CMS, "Medicaid Spousal Impoverishment" — cms.gov. MedicaidPlanningAssistance.org, "Tennessee Medicaid Eligibility 2026" — medicaidplanningassistance.org.

Values verified as of September 2026. Tennessee: no state income tax since January 1, 2021 (Hall Tax repealed); no state estate or inheritance tax (inheritance tax repealed January 1, 2016); no state gift tax. Same-sex marriage legal in Tennessee June 26, 2015 (Obergefell v. Hodges); divorced-spouse SS 10-year clock satisfied June 26, 2025 for day-1 TN couples. No common law marriage in Tennessee. TennCare has not expanded under the ACA. Federal values: $15M OBBBA estate exemption (July 2025, permanent); $19,000 annual gift exclusion; IRMAA $109,000 single/$218,000 MFJ per CMS 2026; Medicaid CSRA $162,660 per CMS 2026; 401(k) deferral limit $24,500; HSA limits $4,400 individual/$8,750 family; FSA $3,400 per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. ACA 400% FPL cliff: ~$62,600 single / ~$84,120 two-person (2026).

Tennessee LGBTQ+ Financial Planning Checklist

For married same-sex couples in Tennessee

For domestic partner couples in Tennessee

For LGBTQ+ Tennesseans with lower incomes or healthcare access concerns

For transgender Tennesseans