Delaware Taxation

Online Resources

 * 1862-1874 - U.S., Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1862-1874 at FamilySearch.org. Images only
 * 1862-1866 - FamilySearch.org Click here if you want a more spacific time frame. Scroll down and look for the Camera to the right of the listing. Images only
 * 1862-1918 - U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 for Delaware Ancestry.com($)
 * Tax records from Family Search Catalog. Other Tax years at Family Search Catalog

Why Use Tax Records
Tax record content varies and may include the name and residence of the taxpayer, description of the real estate, name of original purchaser, description of personal property, number of males over 21, number of school children, slaves, and farm animals. Tax records usually are arranged by date and locality and are not normally indexed. Tax records can be used in place of missing land and census records to locate a person’s residence.

County Level
Tax assessments in what is now Delaware were first taken in 1693. Family History Library film 441413 has the lists for that year for Kent, New Castle, and Sussex Counties; also a list for 1696 for New Castle County. Tax lists were taken sporadically until 1726, then annually thereafter. Lists for the following years are found in the Family History Catalog:

Kent County


 * 1726-1850 Family History Catalog Kent County

New Castle County


 * 1738-1852 Family History Catalog New Castle County

Sussex County


 * 1767-1850 Family History Catalog Sussex County

State Level
The original lists from the 1700s to about 1915 are preserved at the Delaware Public Archives.

Delaware Public Archives 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North Dover, DE 19901 (302) 744-5000 Web page: Delaware Archives

Published Lists and Indexes
The following published lists and indexes may be helpful in locating early residents of Delaware:


 * 1681- 1713, Bruce A. Colonial Delaware Records, 1681- 1713. Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1990. (Family History Library .) This includes lists for: Kent County, rent rolls 1681-1688, tax lists 1693, quit rents 1701-1713; New Castle County, tax lists 1693; Sussex County, rent rolls 1681-1688, tax lists 1693, quit rents 1702-1713. The quit rent records often contain valuable genealogical information.
 * '1790' - DeValinger, Leon Jr. Reconstructed 1790 Census of Delaware. Washington, DC: National Genealogical Society, 1962. (Family History Library .) This list was prepared from tax lists and is a useful census substitute.
 * 1693 - The First Tax List for the Province of Pennsylvania and the Three Lower Counties, 1693. Bedminster, Pennsylvania: The Press, 1994. (Family History Library .) This book contains information for 1693 on the three Delaware counties as well as Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester Counties in Pennsylvania.
 * 1782 - Hancock, Harold B. The Reconstructed Delaware Census of 1782. Wilmington, Delaware: Delaware Genealogical Society, 1973. (Family History Library .) The publication below by Ralph Nelson is more complete and more fully indexed.
 * 1665-1697 - Jackson, Ronald Vern, and Gary Ronald Teeples. Early Delaware Census Records, 1665-1697. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1977. (Family History Library .) This early tax record index is also included in the Accelerated Indexing Systems (AIS) microfiche search 1, available at many Family History Centers in the United States and in the FamilyFinder Index and Viewer (FamilyFinder is a trademark of Brøderbund Software, Inc.)
 * 1782 - Nelson, Ralph D. Delaware 1782 Tax Assessment and Census. Wilmington, Delaware: Delaware Genealogical Society, 1994. (Family History Library .) Contains tax lists for 1782 for all the "hundreds" of Delaware and 1782 census for seven of the "hundreds." This has maps on pages 5-6 and a list of the "hundreds" on p. 4. There is a Soundex cross reference list (to surnames) at the end of the book.

Tax Laws
Delaware levied a tax on several classes of income in 1869, then abolished it in 1871.

Nearly all states collect an annual tax on personal income, based on one's salary and other forms of "taxable income." The vast majority of states have what is known as a progressive tax code, which is essentially a sliding scale based on income, which requires those over a certain threshold to pay the highest rate. Some states have a flat tax that applies to all taxpayers regardless of income. Income taxes are used for a number of state goods and services available to residents, such as public education, police protection, and assistance for low-income individuals. Not all states collect income tax, but typically make up for it in other ways.

Benjamin Franklin is famously quoted as having said that death and taxes are inevitable. At least death only happens once, though. Taxes, on the other hand, come in two varieties: federal and state. U.S. citizens need to be sure that they comply with both sets of tax laws.[1]