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Online Resources

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Why Use Tax Records
By studying several consecutive years of tax records you may determine when a young men came of age, when individuals moved in and out of a home, or when they died leaving heirs. Authorities determined wealth (real estate, or income) to be taxed. Taxes can be for polls, real and personal estate, or schools.

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.

Tax Laws
Abraham Lincoln instituted the income tax in 1862, and on July 1, 1862, Congress passed the Internal Revenue Act, creating the Bureau of Internal Revenue (later renamed to the Internal Revenue Service). This act was intended to “provide Internal Revenue to support the Government and to pay interest on the Public Debt.” Instituted in the height of the Civil War, the “Public Debt” at the time primarily consisted of war expenses. For the Southern States that were part of the Confederate side of the Civil War, once Union troops took over parts of the Southern States, income tax were instituted on them.


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Colonial Tax Records
Before the Revolutionary War, taxes were collected on the personal property of male residents aged 21 and older. Tithable lists, or lists of the taxable persons within each county, were created. Many of these tithable lists no longer exist, but some existing lists have been published in sources such as:


 * Woodson, Robert F., and Isobel B. Virginia Tithables from Burned Record Counties. . . . Richmond, Virginia: Isobel B. Woodson, 1970. (Family History Library book .) This is for 1768-1775.
 * Rental and quitrent lists identify individuals who owed taxes on lands held by a grant from a proprietor or from the Royal Governor. Only a few lists survive for this time period. The available quitrent lists for 1704 have been published in:
 * Smith, Annie Laurie Wright. The Quit Rents of Virginia: Richmond: Expert Letter Writing, 1957. (FHL book ; film .)

Published tax lists reprinted from three Virginia periodicals are in:


 * Virginia Tax Records: From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, The William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983. (Family History Library book .) These tax records include tithables, election, quitrent, poll, vestry, and personal property lists to 1783.

Tax Records Since 1782
Taxes on land and personal property were assessed beginning in 1782. These records identify white males over 21 years of age and include references to real estate holdings, personal property, slaveholdings, and inheritances.

The 1787 lists have been published as a substitute for the 1790 census (see the “Census” section) in:


 * Schreiner-Yantis, Netti and Florence Speakman Love, comps. The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Names of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years, the Number of White Males Between 16 &amp; 21 Years, the Number of Slaves Over 16 &amp; Those Under 16 Years . . . Three Volumes. Springfield, Virginia: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987. (Family History Library book ) The original tax records show neighbors who are often relatives.

Several lists from 1782 to 1787 have also been published in:


 * Fothergill, Augusta B. Virginia Taxpayers, 1782-1787. 1940. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1974. (Family History Library book .)

Several tax lists have also been printed to substitute for missing portions of the 1810 census. These are in:


 * Schreiner-Yantis, Netti. A Supplement to the 1810 Census of Virginia: Tax Lists of the Counties for Which the Census is Missing. Springfield, Virginia: Genealogical Books in Print, 1971. (Family History Library book .)

Online Resources

 * http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwehave/tax/index.htm