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Online Resources

 * 1862-1874 at FamilySearch. Images only.

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
Many tax assessment books of Missouri counties have been preserved. The original records are generally at the office of the clerk of county court.

State Level
The Missouri Historical Society has some original tax records; others can be found in the  Western Historical Manuscript collection at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The Missouri State Archives has microfilmed some tax records for quite a few counties. A researcher can determine which county records exist by first searching the Archives Local Records Inventory Database at www.sos.mo.gov/CountyInventory and then look at the Archives Roll-by-Roll Listing by County at www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/county/croll.asp to find out if the records are available on microfilm.

The Missouri State Archives has microfilmed some tax records for the counties of, Boone, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Chariton, Clay, Cooper. Franklin, Howard. Marion, Monroe, Montgomery, ST. Charles, St. Francois, and Ste. Genevieve.

The Missouri Historical Society Address: 225 S Skinker Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63105

Records & Archives State Archives Phone: (573) 751-3280 E-Mail: archref@
 * Missouri State Archives

Missouri Secretary of State's Office 600 West Main Street Jefferson City, Missouri 65101 Main Office: (573) 751-4936 info@


 * Missouri Digital Heritage.
 * County Records on Microfilm

Tax Laws
''Prior to 1850, purchasers of the federal lands in Missouri were exempt from land taxes for five years after purchase. If one finds an ancestor on a Missouri ta list with livestock, etc, but no land being taxed, the individual may have purchased land from the government within the preceding five years.''

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.


 * To learn more about this Collection click here


 * To learn more about the Civil War taxes click here