The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is January 2025)
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Another type of genealogy record that provides tremendous value is tax records. Like city directories and voting registers, they provide information for us between federal censuses. They also can go back to colonial times.
Types of Taxes
- Income tax
- Federal direct tax
- Poll or head tax
- Real property, e.g., land
- Personal property, e.g., livestock, equipment, carriages, enslaved persons
- Other, such as special levies for roads, schools, etc.
Types of Information
- Date
- Residence address; property, license, or goods; value; tax amount; possibly profession, occupation, or trade
- Name of the taxpayer, usually white adult males
- Town/township/city, county, and state of residence
- Owner and/or renter of the property
- Number of white adult males in the home
- Type and value of property
- Livestock owned
- Personal property owned
- Amount of tax owed
- Profession, occupation, or trade
- Number of school-aged children
- Number of enslaved persons
Derivative information, such as birth date, death date, and date of marriage can often be estimated or determined from the presence or absence of a person in a tax list.
Good primers regarding the genealogical value of tax records and more details can be found in these articles:
- The Genealogical Benefits of Tax Records
- Using Poll Tax Records for Genealogy
- Genealogy 101: Tax Records
- Back to the Basics with Tax Records: Part 1
- Back to the Basics with Tax Records: Part 2
- Back to the Basics with Tax Records: Part 3
- United States Taxation
- The Value of Using US Tax Records in Genealogy Research
Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
California Tax Records
Listed below are links to tax records that are available for free online for the state:
- Alpine County Assessment Rolls, and Auditor’s Registers, 1864-1956
- Alpine County, Assessment Rolls, 1865-1901
- Alpine County, Certificates of Sale of Real Estate, 1873-1905: Sold for non-payment of State and County Taxes
- Alpine County, Delinquent Tax Lists, Delinquent Purchaser Lists, 1892-1936
- Alpine County, Delinquent Tax Roll, Alpine County, 1897-1942
- Alpine County, District Court Tax Warrants, etc., 1864-1869
- Alpine County, School, Tax, and Other Records, ca. 1865-1929
- Alpine County, Sheriff / Tax Collector Records, 1888-1985
- Alpine County, Sheriff’s Register of Actions, Alpine County, 1865-1877
- Alpine County, Sittings, Board of Equalization, 1878-1895
- Alpine County, Tax Assessment Lists and Assessor’s Reports, 1867-1919
- Alpine County, Tax Decrees, Sales, Suits, and Rolls for Delinquent Taxes, 1864-1937
- Alpine County, Tax Suits, 1868, 1870, Copy of Decree and Order of Sale
- Alpine County, Tax Suits, 1870-1872, Writ of Attachment, 1878, Tax Complaints, 1865- 1869 and 1878
- Alpine County, Writ of Attachment, 1868, Summonses, 1913, Abstracts of Judgment, 1918
- Amador County, Assessment Rolls, 1864
- Butte County, Indexes to Births, Assessor’s Records, pre-emption Claims, Deeds, and Probates, ca. 1850-1915
- Butte County, Tax Assessor’s Records, 1857
- Butte County, Military Rolls, 1886, 1895-1919
- California, Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1862-1866
- Fresno County, Assessment Rolls, 1872-1880
- Fresno County, Certificates of Sale or Redemption, 1922-1967
- Fresno County, Conveyance of Real Estate Sold for non-payment of State and County Taxes for the Years, 1888-1919, Index 1880-1905
- Fresno County, Sheriff’s Certificate of Sales of Real Estate, 1856-1920
- Lake County, Assessment Book, 1881
- Lake County, Land Records, 1867-1928
- Lake County, Military Roll, 1907
- Napa County, Tax Record Books by Road Districts, 1890-1896
- Napa County, Certificates of Delinquent Tax Sales (Napa County), 1897-1913
- Napa County, Certificates of Redemption of Real Estate Sold to the City of Napa, 1901-1954
- Napa County, Tax Assessment Records, 1884-1932; Inventory/Index of Books, 1884-1932
- Nevada County, Assessors Records, 1862-1879
- Nevada County, Certificates of Sheriff Sales of Real Estate, 1869-1929; Index, 1869-1921
- Nevada County, Nevada County State Tax Deeds, 1897-1936; Index, 1875-1913
- Nevada County, Nevada County, Tax Deeds, 1866-1916; Index, 1866-1911
- Placer County, Lincoln, Assessment Rolls, 1891-1919
- Sacramento City Map Books
- Sacramento County, Assessment Rolls, 1850-1900; Index, 1850-1900
- Sacramento County, Delinquent Tax List, 1853-1854, 1870
- Sacramento County, Poll Tax Roll, 1864-1914
- Sacramento County, Assessment Rolls, 1851-1875
- Sacramento, Assessment Rolls, 1850-1900
- Sacramento, City Assessor Map Books, 1851-1900
- San Diego, Taxpayers
- San Francisco County, Collateral Inheritance Tax Receipt Books, 1893-1921
- United States Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1862-1874
- Yuba County, Assessment Rolls, 1855-1921
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!