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.
Florida Tax Records
Listed below are links to tax records that are available for free online for the state:
- Baker County, Tax Books, 1877-1895
- Benton County, Tax Records
- Calhoun County, List of Land Sold for Taxes, 1893-1913
- Florida Early Auto Registrations, 1905-1917
- Florida Taxation
- Florida, Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1865-1866
- Gadsden County, Land Sold for Taxes, V. 1, 3; 1874-1922
- Jackson County, 1826 Tax digest
- Jackson County, Record of Land Sold for Taxes, V. 1, 1872-1886
- Jefferson County Freedmen’s Contracts
- Jefferson County, Tax Deeds, 1888-1935
- Jefferson County, List of Lands Sold for Taxes, 1897-1923
- Jefferson County, Record of Land Sold for Taxes, 1861-1894
- Levy County, Record Tax Deeds, 1876-1883; and Tax Deed Book A, 1879-1890
- Nassau County, Tax Books, 1879-1885
- Orange County, 1857 Tax Roll
- Pinellas County, Records
- United States Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1862-1875
- West Florida, 1821 Census Index (Tax Lists)
- West Florida, 1823 Census Index (Tax Lists)
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!