Your Guide to Using Tax Lists for Genealogical Research

Tax lists can provide information as to your ancestor's residence and value of his (very rarely, her) property. They are often used in place of early census records that are no longer extant, but should be considered as a way to glean added information even if census records are available.

Books:

The Beginner's Guide to Using Tax Lists 1996 (find in a library)

Online articles about how to find and use tax lists

• Tax Lists and What To Do with Them
• Tax Records: Colonial Period, 1600 to 1775
• What's in a Tax List? Part I: Father-to-Son Relationships
• What's in a Tax List? Part II: Annual Censuses and Ancestral Migrations
• What's in a Tax List? Part III: Tracking German Surname Anglicizations
• BCG Skillbuilding: Tax Lists

Finding Tax Lists

The family History Library has filmed many tax lists. To see if they have been filmed for the area you are researching, do a place search in the Family History Library catalog. Look for the sub heading -- taxation to find if they have been filmed.

Many tax lists have been published, especially those that cover years for which no census survived. For an example, go to the Genealogical Publishing Co. website and search the key words tax lists. You may then be able to find a copy in a nearby library.

Google the phrase "tax lists" and a place name, e.g. "tax lists" Bedford ... see what you find. Some tax lists are available on the internet.