Nevada Taxation

Online Resources

 * 1862-1874 U.S., Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1862-1874 at FamilySearch. Images only.
 * 1862-? Early Tax Lists for Nevada Territory Beginning 1862, index

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.

County Level
The county courthouse where the property was located is the best place to search for tax records. The tax assessment rolls are also at the same place. The assessment rolls are published annually in the local newspapers and should be on file where the newspapers are currently held, either the actual newspaper or the microfilm. University of Nevada Library at Reno 1664 N. Virginia Street MS 322 Reno, NV 89557 Phone: (775) 784-4636 The University of Nevada Library at Reno has tax records for the territorial period.

State Level

 * 1862-1866 Internal revenue assessment lists for Nevada Internal revenue assessment lists were created into divisions called Districts, each county is put into a district. County names are arranged alphabetically within the division and then within months. The following is a list of counties placed in which district.  (knowing the district and county your ancestor lived in will make searching this years taxes list a little faster) (once on page scroll down to district desired and click on camera to open)

U.S. Internal Revenue Assessment Lists. Three types of Reports: A=Annual; M=Monthly; S=Special Years and Reports may be different.

(All in one District but two rolls with different dates covered) DISTRICT 1: Churchhill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Humbolt, Lander, Lynn, Ormsby, Storey, Washoe

Tax records for Nevada begin in the 1860's. These records are especially helpful for locating miners or other citizens who didn't own land but were required to pay a poll tax. Division of Archives and Records, holds duplicate assessment rolls for all counties (1891'92), and Ormsby County's assessment rolls (1862'1950). (listed below)

Nevada State Library and Archives Address: 100 N Stewart St Carson City, NV 89701 Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5PM Phone: (775) 684-3360


 * 1862-1950 - The state library also has the Ormsby County tax records from 1862 to 1950 and the Lander County tax records from 1862 to 1971.
 * 1890-1891 - The Nevada State Library and Archives has tax records for 1890 and 1891.
 * Digital Collection at Nevada State Library and Archives



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.
 * To learn more about this Collection click here
 * To learn more about the Civil War taxes click here

What history has shown us is that while property taxes are locally levied, there is significant state involvement with the amount of tax local political subdivisions can levy, how property assessments are conducted, and what services local taxing subdivisions must provide for their residents. This comes at a cost to state taxpayers, because the state has obligations it must fund as well, with a limited amount of state tax dollars.