Delaware Taxation

Online Resources

 * 1726-1850 - Tax lists of Kent County, Delaware
 * 1862-1866 - Internal revenue assessment lists for Delaware, 1862-1866. Images only.
 * 1862-1874 - U.S., Internal Revenue Assessment Lists, 1862-1874 at FamilySearch.org. Images only
 * 1862-1918 - U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 for Delaware at Ancestry.com($)

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
Tax assessments in what is now Delaware were first taken in 1693. Family History Library film 441413 has the lists for that year for Kent, New Castle, and Sussex Counties; also a list for 1696 for New Castle County. Tax lists were taken sporadically until 1726, then annually thereafter. Lists for the following years are found in the Family History Catalog:

Kent County
 * 1726-1850

New Castle County
 * 1738-1852

Sussex County
 * 1767-1850

State Level
The original lists from the 1700s to about 1915 are preserved at the Delaware Public Archives.

Delaware Public Archives 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North Dover, DE 19901 (302) 744-5000 Web page: Delaware Archives

Published Lists and Indexes
The following published lists and indexes may be helpful in locating early residents of Delaware:


 * 1665-1697 - , Ronald Vern Jackson and Gary Ronald Teeples. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1977.
 * 1681- 1713 - , Bruce A. Bendler. Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1990.  This includes lists for: Kent County, rent rolls 1681-1688, tax lists 1693, quit rents 1701-1713; New Castle County, tax lists 1693; Sussex County, rent rolls 1681-1688, tax lists 1693, quit rents 1702-1713. The quit rent records often contain valuable genealogical information.
 * 1693 - , Bedminster, Pennsylvania: The Press, 1994. This book contains information for 1693 on the three Delaware counties as well as Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester Counties in Pennsylvania.
 * 1782 - , Harold B. Hancock. Wilmington, Delaware: Delaware Genealogical Society, 1973. The publication below by Nelson is more complete and more fully indexed.
 * 1782 - , Ralph D. Nelson. Wilmington, Delaware: Delaware Genealogical Society, 1994. Contains tax lists for 1782 for all the "hundreds" of Delaware and 1782 census for seven of the "hundreds." This has maps on pages 5-6 and a list of the "hundreds" on p. 4. There is a Soundex cross reference list (to surnames) at the end of the book.
 * 1790 - , Leon DeValinger, Jr. Reconstructed 1790 Census of Delaware. Washington, DC: National Genealogical Society, 1962. . This list was prepared from tax lists and is a useful census substitute.

Tax Laws
Delaware levied a tax on several classes of income in 1869, then abolished it in 1871.

Nearly all states collect an annual tax on personal income, based on one's salary and other forms of "taxable income." The vast majority of states have what is known as a progressive tax code, which is essentially a sliding scale based on income, which requires those over a certain threshold to pay the highest rate. Some states have a flat tax that applies to all taxpayers regardless of income. Income taxes are used for a number of state goods and services available to residents, such as public education, police protection, and assistance for low-income individuals. Not all states collect income tax, but typically make up for it in other ways.

There are two types of taxes: federal and state. U.S. citizens need to be sure that they comply with both sets of tax laws.[1]