Indiana Taxation

Online Resources

 * 1856 - Delinquent Tax list for Miami Co., Indiana Delinqunt Tax list page 2 and 12
 * 1862-1874 - Images only.
 * 1862-1866 - Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for Indiana The records are arranged by district, and then alphabetically by the first letter of the surname. There are 11 collection districts in Indiana, they are listed below under the State level, along with what County is under which District.

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 lists are often used as substitutes for missing census records. In Indiana, few lists survive from before 1843 when a record called the Tax Duplicate was required to be kept. These records are maintained by the county treasurer. The records are arranged by taxing unit, usually by township, town or city, then grouped, generally, alphabetically by last name. The lists mention the person assessed for poll tax, the number of acres owned, the location of the land, the worth of chattels (property other than real estate), and the amount of the taxes. Some or all of these tax duplicates survive, but are usually in storage and are hard to access.

County Tax Lists. Some tax lists, from about 1843 to 1920, are on microfilm at the Family History Library. For example, the library has 57 rolls of Tippecanoe County tax records (1843–1876):
 * 1843-1876 Tax record, 1843-1876 The lists are arranged by township, by year, then by first letter of the surname. The lists mention the persons assessed for poll tax, the number of acres owned, the location of the land, the worth of chattels, and the amount of the taxes.

State Level
List of Districts that counties have been put into for Tax purposes.

District 1:   Davies, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Martin, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, Warrick District 2:   Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Orange, Perry, Scott, Washington District 3:   Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Jeferson, Jennings, Lawrence, Monroe, Switzerland District 4:   Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Ohio, Riply, Rush District 5:   Delaware, Fayette, Henry, Randolph, Union Wayne District 6:   Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, Shelby District 7:   Green Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermittion District 8:   Boone, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren District 9. Benton, Cass Fulton, Jasper, Lake La Porte, Marshall, Newton,Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, White District 10:  Allen, De Kalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Noble,Steuben District 11:  Adams Blackford Grant Hamilton, Howard, Huntington, Jay Matison,Tipson, Wabash, Wells

Printed Tax Lists. Some books have been published that include tax lists. For example:


 * Indiana Tax Lists by Jane Eaglesfield.  Two Volumes. N.p.: J.E.Darlington, 1990. (Family History Library book .) These volumes have tax lists from about 20 counties, from 1820 to the 1840s. See the FamilySearch Catalog description of this book for a listing of the counties. Each volume is indexed.  (Worldcat has other locations listed for this book besides the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Worldcat)

1886, 1890, and 1894 - Veterans Lists. County assessors used the tax lists of 1886, 1890, and 1894 to prepare lists of veterans. You can study the enrollment lists of those three years and see which veterans were on tax lists. There is a statewide index to the lists. See the War of 1812 portion of the Indiana Military Records for the Index to Indiana Enrollments of Soldiers, Their Widows and Orphans, 1886, 1890, and 1894. (short cut to page needed Indiana Muster, Pay and Receipt Rolls, War of 1812 once there, click on the vol. # in the small gold box to the right, there are 4 vols.)


 * 1861-1866 - Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for Indiana. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M765. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration, 1971. (Family History Library book 977.2 A1 no.24.) This describes the county, collection district number, and roll number of lists. It includes annual, monthly, and special lists.



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