Denmark Taxation

Background
The tax lists of Denmark were kept by the county government. Denmark had many different taxes including a head tax, taxes on marriages, taxes on land, occupational taxes, etc. Use them to determine when a person first appeared on a particular property and when he or she disappeared from the rolls. This can help you estimate birth and death dates. The earliest tax lists for Denmark date from 1559. However, they were first kept regularly from 1572 onward. Beginning in 1762, tax lists included all persons over 12 years of age. These lists, available only in Denmark, are like a census record listing the names and ages of each person over 12 years old in each parish.

When you are researching a period earlier than church records were recorded, tax lists may be a source available for research. Although tax lists do not list birth date information, you may be able to estimate the age of your ancestor from the time he or she first appears on the lists or when his or her name is dropped from the list.

Research use: These records cover gaps in church records. They verify existence of a person as an adult (helpful where death records are unavailable). Land records can be a useful linking source, sometimes listing two generations. If the property was a copyhold farm, the land records of the manor can, in many cases, yield information about the tenants as far back as the early 1700s.

Establishing relationships from tax lists is difficult. Tax lists generally only listed the men's names. In addition to names of tax payers and taxes paid, they may include: dates of deeds, residence, description of land and property, names of fathers and sometimes of other relatives; date and mode of land acquisitions (from a parent or grandparent, by dowry or partage). Some taxation records are indexed.

Location: Town and provincial archives.

Percentage in Family History Library: 95%.