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Online Resources

 * 1865-1866 For Alabama: at FamilySearch.org. Images only.


 * 1901-1950 Poll Taxes: Family History Catalog

Why Use Tax Records
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
Poll tax records for many counties are generally kept in the probate clerk’s office. Poll taxes were imposed on all males of voting age, usually age 21. They generally were taken from the time the county was created. The lists are often organized by beat and then alphabetically by the first letter of the surname. Some of these records are on microfilm at the Family History Library.

State Level
Poll tax records contain the taxpayer’s name, the year the person registered, and sometimes his or her exact birth date. The records may also indicate whether the person transferred to or from another county. Military service information may be included, such as the person’s discharge number or year of death. If the taxpayer was female, both her maiden and married names may appear in the records.

Tax Laws
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.


 * To learn more about this Collection click here


 * To learn more about the Civil War taxes click here

During a session from November 1898-February 1899, the state legislature passed an act that created the office of the state tax commissioner. In 1907, the State Tax Commission was created under the State Board of Assessment; the commission's duties were absorbed in 1915 into the Alabama State Board of Equalization.

The State Tax Commission found new life with the passage of the General Revenue Act of 1919, which granted it additional authority to tax business activities, such as licensing fees for commercial shipping and motor vehicles. The role of the commission expanded with the Revenue Act of 1923, which directed commission officials to assess and tax the financial shares of domestic corporations.

Over the next decade, the State Tax Commission began to levy and collect taxes in numerous other areas. With the Revenue Act of 1935, the commission began collecting a graduated state income tax and the state centralized the commission's authority as an office of assessment and collection. This Act ultimately led to the dissolution of the State Tax Commission in 1939 and the creation of State Department of Revenue.