Beginning in 1782, landowners in Virginia were required to pay tax on land based on the acreage and value of the parcel.
Land tax records for each county and independent city from 1782 to 1979 are available for research at the Library of Virginia. Land taxes were not levied in 1808 and 1864.
Quitrents were a kind of land tax that the Crown originally imposed and was thereafter regulated by acts of Parliament. English land laws required landowners to pay to the Crown a quitrent of two shillings for every hundred acres of land. If a landowner failed to pay the quitrent for a specified number of years, the Crown had the right to take back the land and grant it or sell it to another person.
The county rent rolls, as they were called, kept in the office of the royal auditor general of the colony in Jamestown or Williamsburg, no longer exist. Some copies can still be found in the locality's records. Some documents recording the number of landowners and the total amount of quitrents for each of the counties can also be found in the records of the colonial governors and of the royal auditors general of Virginia; frequently, the Virginia Colonial Records Project microfilmed these types of documents. The originals are still held at the UK National Archives.
Land tax records between 1782 and 1927 are available on microfilm. This microfilm may be viewed at the Library of Virginia. Most microfilm reels may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.
Land tax records for Virginia counties that now are part of Kentucky (availability varies by county) and West Virginia (1782-1900) are also available on microfilm.
Land tax records from 1928 to 1979 are stored off-site and must be requested in advance to view. Please contact Archives Reference Services for more information or to place a transfer request.
The Library holds some land tax records from 1980 to 1996. Please contact Archives Reference Services regarding their availability.
The most recent tax lists may be available from the Commissioner of Revenue in the county or city of interest.
FamilySearch.org is digitizing and making available many land tax lists. The dates of available records vary greatly by county or city.
The most frequent use of land tax records is for the information recorded: name of the property owner, quantity of land owned, location of land, amount of tax imposed, or changes in ownership. Land tax records may reveal the status of property owners and families within communites. Compared over time, records may also shed light on changes in social, economic, and agricultural conditions.
For genealogical researchers, land tax records may also:
Last updated October 2024