The information recorded in land tax records changed over time. Changes to the tax system are recorded in the Acts of Assembly. The following is an overview of some of the important changes to the land tax system.
1782 - Tax records include name of owner, amount of acreage, and the value of the parcel of land.
1786 - Alienation, alteration, or changes in ownership during the preceding year were recorded.
1810 - Tax reported in dollars and cents, instead of pounds, shillings, and pence.
1814 - The state required a brief description of the location of the land, the distance and directions from the courthouse, and alterations conducted during the preceding year. Some localities collected this information in earlier years.
1815 - Tax collectors included whether the land was owned or only held for life.
1820 - Column "Sum of land on account of buildings" included.
1845 - Land tax information was recorded in preprinted forms. This helped establish continuity across counties and across individual tax collectors.
1855 - Column "Tax collected for county purposes" included.
1872 - Column for "Public free school purposes" replaced the county tax column.
1875 - The "County and township purposes" column was added back along with the public school tax.
1877 - Lands and buildings used as churches, schools, charities, and those owned by the state, a county, a city, or a town, were exempt from land tax. Owners of these types of land could have previously petitioned the General Assembly for exemption status. See the Acts of the General Assembly for previous exemptions.
1891 - List for "White" landowners at the beginning of each district/ward of the county or city, followed by a list of "Colored" landowners. This racial division continued until 1975.
1958 - Land tax entries related to "Tribal Indians" were recorded in a separate list.
1975 - Legislation pertaining to the recording of separate tax lists by racial distinction was repealed.
Tax changes can be tracked through the Virginia Acts of Assembly.