This is a brief guide to researching British government records on taxation. Tax records are wide-ranging and plentiful, though they can sometimes be complicated and not all survive. Of those that survive, most are available online or at The National Archives.
This guide will help you gain a general overview of the main sources of the information that exists, and where to find it. This guide is for people interested in the subject of taxation as opposed to those interested in finding a specific person.
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What records can I see online?
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E 179 database of Records of the Exchequer (c1190-c1690)
Search the E 179 database by place, tax, document type and date for records relating to lay and clerical taxation in England and Wales.
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Cabinet papers (1915-1978)
Search records of the Cabinet Office for documents and debates concerning decisions and discussions on taxation during this period.
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House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (1715-2005)
Search the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers website (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) for sessional papersSessional paper - a report or paper which has been tabled in Parliament on taxation in the House of Commons. These records are searchable in a number of ways, including by keyword, date and paper number.
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Public Acts of Parliament (1801-present)
Search by date for Public General Acts of Parliament as they were originally enacted.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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General records
Search, browse and consult the following seriesa grouping of records held by The National Archives, based on common function or subject to gain an overview of government records related to taxation:
- Inland Revenue (IR) - mostly general and administrative records on taxes, duties, lotteries and records of estates
- Customs and Excise (CUST) - general and administrative records of the Board of Customs and Excise and its predecessors
- HM Treasury (T) - records of the Treasury
- Exchequer (E) - records of the Exchequer
- Chancery (C) - records of the Chancery and its predecessors
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Scottish taxation records
Consult the National Archives of Scotland's taxation records guide to find out what records they hold and how best to access them.
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Records held locally
Search the Access to Archives (A2A) and National Register of Archives (NRA) databases to find records held in local archives.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Search Hansarda collection of transcripts of parliamentary debates on the Parliament.uk website to view the full text of debates on taxation which took place in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords. You can search by date, member of Parliament, or keyword. Not all debates have been transcribed.
Search The Times Archive and the Guardian and Observer Digital Archive to view articles (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) about some of the public statements and more newsworthy reports on taxation.
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Colonies and dependencies
Landed estates
Towns and cities