Revolutionary War & Colonial Taxes

The National Society SAR Genealogy Committee established the Subcommittee on Revolutionary Taxes to “examine evidence and determine whether or not particular tax laws and lists provide a basis for Patriotic Service and make that information available to the SAR staff and members.” The reports of the Subcommittee on Revolutionary Taxes posted by the Genealogy Committee were prepared with these goals in mind.

Under Genealogy Committee Policy 2.4004, payment of a tax to a state or a local jurisdiction during the Revolution shall be deemed Patriotic Service by virtue of providing material aid if:

• The title and/or authorizing language of the tax addresses a request of the Continental Congress, whether or not the request was explicitly attributed to the Congress, or the title and/or authorizing language for the tax gives as the purpose the support of the War and/or achieving independence; and,
• The taxpayer was not charged a penalty rate or fee imposed for breaking the law and/or the taxpayer was not on record for having broken a law entailing a penalty such as a higher rate, penalty fee, fine, or seizure of property.