Quick tip – Tax for owners or residents?

There are different types of real estate taxes: those for owners, and those for residents. Some tax registers have one, some the other, and some have both.

Understanding which is which can be a vital clue to research your ancestors. If your ancestors owned real estate, that can prompt research into land records. If your ancestors were tenants, you can still check land records in case they owned property at a different time or in a different place. But if you cannot find them, that explains why.

Sometimes, it is hard to find out whether you are dealing with a tax for owners or residents. It can be necessary to do a literature search into the type of tax and the underlying regulations or laws. Careful reading of the records may sometimes also help to figure out in what capacity people were taxed.

1575 property tax record from Tilburg, for owners

About Yvette Hoitink

Yvette Hoitink, CG®, QG™ is a professional genealogist in the Netherlands. She holds the Certified Genealogist credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists and has a post-graduate diploma in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee. She has been doing genealogy for over 30 years and helps people from across the world find their ancestors in the Netherlands. Read about Yvette's professional genealogy services.

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