This idea that story-and-a-half houses were built that way to avoid a higher tax bill has been around for a long time. The truth is, houses were not taxed in the colonial period; there was a kind of land tax called a quitrent (2 shillings for each 100 acres of land) that landowners in colonial Virginia paid annually to the crown in order to gain title to their land. If they failed to pay the quitrent for a period of time, the crown technically could take the land back or sell it to someone else, etc. After the Revolution beginning in 1782, independent Virginia imposed both a land and personal property taxes.

Linda Rowe
Historical Research
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Kiracofe
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 4:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VA-HIST] Colonial house taxes

A student comment in class prompts a question:

Were colonial houses taxed on square footage?  My student stated that she knew someone whose 18th century-era house -- I'm assuming this is a standard "Virginia House" -- was supposedly taxed only on the basis of the one ground floor.  The attic rooms, she said, because of their sloping ceilings were not taxed, nor was a half basement.  Frankly, it sounded to me like a myth -- like the "window taxes" that supposedly led colonial people to have only tiny windows in their homes.|

Any help is gratefully appreciated!

David Kiracofe


David Kiracofe
History
Tidewater Community College
Chesapeake Campus
1428 Cedar Road
Chesapeake, Virginia 23322
757-822-5136

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