How to Find a Tax Record
Income tax records are confidential and exempt from all state and federal Freedom of Information laws, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, but property tax records are not. (See References) That means a local municipal clerk or a representative from your county's real property office can tell you what the annual taxes are on a property and whether they have been paid. If the taxes have not been paid and a local government takes steps to foreclose on or take title of the property, that is also a matter of public record.
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Instructions
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Verify an address of the property you are interested in. That could be as easy as a house or street number if it's in a residential or commercial neighborhood. But if it is in a rural area with no homes or clearly marked property lines, you'll need to create a description of that parcel by noting nearby roads and estimated distance from them, landmarks and approximate location from any streams, creeks or bodies of water.
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Visit the county real property or tax mapping office with the address or description. They should have tax maps and aerial photos of the parcel you're trying to describe, which should help you determine if that's the one you are interested in.
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Ask the county or town/city/village clerk for tax information on that parcel, to include assessed value, the total amount of money paid after the last tax bill, whether any property taxes are still owed on it and whether the property has any tax exemptions (such as for farm use, or if it is owned by a war veteran or senior citizen).
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Check the county clerk's office for liens on the property, which could include tax liens from the local government. Liens may not be noted in the current assessment record or receipt of the most recent taxes paid on it. Generally, there are computer terminals available at the office to search for lawsuits, notices of claim and liens.
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Tips & Warnings
Many municipalities and counties put their tax maps/assessment records online. You may be able to save yourself a trip by finding it on the Web.
Don't assume the number on the house or mailbox is accurate, so have a rough description of the parcel to go along with the noted address. In rural areas, some houses may have road addresses in addition to rural route number identifiers for mail delivery. Also, county emergency dispatch centers often give new identifier numbers to properties so there are matching digit schemes in the 911 database. The 911 identifying number of a property may differ from its original house number.
