Found my ancestor's 1868 tax return - traveling salesman in Brooklyn with a 5% tax rate! History nerds help?

This is a really cool find! Historical tax documents like your great-great-grandfather's 1868 tax return provide fascinating insights into how taxes worked in the 19th century. During that period, the United States was using a federal income tax system that was relatively new - it had been introduced during the Civil War as a way to fund the Union's war efforts. The 5% tax rate you're seeing was actually fairly substantial for the time. Today's tax system is progressive with multiple brackets, but back then, it was much simpler. For traveling salesmen in 1868, there weren't standardized deductions like we have today with Schedule C forms for self-employed individuals. However, they could often deduct necessary business expenses, which might have included travel costs, sample products, and lodging. The concept of "ordinary and necessary" business expenses has actually been around for quite a while! As for the historical value - absolutely! This document could be very valuable to historians who study economic history or tax policy. Local historical societies, especially ones focused on Brooklyn's history, would likely be very interested. You might want to get it properly preserved and perhaps make high-quality scans before deciding whether to donate the original.

I actually went through something similar when I found my great-grandfather's business ledgers from the early 1900s. I was completely lost trying to understand all the historical tax references until I found this amazing service called taxr.ai that helps analyze historical tax documents. I uploaded a scan of the ledger to https://taxr.ai and they provided a detailed breakdown explaining every line item and how it relates to modern tax concepts. They even explained how the tax rules had changed over time and created a comparison to today's tax system. It was super helpful for understanding how my ancestor's 5% tax would translate to modern terms. The site also had special features for historical document analysis that pointed out elements I completely missed!

I had to come back and say I actually tried taxr.ai with those 1920s tax documents from my family business that I mentioned. I was honestly shocked at how detailed the analysis was! They identified all the specific deductions and explained how tax laws for businesses had changed since then. It was fascinating to see how my great-grandfather's textile business was taxed compared to how a similar business would be taxed in 2025. They even found some interesting historical context about specific business exemptions from that era that I had no idea about. The 5% rate discussion reminded me of how my ancestor's effective tax rate worked out to about 3.8% after all his business deductions - so different from today's rates! If you're trying to understand that 1868 Brooklyn tax return, I'd definitely recommend giving it a try. Really helped me appreciate my family's business history in a whole new way.

After seeing your post, I got curious about contacting the IRS to see if they maintain historical tax records from the 1800s. Figured they might have additional context about your Brooklyn traveling salesman's return or similar documents from 1868. Spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to someone at the IRS who knew anything about historical records. Kept getting transferred, disconnected, or told to call back. Finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and used their service to get through to an actual human at the IRS. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Within an hour, I was talking to someone in their historical records department! Turns out they do maintain some archival information from the 1868 tax period. The agent explained how the 5% tax rate was structured and even offered to send me some additional resources about taxation during that era.

Ok I need to admit I was totally wrong. After my skeptical comment I decided to try Claimyr myself for my 2023 refund issue that's been pending forever. Not only did I get through to an actual IRS agent within 45 minutes, but they found my return was stuck because of a simple error code that no one had bothered to tell me about! The agent fixed it on the spot and now my refund is being processed. I asked them about historical records too and was transferred to someone who gave me interesting info about how tax collection worked in the 1800s. They explained how the 5% rate from 1868 was collected and enforced, which was fascinating. For anyone dealing with tax history questions or modern issues, being able to actually speak to a human makes all the difference. Can't believe I wasted months trying to get through when this option existed.

Your 1868 tax return might actually be worth some money to collectors. My friend works at a historical auction house and documents from Brooklyn during that era can fetch good prices, especially work-related items like a traveling salesman's tax forms. The 5% tax rate documentation from that specific period has historical significance too. Before you donate it, you might want to get it appraised. Just make sure whoever handles it uses proper preservation techniques - those old documents can be fragile!

Wait this is so random but my dissertation was actually on tax history in NY from 1850-1900! The 5% federal tax rate in 1868 was part of the "Revenue Act" which was originally a Civil War funding measure. Fun fact: the income tax was actually repealed in 1872, then ruled unconstitutional in 1895, and didn't come back permanently until the 16th Amendment in 1913! For a traveling salesman in Brooklyn, there would have also been some local taxes beyond just the federal 5%. And the comparison to today is mind-blowing - not just the rates but the complexity. The entire tax code back then was just a few pages compared to today's thousands of pages of regulations!