The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed a broad list of paper goods and official documents used in the American colonies: legal filings, land deeds, professional and business licenses, newspapers, pamphlets, almanacs, advertisements, apprenticeship contracts, playing cards, and dice.1Library of Congress. 1764 to 1765 Timeline Passed by Parliament on March 22, 1765, it was the first direct tax Britain imposed on the colonies, reaching into courtrooms, print shops, taverns, and households alike.2MHS Collections Online. Stamp Act 1765
Court Filings and Legal Documents
Almost any paper that passed through a colonial court carried a stamp duty. Probate paperwork, including inventories and formal answers filed in ecclesiastical courts, cost one shilling per original document, with copies taxed at six pence each. Contracts, bills of sale, leases, and conveyances were taxed at two shillings and six pence per document.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
The penalty for skipping the stamp was severe. Any document that was supposed to carry a stamp but did not was, in the act’s words, “void and not available in any court or place.” An unstamped deed, contract, or apprenticeship agreement had no legal force. A judge could not enforce it, and it could not be used as evidence.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
Land Grants and Deeds
Land transfers were taxed on a sliding scale tied to acreage. For colonies on the North American continent, including Bermuda and the Bahamas, the rates ran:
- Up to 100 acres: one shilling and six pence.
- 101 to 200 acres: two shillings.
- 201 to 320 acres: two shillings and six pence, with the same rate repeating for each additional 320-acre block.
Grants in other British territories in the Americas were taxed at higher rates, such as five shillings for parcels above 200 acres.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
Professional and Business Licenses
The act treated professional credentials and commercial permits as taxable events. Lawyers were hit hardest at the individual level: any license or admission to practice as an attorney, solicitor, advocate, or notary in a colonial court cost ten pounds in stamp duty, a sum that represented months of wages for many colonists.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
Tavern keepers and other liquor sellers paid twenty shillings for their license.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765 Tavern ownership was a common livelihood, and in some cities nearly half of license holders were women.4National Park Service. Anger and Opposition to the Stamp Act University and seminary degree certificates carried a two-pound duty, and government officeholders paid stamp duties on their commissions scaled to their salary level.
Apprenticeship Agreements
Entering a trade was taxed too. Every apprenticeship indenture required a base duty of two shillings and six pence, plus an additional duty on any money exchanged as part of the arrangement:
- Sums up to fifty pounds: six pence for every twenty shillings paid.
- Sums above fifty pounds: one shilling for every twenty shillings paid.
If the amount paid with the apprentice was not recorded accurately on the document, the entire agreement was declared void.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
Newspapers, Pamphlets, and Almanacs
Printed materials were taxed by size, and the duty applied to every individual copy, so costs multiplied fast for any printer with real circulation. A half-sheet newspaper was taxed at one half-penny per copy, and a full-sheet paper at one penny per copy. Pamphlets running beyond a single sheet were taxed at one shilling for each sheet of paper in a printed copy, making longer publications substantially more expensive.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
Almanacs, a household staple, cost two pence if printed on a single side of one sheet, and four pence for anything longer. Advertisements placed in any gazette, newspaper, or pamphlet carried their own two-shilling duty per ad, regardless of size. A newspaper with several ads therefore owed the per-copy paper tax plus two shillings for each advertisement it ran.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
Playing Cards and Dice
Recreation was not spared. Every pack of playing cards sold or used in the colonies carried a one-shilling duty. Every pair of dice was taxed at ten shillings, a figure that often exceeded the value of the dice themselves and reflected Parliament’s view of high-stakes gambling as both a revenue source and a behavior worth discouraging.3Great Britain: Parliament. The Stamp Act, March 22, 1765
How the Tax Was Actually Paid
Paying the duty was not a matter of handing over coins with your document. The act required colonists to use specially prepared vellum, parchment, or paper that carried an embossed revenue stamp showing the tax had already been paid. That stamped material had to be purchased from designated distributors who held a monopoly on the only paper stock colonial courts and offices would accept.1Library of Congress. 1764 to 1765 Timeline The stamp itself featured an impression of St. Edward’s Crown in red ink.5Encyclopedia Virginia. Stamp Act of 1765 Proof
Duties also had to be paid in British sterling, not colonial paper money. Sterling was chronically scarce in the colonies, where local currency and barter were the norm, so obtaining the right coin was often a hurdle before a colonist could even buy stamped paper for a deed, a license, or a deck of cards.