It used to be that searching through tax listings was a time-consuming and potentially expensive venture. With the implementation of the digital world, however, it has become increasingly simplistic for individuals to find business tax records. Public business tax records are available online through a variety of different databases. Some offer a free tax records search while other sites mandate a user's fee. Since all the information is public, you should be able to find tax records free of charge.

Any computer with Internet access can potentially perform a business tax search. Gone are the days one would have to go to the local courthouse to get their intended information. Working with tax records search can be used to:

1. Locate targets for process servers;

2. Prepare court cases;

3. And generate a suitable marketing plan.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Gather relevant public tax records and information from databases

There are a number of ways to go about finding tax records. While many people used to go to county courthouses to review tax listings, this is now most often done only to verify online information.

I recommend: All 50 states have a department of revenue. This can help individuals to locate businesses and get information about them. Simply choose the department of revenue for the state in which you are interested at OfficialUSA.com. Some companies need information for individuals, so a public record website such as NETROnline would be beneficial. You may even want to have such information delivered to you by a company such as Harvey Public Records.

Understand your marketing options when it comes to your tax records search

Personal and professional information can be gathered from free personal tax record searches.

I recommend: It may also help to see how other companies may be using collected information for marketing purposes. To see how The Court Reporting Institute uses such information, check out its website. HR Search Marketing is a blog that can help you understand how to use the information you find in free public tax records and how other companies may be doing so.

Try some different platforms when it comes to using information from public tax records

The Internet is always evolving. Are you ready to evolve with it? Public tax records and the information contained within them can be used in a variety of different ways. One of the most popular forums in which marketing information can now be used is in social networking sites.

I recommend: Case Western Reserve University's blog discusses social networks and marketing with personal information. Much of the information gathered from public tax records can be used for creating demographics on social networking sites. 901am discusses the increasing budget when it comes to social networking and marketing with personal information and how companies are using this resource.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many people believe that the ethics surrounding personal marketing has changed now that personal information has become so widely available. It may help to review websites that discuss the potential debate between privacy and personal marketing in order to ensure that you do not have any moral controversy over the subject matter. It can also help you in the event that clients or observers question your motives.

The wide availability of the Internet has made it possible for individuals and businesses to conduct a tax records search to find public tax records, business tax records, and tax listings online. Prior to the digital era, it took a lot more time and effort to physically search through paper records. Today, access to digital databases is achieved easily and can facilitate a courthouse search you might need to conduct later.

Conducting a free tax records search online is beneficial for several reasons:

1. It saves time.
2. It saves money.
3. It reduces reliance on hiring a researcher to complete the task.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find tax records online

It's possible with a few simple mouse clicks to get very detailed property and tax information while in your own home or office. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection.

I recommend: Visit NETROnline.com to find tax data and deed information by county and state. Keep in mind that not all counties maintain this information online, but if the county you're interested in does offer online records, you'll simply click on the link that says "Go to data online." Search for tax records on Gov-Reports.net or get a free membership to search TaxRecords.com.

Search free public tax records or conduct a business tax search at the courthouse

Sometimes a trip to the courthouse is necessary to search public tax records or business tax records. It's sometimes possible to find tax listings online, but you need to be careful since many services are overpriced and deliver outdated information.

I recommend: Visit USA.gov to find out how to locate the county courthouse you need. Simply click on the appropriate state to find a listing of local government websites.

Find out the tax assessor's value of a property

It's possible to find the approximate value of a property by performing an online search. For a lot of properties, a quick search online will provide all of the information that you are seeking.

I recommend: Visit Zillow.com to find out the tax assessor's value of a particular property. Zillow does provide a lot of detailed property information. However, certain geographic areas have limited entries in the database.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be careful if you plan to pay for an online tax listing service or business tax records search. You may be paying for an online service that actually is providing free, public domain data. Whenever you are in doubt, contact customer service before purchasing so that they can answer all of your questions before making a decision.
• •  It might be wise to network with someone who has experience finding public business tax records or finding free public tax records. The tips and feedback offered might save you a lot of time and effort in getting started.
• •  Your productivity will improve if you maintain good personal organization. If you are not organized, it will be a matter of time before prior research is lost. This will require unnecessary extra work on your part.

It is no longer necessary to visit your local county clerk’s office for information on public tax records or business tax records. While this once required hard work, time and resources, tax record searches may now be performed anywhere there's a computer with Internet capabilities. Before you think this is simply another pointless luxury, know there are a number of reasons you would want to perform such a search.

Business tax records reveal important information about companies. This includes who owns the business, where it’s located and when it was established. Such information is important for corporate and business investigations. Additionally, rival companies can glean information and use this information to their advantage. With a tax records search, you can determine:

1. Who owns the company;

2. Where the company is located;

3. And when the company was established.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Don't be afraid to become a private investigator, sifting through tax listings

Sometimes, hiring an individual to do your tax listings research can be a big waste of money. If you have the time, you should not be afraid to invest yourself in performing this simple yet rewarding task. For the most part, going through free public tax records will not be too challenging. You'll just want to get some tips on how to best conduct a search through public records. You have every right to know information about competing businesses, so you'll want to learn how to find this important information.

I recommend: If you would like some tips and tricks for sleuthing, why not check out HowToInvestigate.com. This can be especially helpful for tips when it comes to using databases for research. For a comprehensive list of some favored investigation sites, visit WebTradeBureau.com. You might also want to read over Introduction to Public Record Research. It offers tips that will aid you with all research about rival companies.

Use professional and verifiable databases for your business tax search

There are a ton of websites that relate to public tax records, so you are going to want to make sure the ones you use for your business tax search are legitimate and accurate.

I recommend: One of the oldest and most popular databases for finding tax records is SearchSystems.net. LLRX is great for a business tax search in any of the 50 states. It is particularly geared toward professionals.

Verify and use public tax records

As with everything else in life, you are going to want to ensure the information you have collected from the available public tax records is accurate. Once you have the results of your business tax search, you may take this information to the applicable county clerk's office and cross-check the data. It may also be possible to email or telephone county clerk's offices to validate out-of-town information. After this is done, you can use the information as a means to several ends. Process servers need the information to accurately deliver court papers, business lawyers can use the information to set up court cases and rival businesses can use the information to come up with competing marketing platforms.

I recommend: Many process servers need to be licensed or certified in order to deliver court documents. While you can save money doing the legwork yourself, most states will require documents to be served by process servers. Search-For-Servers.com can help you find servers in any of the 50states. If you intend to use your tax records search basics to improve your marketing platform, you can determine how much money rival companies have spent on marketing and potentially where their focus is. Don't forget, you can also use personal tax information to anchor your marketing as well. PrivacyRights.org explains some of the available options.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you use an online database to peruse public tax records, make sure it provides updates and enters corrections on a regular basis. There is a higher chance of error because the information in the public business tax records is processed twice -- when the information was entered at the clerk's office and when the information was transcribed to the database.

Tax records searches are commonplace today thanks to online record keeping. Public business tax records are critical components to preparing legal court cases, making real estate investment choices and even choosing vendors. Tax record searches are useful when tracking genealogy details, or to learn about the background of a historical property. It is helpful to have an understanding of some of the more common terminology before diving into public tax record searches.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Public records portal

A public records portal is a gathering place of sorts that provides you with access to numerous tax assessors and recorder offices that have developed websites for you to access tax record search information. A public records portal can save you time by allowing you to search one website rather than going to multiple sites.

I recommend: Nationwide Environmental Title Research bills itself as a portal to official state websites and explains more about the definition in its "welcome" paragraph.

Assessor's parcel number

The assessor's parcel number, or APN, is a number code assigned to each tract by a tax assessor. Knowing a property's APN can accelerate a property tax record search, which otherwise must be done using the property's physical address. Knowing the APN will also give you quick access to a map of the property as noted by the tax assessor.

I recommend: College Realty's Victorville Real Estate site explains how an assessor's 13-digit parcel number is assigned in California's San Bernardino County.

Property tax liens

It is common for a county to issue a tax lien for a property when the owner is late paying property taxes. Research property tax liens as part of your tax records search before purchasing a property, since owners are responsible for paying regardless of who incurred it.

I recommend: An article from SaveWealth explains the concept of tax liens as they apply to real estate.

PDF files

In order to store tax records online, paper documents are scanned using computer scanning software and saved in portable document format, commonly referred to as a PDF file. PDF readers installed on your PC allow you to view these files online.

I recommend: Adobe Reader, from Adobe Systems, is probably the most popular and commonly used program that allows you to read PDF documents.

Municipal tax

If a transaction takes place within a city that imposes a sales or a use tax, then it is considered a municipal tax. Municipal tax record information is worth understanding if you are considering buying a business where revenues are subject to municipal taxes.

I recommend: Ohio's Department of Taxation website features a municipal tax finder. This helpful tool lets you calculate how much municipal tax your business may be subject to if it is based in a particular Ohio city or town.

Property tax rate

All property is subject to a property tax rate that varies according to the location and is a percentage of the property's assessed value. It is essential to understand property tax rates when considering a real estate transaction, as they will greatly impact your cash layout.

I recommend: The State of Indiana's Department of Local Government Finance website includes a glossary of property tax terms, including a definition for property tax rates.