Daily AncestorHead tax
The head tax was a federal fee on each alien arriving in the U.S., first set at 50 cents in 1882 and usually built into the ticket price.
Customs collectors at each port gathered it at first. Steamship and railroad companies paid it for their passengers, so most immigrants never saw a separate bill.
Not everyone paid: children under 16, returning residents, and citizens of Canada and Mexico were among those exempt, and travelers in transit got their deposit back when they left. Lists from 1917 carry a head tax status column, which may note an exemption.
As seen in a recordPassenger list, 1920
Head tax status: exempt, returning resident
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Head tax." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/immigration/head-tax. Last checked 2026-10-03.