This article aims to show how the tax revenue during the 70s and 80s of the 19th century was in the city of Recife, contemplating the difficulties inherent in the period as the centralization of power in the imperial sphere. The exposed material was found in documentary research primarily in Arquivo Público Estadual Jordão Emerenciano and bibliography.
Key-words: municipal taxes, economic history, the Empire of Brazil, Recife.