Firearm tax varies by state in a narrower way than most buyers expect. Every purchase in the country carries a federal excise tax already built into the retail price, but at the state level only California and Colorado add a dedicated firearm excise tax on top of regular sales tax. A handful of cities, notably Seattle, Tacoma, and Cook County, Illinois, impose their own per-unit charges. A few states go the other direction, either exempting firearms from sales tax or holding annual tax-free weekends. Restricted items under the National Firearms Act carry a separate federal transfer tax with rules of their own.
The Federal Tax Every Buyer Pays
Federal law imposes an excise tax on the manufacturer or importer before a firearm reaches the shelf: 10% of the sale price on pistols and revolvers, and 11% on all other firearms, shells, and cartridges.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4181 – Imposition of Tax You won’t see this on your receipt. It’s absorbed into the wholesale price and passed through, so by the time you’re at the counter it’s already part of what you’re paying.
Revenue flows through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act into a federal account administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which distributes funds to state agencies for wildlife habitat, hunter education, and shooting ranges. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau collects from manufacturers and importers on a quarterly or annual schedule.2Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Federal Firearms and Ammunition Quarterly Excise Tax Return TTB F 5300.26
One narrow carve-out matters if you make guns yourself. Anyone who manufactures, produces, or imports fewer than 50 pistols, revolvers, or other firearms in a calendar year is exempt from the excise tax on those firearms.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4182 – Exemptions Cross 50 units in any calendar year and tax is owed on every firearm sold that year. The exemption does not cover ammunition, and members of a controlled corporate group are counted as one manufacturer to prevent splitting production across subsidiaries.4Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Amendment to Provisions of 26 USC Section 4182 50 Gun Exemption to Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax
States With a Firearm Excise Tax
Most states apply only their standard sales tax to firearm purchases. As of 2026, two states impose a dedicated firearm excise tax on top of that.
California
California’s Assembly Bill 28, signed in September 2023 and effective July 1, 2024, imposes an 11% excise tax on gross receipts from retail sales of firearms, firearm precursor parts, and ammunition. It sits on top of state and local sales taxes, which can push the combined tax burden above 20% in some counties. Revenue goes to the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund.5LegiScan. California Assembly Bill 28 – Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax
The taxable definition is deliberately broad and includes unfinished frames and receivers, closing off any workaround through disassembled kits. Dealers and ammunition vendors must obtain a Certificate of Registration with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.6Office of the Attorney General – State of California. Assembly Bill 28 (AB 28) Sales to active or retired peace officers and their employing law enforcement agencies are exempt.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Firearm Excise Tax Law – Section 36021
Colorado
Colorado voters approved Proposition KK in November 2024, and the 6.5% excise tax on retail sales of firearms, firearm precursor parts, and ammunition took effect April 1, 2025.8Colorado Department of Revenue. Firearms and Ammunition Tax It’s calculated on net taxable sales and stacks on top of existing state and local sales taxes. Revenue, estimated at $39 million in the first fiscal year, funds mental health services for veterans and at-risk youth, school safety, and support for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes.9Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1349 Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax
Cities and Counties With Their Own Firearm Taxes
A few local governments add flat per-unit charges. Because these are dollar amounts rather than percentages, they land harder on cheaper firearms and lighter on expensive ones.
Seattle
Seattle charges $25 on each firearm sold at retail within city limits, plus $0.02 per round for ammunition of .22 caliber or less and $0.05 per round for larger calibers. Sellers who move no more than one firearm or fewer than 50 rounds in a quarter are exempt for that period, and licensed dealers acting only to run a background check on a private sale are also exempt.10City of Seattle. Firearms and Ammunition Tax
Tacoma
Tacoma adopted a nearly identical structure in 2019: $25 per firearm, $0.02 per round for .22 caliber and under, $0.05 per round on everything else. Revenue funds public safety and gun violence prevention.11City of Tacoma. City of Tacoma – ORD28624
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County imposes $25 per firearm at retail under its Firearm Tax Ordinance (Sections 74-665 through 74-675 of the Cook County Code), along with ammunition taxes of $0.01 per round on rimfire cartridges and $0.05 per round on centerfire.12Cook County. Firearm and Firearm Ammunition Tax Retailers collect at the register and remit to the county’s Department of Revenue.
States That Exempt or Discount Firearm Sales
A smaller group of states moves the other direction, either dropping sales tax on firearms permanently or holding annual tax-free periods.
West Virginia
West Virginia fully exempts small arms and small arms ammunition from state sales and use tax under a permanent provision effective July 2021.13West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-15-9U – Exemption for Sales of Small Arms and Ammunitions The exemption covers portable firearms designed for a single person, including rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers with an internal barrel diameter of .50 caliber or smaller, and ammunition for them. No exemption certificate is required at the point of sale.14West Virginia Tax Division. TSD 444 – Sales Tax Exemption for Small Arms and Ammunition
Second Amendment Sales Tax Holidays
Mississippi runs a Second Amendment sales tax holiday in mid-July, with 2026 dates set for July 10 through 12. South Carolina holds its Second Amendment Weekend on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, exempting handguns, rifles, and shotguns from state and local sales taxes during that window.15South Carolina Legislature. Second Amendment Weekend – Sales Tax Exemption for Certain Firearms Purchases must fall within the designated dates and meet the eligible-item definitions to qualify. Demand tends to spike during these windows, so popular items can sell out.
Transfer Tax on NFA-Regulated Items
Buying a suppressor, short-barreled rifle, machine gun, or other item regulated under the National Firearms Act triggers a separate federal transfer tax that the buyer pays. The rules changed at the start of 2026. Machine guns and destructive devices still carry a $200 transfer tax on each transfer. Suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and “any other weapons” now carry a $0 transfer tax under an amendment signed in 2025.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5811 – Transfer Tax
The elimination of the $200 tax on most NFA categories does not change any other requirement. You still submit an application to the ATF, pass a background check, and wait for approval before taking possession. Before this change, $200 had been the standard NFA transfer tax since 1934, with a reduced $5 rate for “any other weapons.”