Buying a gun in the United States means paying at least two taxes: a federal excise tax of 10 percent on handguns or 11 percent on long guns and ammunition that is already built into the shelf price, and your state and local sales tax added at the register. In some states and cities a third layer, a firearms-specific excise tax, stacks on top. Depending on where you shop, the gun sales tax you actually pay can run anywhere from under 5 percent to well over 20 percent of the retail price.
The Federal Excise Tax Hidden in the Price
Under 26 U.S.C. § 4181, the federal government taxes every firearm and round of ammunition sold by a manufacturer, producer, or importer. Pistols and revolvers are taxed at 10 percent of the sale price. Rifles, shotguns, shells, and cartridges are taxed at 11 percent.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4181 – Imposition of Tax
The important thing for buyers to understand is that this tax is collected upstream, at the manufacturer or importer level. By the time a gun reaches your local shop, that 10 or 11 percent has already been folded into the wholesale cost and passed through to the retail price. You will not see it broken out on your receipt. The revenue flows into the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund and is distributed to states for habitat conservation, wildlife restoration, and hunter education.2Congress.gov. Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act
A narrow set of transactions escapes § 4181: firearms bought with military appropriations, firearms already taxed under the National Firearms Act (short-barreled rifles, machine guns, and similar registered items), and small producers who make or import fewer than 50 firearms in a calendar year.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4182 – Exemptions None of these matter to an ordinary retail buyer.
State and Local Sales Tax at the Register
On top of the embedded federal tax, you pay ordinary state and local sales tax at the counter. Firearms are treated as tangible personal property, and no state carves them out from the general sales tax base. The dealer calculates the tax on the full retail price and remits it to the state.
The rate depends entirely on where you buy. Combined state and local sales tax rates range from zero in the handful of states with no general sales tax to over 10 percent in the highest jurisdictions. The national population-weighted average is about 7.5 percent.4Tax Foundation. State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026 Local rates sometimes rival or exceed the statewide rate, so two shops in the same state can charge noticeably different tax on the same gun.
Supplemental Firearms Excise Taxes
A growing number of jurisdictions have added firearms-specific excise taxes on top of ordinary sales tax. As of 2024, one state imposes an 11 percent excise tax on the gross receipts from every retail firearm, ammunition, and firearms parts sale. Stacked with existing state and local sales tax, buyers in some cities in that state face a combined rate above 20 percent at the register, before the federal excise tax already inside the price. Revenue is typically directed to violence prevention programs and school safety.
Several cities take a different approach and charge flat-dollar amounts instead of a percentage. A buyer in one of these places might pay $25 per firearm plus a few cents per round of ammunition, with different per-round rates for rimfire and centerfire cartridges. These local surcharges apply on top of the percentage-based sales tax and add up fast for anyone buying in bulk.
These supplemental taxes are being challenged in court on Second Amendment grounds. A federal court struck down a $1,000 handgun excise tax in one U.S. territory, finding the amount came close to destroying the right to acquire a firearm. A separate municipal gun-owner fee survived when a court concluded it did not seriously burden the ability to obtain or keep a firearm. The legal picture is still unsettled.
Buying a Firearm Online
Ordering a gun online does not avoid sales tax. Federal law requires the firearm to ship to a licensed dealer, an FFL holder, for the background check before you can take possession. The tax question is simply which party collects it.
If the online seller has sales tax nexus in your state or qualifies as a marketplace facilitator, they collect the tax at checkout like any other online retailer. Most states now have marketplace facilitator laws requiring platforms that process payments for third-party sellers to collect and remit. If the seller does not collect, your state’s use tax applies instead, and the FFL dealer handling the transfer may collect it from you before releasing the firearm.
Expect the FFL to charge a transfer fee for the paperwork and background check, typically $20 to $75. Some states also charge a background check processing fee of a few dollars. These are not taxes, but they exist only because of the regulatory framework around firearm sales, so budget for them alongside the tax.
Private Sales and Use Tax
When you buy from another individual rather than a dealer, no sales tax is collected at the point of sale because private sellers generally are not set up to remit it. That does not mean no tax is owed. In most states the buyer has a legal obligation to self-report and pay use tax on the purchase. Use tax applies to any tangible personal property bought without sales tax, and firearms are not an exception.
Enforcement is another matter. Most states rely on taxpayers to report use tax on their annual income tax returns, and compliance on private-party purchases is low. The legal obligation still exists, and a later registration or transfer can create a paper trail.
Ways to Pay Less
A handful of states run temporary sales tax holidays that include firearms and ammunition, sometimes marketed as “Second Amendment weekends.” They typically last two or three days, often align with the start of hunting season, and suspend state sales tax on qualifying purchases including hunting supplies and accessories. In a state charging 7 percent, a $600 rifle purchased during the holiday saves you $42.
Roughly eight states have permanently exempted gun safes, trigger locks, lockboxes, and similar safety devices from sales tax year-round. The exemption applies to the safety equipment, not to the firearm going inside it. Your state revenue department website will list which items qualify.
Some jurisdictions also exempt active and retired law enforcement officers from firearms-specific excise taxes when buying duty weapons, usually on presentation of agency documentation at the point of sale. Departments buying for official use generally qualify for blanket exemptions. These carve-outs apply only to the supplemental firearms excise taxes, not to ordinary state sales tax or the federal excise tax.
Adding Up What You Actually Owe
The total tax load depends on where you buy, what you buy, and how you buy it. At a minimum, every buyer pays the federal excise tax hidden in the price and the state and local sales tax shown on the receipt. In a typical state, a $500 handgun already carries roughly $50 in federal excise tax built into that price, and you will pay another $35 to $40 in sales tax at the register. In a jurisdiction with both a supplemental firearms excise tax and a per-unit local surcharge, the same purchase can easily carry $125 or more in total taxes and fees. Online buyers should add the FFL transfer fee on top.
The sticker price is never the final number. Between the federal excise tax you cannot see, the sales tax you can, and the supplemental taxes and fees that vary widely by location, the real cost of acquiring a firearm can run 10 to 25 percent above the shelf price.