Suppressor tax stamps are gone

[MPFiveO]

https://www.nationalguntrusts.com/blogs/nfa-gun-trust-atf-information-database-blog/trumps-big-beautiful-bill-eliminates-the-excise-tax-of-suppressors

[huggytree]

Amazing if true and turns into reality 

 

Edited May 21, 2025 by huggytree

[Bill in Bama]

It would be nice if this happens, I'm sure the Progs are going over everything with a fine tooth comb and will discover this, but OTOH maybe it will sail through unnoticed, at least by most.  In the scheme of things, I can't imagine that the lost revenue to Treasury is even a decimal point's worth of money.  This would make the second hand sales of suppressors viable, a subject I was just discussing with a customer yesterday.  A $4-500 ..22 Lr can would now be desirable at a depreciated value of $2-300.  I've always sold my suppressors at a minimum profit anyway, so I'm in favor, let's see if it survives the reconciliation with the Senate.  

[Tall Pine]

Too bad the application process would still be in place. Thats the real issue, not the $200 stamp. They should have just crammed in an outright exemption instead. I doubt it would have faced much opposition. This is a huge missed opportunity imho. If the Republicans were okay with no stamp, it would not have been that much harder to get an outright exemption passed by the same folks (no Dem votes needed).

[SGT Fish]

1 hour ago, Tall Pine said:

Too bad the application process would still be in place. Thats the real issue, not the $200 stamp. They should have just crammed in an outright exemption instead. I doubt it would have faced much opposition. This is a huge missed opportunity imho. If the Republicans were okay with no stamp, it would not have been that much harder to get an outright exemption passed by the same folks (no Dem votes needed).

They tried (and are still trying)

 

Supposedly some Republicans and industry folks (silencer central) lobbied against complete deregulation. 

[Bill in VA]

I’m unclear, and haven’t read the actual bill. The article that’s currently flying about the internet (i.e., this one linked above) claims it’s the excise tax that’s being eliminated, and not the transfer tax.

[MPFiveO]

Yeah, the use of that word is a bit confusing. I haven't read it yet either nor have I seen any of the internet breakdowns yet. An excise tax is something a manufacturer pays, and it's generally ten percent. That wouldn't help the end user much at all. But eliminating the $200 transfer tax would be very helpful. There are suppressors that cost less than a tax stamp and it makes people really question the legitimacy of it. We all know it was intended to be punitive back in 1934 to discourage ownership, oh, and curb poaching as they claimed. I've also heard that this is not a done deal yet and that this part could still be struck from the bill leaving us right where we are now. I posted the link for the sake of information and discussion. I'd love to see the tax go away because that would allow me to afford more suppressors.

[SGT Fish]

.manufacturer excise tax isn't paid on NFA items already 

[Abacab]

The House bill language moves silencers to the GCA as a regular firearm on a 4473. We shall see if it survives in the Senate. 

Edited May 22, 2025 by Abacab

[SGT Fish]

3 hours ago, Abacab said:

The House bill language moves silencers to the GCA as a regular firearm on a 4473. We shall see if it survives in the Senate. 

Yeah it sounds like the full HPA has been added back into the bill. Still need the SHORT act to be added back in. But just the HPA would be huge for us. 

 

It'll be a legislative win that is far overdue, and may inspire some more confidence

[Thumpy]

Title of this is miss leading the bill still has a ways to go lol

[Uncle Zeek]

1 hour ago, Thumpy said:

Title of this is miss leading the bill still has a ways to go lol

Yeah, but it did pass the House .... by ONE vote.   All it needs is one vote majority in the Senate and Trump will sign it, right?

[Thumpy]

45 minutes ago, Uncle Zeek said:

Yeah, but it did pass the House .... by ONE vote.   All it needs is one vote majority in the Senate and Trump will sign it, right?

I hope so! But I’m not as optimistic as the fella who started this thread lol

[Got Uzi]

Slippery slope we are going down by lumping all this stuff together. It could turn around and backfire as quickly as this is happening. 
 

Don’t start the “you’re anti-gun” crap at me, I’m just saying slow down and think this out guys, y’all are playing checkers and this is a major league chess game. This could blow up in everyone’s face and you could see a $4,000 tax stamp if it was ever redone and adjusted for inflation. 

Edited May 22, 2025 by Got Uzi

[SGT Fish]

16 minutes ago, Got Uzi said:

Slippery slope we are going down by lumping all this stuff together. It could turn around and backfire as quickly as this is happening. 
 

Don’t start the “you’re anti-gun” crap at me, I’m just saying slow down and think this out guys, y’all are playing checkers and this is a major league chess game. This could blow up in everyone’s face and you could see a $4,000 tax stamp if it was ever redone and adjusted for inflation. 

I hate the omnibus bills as well(and so does Thomas Massie, hence his "no" vote even though he is incredibly pro-gun), but I will still count it as a big win for the 2A if this part becomes law

[Thumpy]

5 hours ago, Got Uzi said:

Slippery slope we are going down by lumping all this stuff together. It could turn around and backfire as quickly as this is happening. 
 

Don’t start the “you’re anti-gun” crap at me, I’m just saying slow down and think this out guys, y’all are playing checkers and this is a major league chess game. This could blow up in everyone’s face and you could see a $4,000 tax stamp if it was ever redone and adjusted for inflation. 

If they raise the stamps to 4,000 Then mass non compliance will become even more common place as we’ve already seen in every major city with Glock switches and SBR’s. I believe now is the exact time we need to push as hard as we can. We played the whole “don’t try” since 1986 that mentality sucks 

[Mark2]

I really can’t believe that people are against free NFA Tax Transfers

[johnsonlmg41]

47 minutes ago, Mark2 said:

I really can’t believe that people are against free NFA Tax Transfers

I don't think anyone here is against it, but most people here have seen republicans snatch defeat from the jaws of victory so many times it's hard to imagine a win, especially from congress.  At this point they are just lucky a democrat died this week.

[Got Uzi]

I think you misunderstand me-I’m not opposed to it, I’m just saying that anytime these idiots in DC (Repubic-or Demorat) does something that is going to “help” the 2nd Amendment, it typically backfires and causes more trouble in the end than it was worth. My main fear is what happens in 3 years if things change back to a more liberal house, senate, or president-what happens then? It could get a lot worse than it was to begin with. That’s all I’m saying, be overly cautious with this as I don’t trust anything that comes out of DC that is done to “help us”

[huggytree]

I agree. Once attention is drawn to it . They make it $0.  In 3 years they could make it $2000

 

[SGT Fish]

1 hour ago, huggytree said:

I agree. Once attention is drawn to it . They make it $0.  In 3 years they could make it $2000

 

That was proposed before. Didn't happen. Could happen anytime, before or after.  

 

Good thing is that it's early enough in the political cycle that they'll forget about it before the next potus election 

[MontanaRenegade86]

I've got some sobering tidbits to share with my friends at Sturmgewehr:

• The anti-gunners are going to come after our firearms regardless of what we do or don't do. 
• The Democrat Representative who assumed room temperature earlier this week is going to be replaced by another cretin.
• The fate of our Representative Republic lies in the hands of the electorate of just 7 to 11 states. These people are not allied to any particular ideology, but sway with the winds.
• Legislators are power hungry tyrants, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum. 
• Life can be great one day and crap the next. Carpe diem and tempus fugit. 

 

[Bill in VA]

2 hours ago, MontanaRenegade86 said:

I've got some sobering tidbits to share with my friends at Sturmgewehr:

• The anti-gunners are going to come after our firearms regardless of what we do or don't do. 
• The Democrat Representative who assumed room temperature earlier this week is going to be replaced by another cretin.
• The fate of our Representative Republic lies in the hands of the electorate of just 7 to 11 states. These people are not allied to any particular ideology, but sway with the winds.
• Legislators are power hungry tyrants, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum. 
• Life can be great one day and crap the next. Carpe diem and tempus fugit. 

 

You forgot:

• Water is wet.

[MontanaRenegade86]

16 hours ago, Bill in VA said:

You forgot:

 

• Water is wet.

One more:

• No matter how awesome a woman is, there is some guy sick of her sh*t. 

I'm not gonna get too excited over this Big Beautiful Bill BS.

[johnsonlmg41]

1 hour ago, MontanaRenegade86 said:

One more:

• No matter how awesome a woman is, there is some guy sick of her sh*t. 

I'm not gonna get too excited over this Big Beautiful Bill BS.

Well the women are going to look better, because in the tax cuts are a repeal of the tanning bed tax, thus orangeness could be getting more rare?    Now you know what the basis for "beautiful" is in the bill......the rest of the story.

[Chef]

The people who tan regularly should have their own tanning bed, and therefore the "10% tax" wouldn't apply to them anyway. That was just a underhanded way to put tanning salons out of business.
And putting people out of business is something the govt. is very good at.

[Bill in Bama]

On 5/22/2025 at 8:39 PM, Got Uzi said:

I think you misunderstand me-I’m not opposed to it, I’m just saying that anytime these idiots in DC (Repubic-or Demorat) does something that is going to “help” the 2nd Amendment, it typically backfires and causes more trouble in the end than it was worth. My main fear is what happens in 3 years if things change back to a more liberal house, senate, or president-what happens then? It could get a lot worse than it was to begin with. That’s all I’m saying, be overly cautious with this as I don’t trust anything that comes out of DC that is done to “help us”

As Regan was wont to say, " I'm from the government and I'm here to help ."   Nine most feared words in the universe. 

[Bill in Bama]

I can't believe no one has commented since the BBB passes and was signed into law yesterday.  I know ATF will have to issue some guidance on the matter, but as I understand it, the new regs not only did away with the tax stamp for  suppressors and SBR/SBS's, it REMOVED them from the registry, so basically it is now the wild west on suppressor sales.  So I suppose this will mean Class 1 FFL's can now stock suppressors (and SBR/SBS) just as any other normal weapon in their inventory, ie pistols, rifles, shotguns.  No more Form 4's or photos/fingerprints and tax stamps.  I'm sure the blue states will rush to pass legislation to override the federal law, but that will take some time, and as usual their efforts will result in some mistakes and it will take some time to sort out.  Also as usual, the lawyers will be the big winners in any case, but if I lived in a blue state (and thank the Good Lord I don't) I'd be very careful what I bought in the next few weeks.  Today's legal suppressor may well be tomorrow's contraband.  But for us red state residents, I think it will be a good win, at least for a while. 

[United Surplus Arms]

I don't believe that is correct.  

Suppressors/SBS/SBR/AOW will still be regulated by NFA.  

The only change is that the transfer/manufacturing tax goes from $200 (or $5 for AOW) to zero.

Here is the relevant section, directly from Congress' website:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text

SEC. 70436. REDUCTION OF TRANSFER AND MANUFACTURING TAXES FOR CERTAIN 
              DEVICES.

    (a) Transfer Tax.--Section 5811(a) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Rate.--There shall be levied, collected, and paid on firearms 
transferred a tax at the rate of--
            ``(1) $200 for each firearm transferred in the case of a 
        machinegun or a destructive device, and
            ``(2) $0 for any firearm transferred which is not described 
        in paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Making Tax.--Section 5821(a) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Rate.--There shall be levied, collected, and paid upon the 
making of a firearm a tax at the rate of--
            ``(1) $200 for each firearm made in the case of a 
        machinegun or a destructive device, and
            ``(2) $0 for any firearm made which is not described in 
        paragraph (1).''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 4182(a) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: ``For purposes of the preceding sentence, any 
firearm described in section 5811(a)(2) shall be deemed to be a firearm 
on which the tax provided by section 5811 has been paid.''
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to calendar quarters beginning more than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

 

The original proposal (hearing protection act) did remove them from NFA registry, but it was not included in the BBB

Edited July 5, 2025 by United Surplus Arms

[Tall Pine]

Really, I thought it was only the $200 stamp fee that is gone. My understanding is that the House versuon of the Bill did away with it as you say, but the Senate parliamentarian struck out the provisions removing them from the NFA/registry on the Senate version since it was not a Budget related action (and thus would have required a 60 vote threshold). 

Edited July 5, 2025 by Tall Pine

[Uncle Zeek]

1 hour ago, Tall Pine said:

Really, I thought it was only the $200 stamp fee that is gone. My understanding is that the House versuon of the Bill did away with it as you say, but the Senate parliamentarian struck out the provisions removing them from the NFA/registry on the Senate version since it was not a Budget related action (and thus would have required a 60 vote threshold). 

Correct.  They're still NFA regulated firearms, still need a form 3 or form 4, but the tax on SBR/SBS/AOW/cans is now zero dollars.

[Thumpy]

Baby steps the NFA will be gone in my life time…. This is why you “poke the bear” 

[StrangeRanger]

Here's the version that I found at https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr1/BILLS-119hr1eh.pdf

It doesn't alter CFR section 5845(a) definitions (1) through (4) so it seems to leave the SBR/SBS tax in place

SEC. 112029. MODIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF SILENCERS.
(a) IN GENERAL .—Section 5845(a) is amended by
striking ‘‘(7) any silencer’’ and all that follows through
‘‘; and (8)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (7)’’.
(b) TRANSFER TAX .—Section 5811(a) is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(a) R ATE .—There shall be levied, collected, and paid
on firearms transferred a tax at the rate of—
‘‘(1) $5 for each firearm transferred in the case
of a weapon classified as any other weapon under
section 5845(e),
‘‘(2) $0 for each firearm transferred in the case
of a silencer (as defined in section 921 of title 18,
United States Code), and
969
•HR 1 EH1S
‘‘(3) $200 for any other firearm transferred.’’
(c) MAKING TAX .—Section 5821(a) is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(a) RATE .—There shall be levied, collected, and paid
upon the making of a firearm a tax at the rate of—
‘‘(1) $0 for each silencer (as defined in section
921 of title 18, United States Code) made, and
‘‘(2) $200 for any other firearm made.’’
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE .—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to calendar quarters beginning
more than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
 

Edited July 5, 2025 by StrangeRanger
added info

[Uncle Zeek]

1 hour ago, StrangeRanger said:

Here's the version that I found at https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr1/BILLS-119hr1eh.pdf

It doesn't alter CFR section 5845(a) definitions (1) through (4) so it seems to leave the SBR/SBS tax in place

Interesting, then I may be wrong.  Was relying on a public release from Silencer Shop.  Will read the bill myself in the next week or so.

[United Surplus Arms]

The version that Strange Ranger linked to is what the House originally passed.  

The version I linked to is the final bill that was passed by the House, Senate, and signed into law by the President.  Therein lies the difference.

 

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/all-actions?overview=closed#tabs

Edited July 5, 2025 by United Surplus Arms

[Bill in Bama]

I think it is just as well.  If they were taken off the registry then the states would attempt to regulate them as they saw fit, and the results would be from the sublime to the ridiculous.  With lots of unintended consequences.

 

Bill 

[Chef]

There you go, the dam has broken!

My young twenty-something friends believe this bill passing is like the "keystone" being removed, and the whole NFA will collapse soon after.
So guys, it's time to buy all the parts kits you can find and sell off all your transferables ASAP before they are only worth the sum of their parts.
Soon every person will be able to make their own new MGs and silencers without a SOT of any kind.
These are the new "good 'ol days"!

[MPFiveO]

1 hour ago, Chef said:

There you go, the dam has broken!

My young twenty-something friends believe this bill passing is like the "keystone" being removed, and the whole NFA will collapse soon after.
So guys, it's time to buy all the parts kits you can find and sell off all your transferables ASAP before they are only worth the sum of their parts.
Soon every person will be able to make their own new MGs and silencers without a SOT of any kind.
These are the new "good 'ol days"!

Oh man, you've got me all excited! I can't wait for the transferable market to crash! All of my investment grade guns will be worthless but I'm going to jump out of the window into a pile of parts kits! Woo hoo!

Ok, sarcasm off...

The amount of internet "hype man" and click bait videos and threads is mind boggling. I will acquiesce and say that having the tax stamp go away is a welcome relief considering suppressors are inexpensive, or should be. The tax is what kept many from buying them because a $200 tax on a $200 suppressor was just stupid.

As for machine guns being next, I'm really looking forward to being able to pick up a case of Thompson's at Costco.

Tell you're whipper snapper friends to keep waiting. I might be paying the price now, but I'm enjoying them now.

[StrangeRanger]

This sets the precedent for revising the NFA so when the Democrats return to power, which they will, they will restore or more likely increase the transfer tax.  Enjoy it while you can.

[MPFiveO]

15 minutes ago, StrangeRanger said:

This sets the precedent for revising the NFA so when the Democrats return to power, which they will, they will restore or more likely increase the transfer tax.  Enjoy it while you can.

I keep hearing people say this, and I have no counter argument at the moment. My inquiry is this, how... Without an "incident" are they going to justify it? What will their arguments be? Will instituting a punitive tax on NFA make us all safer?

I'd like to see some discussion on this. If we can come up with the reasons they might do it, then we might be able to come up with counter arguments. Don't just plan to get it while you can and say, "Well, I gotz minez!"

Think ahead, how would we counter this?

[StrangeRanger]

They won't need to "justify" it. They will include it in an omnibus reconciliation bill that will undo all or most of the Big Beautiful Bill.  It will be buried in with raising taxes on the rich, restoring Medicaid and SNAP, restoring VA funding, restoring green energy etc 

[Colt Chopper]

Hopefully the majority of Americans will stay on the "Common Sense: course and return our country to Law and Order;

 and Vance will get two full terms, that's all I can hope for,

 

[johnsonlmg41]

4 hours ago, Chef said:

There you go, the dam has broken!

My young twenty-something friends believe this bill passing is like the "keystone" being removed, and the whole NFA will collapse soon after.
So guys, it's time to buy all the parts kits you can find and sell off all your transferables ASAP before they are only worth the sum of their parts.
Soon every person will be able to make their own new MGs and silencers without a SOT of any kind.
These are the new "good 'ol days"!

Ah, to be young again!!   The problem with their beliefs is that the reddit/ utube lawyers/ and arfcommer dudes have no idea how the NFA is written or what it represents.  You're not just overturning a little MG law, you'd be overturning congress's control over interstate commerce.  You'd need 70 republican senators to make that happen.  Technically it's 60, but 10 would vote against.  No democrat will ever cede power back to masses so they don't count.  

You've always been able to make your own cans, but now that will become more prevalent since you will be able to register a pop bottle and oil can conversion for free.  I see a serious collapse in cans overall. This morning I though of going into it myself with high performance steel cans under $300...then I woke up....there will be a bunch of guys doing this.  With no tax and efile you can get a can quicker and cheaper than a handgun in many states.   That really is a game changer.  And you can experiment in your garage for free vs. the 200 risk of not finishing or making crap not worth 200.  Suppressor build parties coming  to a garage near you!

The example set was the SBR free registration.  Almost nobody buys an SBR from a dealer, but the floodgates opened when you could form 1 for free.  200 was a barrier for a lot of people.

Edited July 6, 2025 by johnsonlmg41

[StrangeRanger]

If it weren't for the China tariff we'd see the return of the "fuel filter" suppressor kits which actually made a halfway decent device.  I filed a Form 1 on one and am pretty satisfied with how it works on a PTR9K with 147 gr 9 Para.  I have way more $$ in the stamp than I do in the suppressor

 

[Frank I]

What about suppressor PARTS? 

Formerly only allowed to be possessed by C2s...  

[United Surplus Arms]

1 hour ago, Frank I said:

What about suppressor PARTS? 

Formerly only allowed to be possessed by C2s...  

my guess is that there will be no change to this (suppressor parts will still be restricted to manufacturers) as they continue to be regulated by the NFA.

[Thumpy]

Boomers on life alert over this I see. “The NFA will never change take ” just took an L …. 

[Chef]

2 hours ago, Thumpy said:

Boomers on life alert over this I see. “The NFA will never change take ” just took an L …. 

Hello my 20 something friend!
What's the chatter like over on Reddit? Are y'all getting ready for your MG build parties?

[Mark2]

Nothing has changed as to what is regulated under the NFA, or the legal process to obtain an NFA Item. The taxes were simply reduced to $0 on all NFA items except MG’s and DD’s. The NFA didn’t change, only the current transfer tax rates. Since the NFA Language still allows taxes to be imposed on all NFA Items, they could easily be raised again. 

[StrangeRanger]

2 hours ago, Mark2 said:

Nothing has changed as to what is regulated under the NFA, or the legal process to obtain an NFA Item. The taxes were simply reduced to $0 on all NFA items except MG’s and DD’s. The NFA didn’t change, only the current transfer tax rates. Since the NFA Language still allows taxes to be imposed on all NFA Items, they could easily be raised again. 

Don't confuse people by stating facts

[Thumpy]

9 hours ago, Chef said:

Hello my 20 something friend!
What's the chatter like over on Reddit? Are y'all getting ready for your MG build parties?

I’m not on Reddit but Hell yeah man lol it’s doing to take some time but in the next 15-20 years we will be doing them… I’m sure you’ll be long gone by then unfortunately. Make sure to log off the forms  and Reddit  and spend a little more time with your grandchildren while you still got it so they don’t end up doing only fans okay ? Lmfaoooo 

[Thumpy]

3 hours ago, Mark2 said:

Nothing has changed as to what is regulated under the NFA, or the legal process to obtain an NFA Item. The taxes were simply reduced to $0 on all NFA items except MG’s and DD’s. The NFA didn’t change, only the current transfer tax rates. Since the NFA Language still allows taxes to be imposed on all NFA Items, they could easily be raised again. 

By dropping the tax to zero more and more items will be floating around and the “not in common use argument” will be null and void. Baby steps forward… biggest baby step since 1986 and it’s a huge step forward in my opinion.

[BPinFL]

You guys need to shut up and wait until the dust settles! So sad! BP