U.S. Code » Title 26 » Subtitle Subtitle E— Alcohol, Tobacco, and Certain Other Excise Taxes › Chapter CHAPTER 53— MACHINE GUNS, DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES, AND CERTAIN OTHER FIREARMS › Subchapter Subchapter A— Taxes › Part PART I— SPECIAL (OCCUPATIONAL) TAXES

26 U.S.C. § 5801

Imposition of tax

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(a) General ruleOn 1st engaging in business and thereafter on or before July 1 of each year, every importer, manufacturer, and dealer in firearms shall pay a special (occupational) tax for each place of business at the following rates:(1) Importers and manufacturers: $1,000 a year or fraction thereof.(2) Dealers: $500 a year or fraction thereof.(b) Reduced rates of tax for small importers and manufacturers(1) In general

Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be applied by substituting “$500” for “$1,000” with respect to any taxpayer the gross receipts of which (for the most recent taxable year ending before the 1st day of the taxable period to which the tax imposed by subsection (a) relates) are less than $500,000.

(2) Controlled group rules

All persons treated as 1 taxpayer under section 5061(e)(3) shall be treated as 1 taxpayer for purposes of paragraph (1).

(3) Certain rules to apply

For purposes of paragraph (1), rules similar to the rules of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 448(c)(3) shall apply.

(Added Pub. L. 90–618, title II, § 201, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1227; amended Pub. L. 100–203, title X, § 10512(g)(1), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–449.)Editorial NotesPrior Provisions

A prior section 5801, acts Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 721; Sept. 2, 1958, Pub. L. 85–859, title II, § 203(a), 72 Stat. 1427; June 1, 1960, Pub. L. 86–478, § 1, 74 Stat. 149, consisted of provisions similar to those comprising this section, prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 90–618.

Amendments

1987—Pub. L. 100–203 substituted “Imposition of tax” for “Tax” in section catchline and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “On first engaging in business and thereafter on or before the first day of July of each year, every importer, manufacturer, and dealer in firearms shall pay a special (occupational) tax for each place of business at the following rates:

“(1) Importers.—$500 a year or fraction thereof;

“(2) Manufacturers.—$500 a year or fraction thereof;

“(3) Dealers.—$200 a year or fraction thereof.

Except an importer, manufacturer, or dealer who imports, manufactures, or deals in only weapons classified as ‘any other weapon’ under section 5845(e), shall pay a special (occupational) tax for each place of business at the following rates: Importers, $25 a year or fraction thereof; manufacturers, $25 a year or fraction thereof; dealers, $10 a year or fraction thereof.”

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1987 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 100–203 effective Jan. 1, 1988, see section 10512(h) of Pub. L. 100–203, set out as a note under section 5111 of this title.

Effective Date

Pub. L. 90–618, title II, § 207, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1235, as amended by Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095, provided that:“(a)Section 201 of this title [enacting this chapter] shall take effect on the first day of the first month following the month in which it is enacted [October 1968].“(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) or any other provision of law, any person possessing a firearm as defined in section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [formerly I.R.C. 1954] (as amended by this title) which is not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record shall register each firearm so possessed with the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate in such form and manner as the Secretary or his delegate may require within the thirty days immediately following the effective date of section 201 of this Act [see subsec. (a) of this section]. Such registrations shall become a part of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record required to be maintained by section 5841 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as amended by this title). No information or evidence required to be submitted or retained by a natural person to register a firearm under this section shall be used, directly or indirectly, as evidence against such person in any criminal proceeding with respect to a prior or concurrent violation of law.“(c) The amendments made by sections 202 through 206 of this title [amending sections 6806 and 7273 of this title, repealing sections 5692 and 6107 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under this section] shall take effect on the date of enactment [Oct. 22, 1968].“(d) The Secretary of the Treasury, after publication in the Federal Register of his intention to do so, is authorized to establish such period of amnesty, not to exceed ninety days in the case of any single period, and immunity from liability during any such period, as the Secretary determines will contribute to the purposes of this title [adding this chapter, and sections 6806 and 7273 of this title, repealing sections 5692 and 6107 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section].”

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 193 cases (34 in the last 5 years), 1957–2026 · leading case: Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
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Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (2019) cadc · cites it 2× “In the wake of that tragedy, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("Bureau") promulgated through formal notice-and-comment proceedings a rule that classifies bump-stock devices as machine guns under the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. §§ 5801 - 5872. See…”
Aposhian v. Barr (2020) ca10 · cites it 2× “Aposhian had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of his challenge to a rule promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that classifies bump stocks as machine guns under the National Firearms Act (NFA), 26 U.S.C. §§ 5801–5872. See…”
United States v. Spoerke (2009) ca11 · cites it 2× “26 U.S.C. §§ 5801 et seq. We conclude that it is.”
United States v. Cox (2018) ca10 · cites it 2× “This is a tale of two laws: the National Firearms Act (NFA), 26 U.S.C. §§ 5801 - 5872, which requires the registration of statutorily defined firearms, and Kansas's Second Amendment Protection Act (SAPA), ch.”
Bryan Range v. Attorney General United States (2023) ca3 “1236 (1934) (current version at 26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.). The landscape changed in 1937, when the Supreme Court adopted an expansive conception of the Commerce Clause.”
Haynes v. United States (1968) scotus · cites it 3× “26 U. S. C. §§ 5801 , 5802. Separate taxes are imposed on the making and transfer of such firearms by persons other than those obliged to pay the occupational taxes.”
Leary v. United States (1969) scotus · cites it 2× “, and the National Firearms Act, now 26 U. S. C. § 5801 et seq. [26] Both of these statutes compelled dealers in the respective goods to register and pay a special tax.”
United States v. Thompson/Center Arms Co. (1992) scotus · cites it 2× “[2] The phrase "other than by one qualified to engage in such business under this chapter" apparently refers to those manufacturers who have sought and obtained qualification as a firearms manufacturer under 26 U.”
In Re St. Augustine Gun Works, Inc. (1987) flmb · cites it 6× “Inspector Trestik recommended that assessments of income tax be made for taxable events pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §§ 5801 (2), 5811, 5821, more particularly described in paragraph 4, infra.”
United States v. Biswell (1972) scotus · cites it 2× “§ 5845 's technical definition of "firearms," and every dealer in such firearms was required by 26 U. S. C. § 5801 to pay a special occupational tax of $200 a year.”
Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC (2019) conn “Such Federal laws include the Gun Control Act of 1968, the National Firearms Act [ 26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq. ], and the Arms Export Control Act [ 22 U.”
United States v. Francis T. Warin, Second Amendment Foundation, Amicus Curiae (1976) ca2 · cites it 2× “This case requires a determination of whether certain provisions of the National Firearms Act as amended by the Gun Control Act of 1968, 26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq., are an invalid infringement on the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the…”
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