Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle D— - Miscellaneous Excise Taxes › Chapter CHAPTER 50A— - DESIGNATED DRUGS › § 5000D
Manufacturers, producers, or importers must pay a special tax when they sell certain drugs during specific noncompliance days. The tax amount is set so that the “applicable percentage” equals the tax divided by (the tax plus the sale price). A day counts as a noncompliance day if it falls in one of these periods: from March 1 (or October 2 for the 2026 initial year) after the drug is put on the HHS list until the maker signs an agreement or HHS makes a formal determination; from November 2 after that March 1 (or August 2 after the October 2 in 2026) until the maker and HHS agree on a maximum fair price or HHS makes that determination; for selected drugs under renegotiation, from the November 2 two years before the relevant price year until a renegotiated price is agreed or HHS makes a determination; or from when HHS says required information is overdue until it is submitted. The tax rate is 65% for the first 90 days, 75% for days 91–180, 85% for days 181–270, and 95% after that. Days do not count if they fall inside a gap when the manufacturer has ended all applicable discount or rebate agreements and none of its drugs are covered by certain Medicare discount or rebate programs; that gap ends the last day of February after the maker re-enters any applicable agreement or any drug becomes covered. “Designated drug” means a negotiation-eligible drug on the HHS list that is made in or imported into the United States. The Secretary may treat sales timed to avoid the tax as taxable and will issue rules and guidance needed to carry out these rules.
Full Legal Text
Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 5000D
Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73