Title 26Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73

§5801 Imposition of tax

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 › § 5801

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Importers, manufacturers, and dealers of firearms must pay a yearly special tax for each business location when they first start and then each year by July 1. Importers and manufacturers pay $1,000 per year or part of a year; dealers pay $500 per year or part of a year. If an importer or manufacturer had gross receipts under $500,000 for the last taxable year, the $1,000 rate is reduced to $500. Persons treated as one taxpayer under section 5061(e)(3) are treated as one for this rule, and rules like subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 448(c)(3) apply for the lower-rate rule.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §5801

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)On 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)(1)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)All persons treated as 1 taxpayer under section 5061(e)(3) shall be treated as 1 taxpayer for purposes of paragraph (1).
(3)For purposes of paragraph (1), rules similar to the rules of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 448(c)(3) shall apply.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior 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 Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1987 AmendmentAmendment 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 section 6806 and 7273 of this title, repealing section 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 section 6806 and 7273 of this title, repealing section 5692 and 6107 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 5801

Title 26Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73