PRIA Logo™
Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73

§4182 Exemptions

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle D— Miscellaneous Excise Taxes › Chapter 32— MANUFACTURERS EXCISE TAXES › Subchapter D— Recreational Equipment › Part III— FIREARMS › § 4182

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Several sales escape the federal excise tax on firearms. The tax does not apply to a firearm that already paid the special transfer tax, and under a 2025 law, firearms covered by the related provision are treated as having paid that tax, starting with calendar quarters beginning more than 90 days after July 4, 2025. Guns and ammunition bought with military appropriations are exempt, and so are pistols, revolvers, and firearms from small makers who manufacture, produce, and import fewer than 50 such articles in a calendar year. Federal firearms licensees also do not have to record buyer information for shotgun ammunition, rifle-only ammunition, or their component parts.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §4182

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The tax imposed by section 4181 shall not apply to any firearm on which the tax provided by section 5811 has been paid. 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.
(b)No firearms, pistols, revolvers, shells, and cartridges purchased with funds appropriated for the military department shall be subject to any tax imposed on the sale or transfer of such articles.
(c)(1)The tax imposed by section 4181 shall not apply to any pistol, revolver, or firearm described in such section if manufactured, produced, or imported by a person who manufactures, produces, and imports less than an aggregate of 50 of such articles during the calendar year.
(2)All persons treated as a single employer for purposes of subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 shall be treated as one person for purposes of paragraph (1).
(d)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 922(b)(5) and 923(g) of title 18, United States Code, no person holding a Federal license under chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, shall be required to record the name, address, or other information about the purchaser of shotgun ammunition, ammunition suitable for use only in rifles generally available in commerce, or component parts for the aforesaid types of ammunition.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2025—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 119–21 inserted at end “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.” 2005—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 109–59 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d). 1969—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 91–128 added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2025 Amendment Pub. L. 119–21, title VII, § 70436(d), July 4, 2025, 139 Stat. 248, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [amending this section and section 5811 and 5821 of this title] shall apply to calendar quarters beginning more than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [July 4, 2025].”

Effective Date

of 2005 Amendment Pub. L. 109–59, title XI, § 11131(b), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1959, provided that: “(1) In general.—The

Amendments

made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to articles sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer after September 30, 2005. “(2) No inference.—Nothing in the

Amendments

made by this section shall be construed to create any inference with respect to the proper tax treatment of any sales before the

Effective Date

of such

Amendments

.”

Short Title

of 1969 Amendment Pub. L. 91–128, § 1(a), Nov. 26, 1969, 83 Stat. 261, provided that: “This Act [amending this section and section 4911, 4912, 4914, 4915, 4919, 4920, 6011, and 6680 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 6680 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Interest Equalization Tax Extension Act of 1969’.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 4182

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73