Firearms use taxes, sales tax.

Just heard that my integral 9mm suppressed upper is shipping from SRT in AZ. Rainier Arms will be handling the transfer and hold the upper until the stamp arrives. Via email I was advised that I would have to pay sales tax on the upper when it arrives, in addition to their fee for transfer. Here is the confusing part, what will I be taxed on exactly? I provided the upper and free floated hand guard to SRT for the build, so I see no taxes there. Labor done in AZ (outside the state of WA) is not, or should not, be taxable in the state. The only thing I figure is taxable would be the materials that make up the suppressor itself. Now the next question is should I be taxed on the materials that make up the suppressor or the final product?

Please respond if you have any useful information, or have been through a similar situation.

I just assume you get taxed to "use" the FFL...

What does Rainier Arms charge for transfers?

Probably the most rudimentary way of trying to make sense of the use-tax is...

You're going to get taxed for the privilege of using the service or property if you cannot prove
a) it was already your property (this does not include any taxable improvements)
b) tax was already paid on it here or elsewhere

You should not be taxed on the value of the materials you provided... that said, the invoice included with the item should reflect that cost difference... they will use the invoice to base the tax on.

Not sure what they charge on suppressors... $50 for long guns, $75 for pistols.

I just hope he broke down labor vs. his materials on the receipt. I can prove I provided the upper, have the tracking number and might have the insurance slip. I know the guys at Rainier Arms are stand up guys, but in a situation like this I am wondering what the states "fair" share is going to be.

Oh, and quoted me $75 for NFA transfers.

You may want to call SRT and ask for a receipt broken down they way you want it, then you can have the discussion with about what is taxable and what is not with the RA folks without having to be subjective...

Here you go: http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Pubs/SpecialNotices/2002/sn_02_oosrepair.pdf

You should only owe use tax on the total charge for the service, and not the materials you provided.

HOLY SHIT! $75 for a pistol! INSANE!

DGS charges $100 if you ship in a duplicate of something they have in stock as a "FU for not buying from us" tax. I've heard they have upped all transfers to $100 now, but have not confirmed it.

Thanks for the link above. Listen up all you Vancouver guys, better pay your taxes here if you have something done to your car in Oregon.
This state never ceases to amaze.

Holy crap. In my part of the stae, I could get a gun transferred and a blowjob down the street for $75.

When I lived in TX, my guy was $5 (free for LEO), plus no use tax BS

In WA the queen needs money

you mean the queen troll

$5 transfer fee? As an FFL I certainly say "Fuck that!". My time is valuable too, as well as the expenses involved with the licenses. All told it probably takes 20-30 minutes to process a transfer "end to end". That's sending the FFL, receiving the shipment, unboxing and cleanup, contacting the customer, getting the paperwork lined up, then doing the actual transfer. $10-$15 an hour is what that nets out to if I could do back to back transfers. Less if there is a delay and the customer has to come back.

I know we don't like taxes, but they are necessary. We could have an income tax, or worse still, both like California.

But $75+ is also preposterous.

In Texas, CPL bypasses the background check thus makes transfers a lot faster.

I imagine he had his reasons for charging what he charged, and I doubt it was a primary source of income... he seemed to only do transfers, no inventory or anything... probably did enough volume to call his hobby a business... and I'm sure if he had to collect taxes for the state, he would charge more... the fact that there is no additional licensing required in TX, there is not really a mechanism to force the collection of a use tax since he is only providing a service, not the goods themselves... in TX businesses only pay use taxes on things they purchase for use in their business for which sales tax was not paid... they collect sales tax on goods or services they sell.

I'm having my AI rifle shipped to a dealer in Oregon just for this reason....

Careful, the Queen will not be happy if she finds out.

I'm pretty sure her minions aren't paying attention.

Not really, that saves me about 3 minutes on the computer. You still have to do the full 4473 fill out.

Had a friend do that to "save money". 350 miles round trip in a Tahoe, and the ENTIRE day to do the transfer. I guess the way Oregon does their checks takes a lot longer sometimes. Oregon is a POC state, meaning the state does the NICS check vs the dealer. I guess they got delayed for 3 hours because of this. It is up to you to decide how much your time is worth, as well as gas, wear and tear etc. if you live close, certainly might make sense. Live in the Seattle area? Not worth it in my opinion unless you have other things you want to down there.

I've just applied for my FFL. Certainly doing transfers costs a certain amount of time and it's a necessary service (unfortunately). A reasonable cost for the time is not too bad. The state taking their cut sucks too, but I don't blame anybody for collecting it- it's their rear in a sling if they don't and I don't plan on going to jail for anyone's 8% tax.

I'd say it's worth $400 give or take a little....

His "savings" were like $550, and he felt it worth it. I personally don't, so I wouldn't do it. But as a small business owner, even in this hostile-to-business state, I'd like to support the local guys (and not just on guns).

Jesus. . . I use Capital Loans in West Seattle. . . great guys, and they only charge 25$

Nobody here has mentioned Woody Matthews / Waffenfabrik West in Seattle, probably the best price on the West Coast.

Ortwein International in Vancouver is pretty reasonable too. I think his fee is $35 still.

I buy plenty of reloading stuff locally.. can never seem to get in on group buys when I need stuff

There are a lot of places other than RA and DGS that charges way less than what they are charging for transfers..

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.