AR Sponsor
Posted: 7/12/2006 3:38:24 PM EDT
|
Hi everyone, very nice site. I've been browsing for a little while now.... Ok, I'm a little confused about the excise tax thing for building. According to the TTB if I'm making it for myself there is no tax. 4. If I manufacture an article only for my personal use, am I still liable for FAET? If you manufacture a firearm for your personal use, you are not liable for FAET. (Note: this exemption does not apply to partnerships and corporations) But on the ATF's site they say; (A6) Does the GCA prohibit anyone from making a handgun, shotgun or rifle? With certain exceptions a firearm may be made by a non-licensee provided it is not for sale and the maker is not prohibited from possessing firearms. However, a person is prohibited from assembling a non-sporting semi-automatic rifle or non-sporting shotgun from imported parts. In addition, the making of an NFA firearm requires a tax payment and approval by ATF. An application to make a machine gun will not be approved unless documentation is submitted showing that the firearm is being made for a Federal or State agency. The only thing the one says that the other doesn't is about the NFA, which is pretty much refering to SBRs. So if I don't build a SBR (and use only US parts) I don't have to pay an excise tax? Ok, if I was on the right path there then let's take this one step further. I'd like to build a rifle with a 14.5" stainless barrel, but since my state doesn't allow supressors I'm going to use some silver solder on a flash supressor which should make it over 16", no longer a SBR. Well if/ when I install a silencer (in the future, assuming I'm living in a state that it is legal in) does that mean I now have to pay the excise tax for the SBR? Would I have to pay it twice, ie once for the SBR and the other time for the supressor or does once cover it for both? I hope I wasn't as clear as mud... or should I say as clear as legal writings. Thanks, |
|
If you put a suppressor on 14.5 barrel that has a permanent muzzle device that makes it a 16" barrel. The only tax stamp you need is for the suppressor. eta: If you do not permanently attach the muzzle device then you must have a tax stamp for an SBR. IMHO if you know that you are going to put a suppressor on it later, you should go ahead and mount the correct muzzle attachment that goes with the silencer. It will at least save you some time. |
|
The tax payment & approval from BATF for NFA isn't the same as an FET. It's a tax to make & register an NFA firearm. You can build your own lower & keep it free & clear or you can make it an SBR & pay the $200 tax. Either way, if you make the lower you're stuck with it. Registering it as an SBR doesn't mean you can ever sell it. If you have a barrel with a length less than 16" it's an SBR & you have to pay the tax & register it. Permanently attached flashhiders count toward the length. You'll have to pay the $200 to transfer a silencer. If you choose to make the barrel less than 16" you'll then have to register the lower as an SBR. |
So by removing the flash hider and installing a silencer it'd be $200 for the silencer transfer and $200 to convert it from a rifle to a SBR? If I build one I'll probably do the 80% lower (no logos!) which isn't FFL transfered, does this mean once I get it built up I have to bring it in for inspection? How do I go about making it legal? Thanks for the quick replies. |
|
FET is due if you are in the business of making guns for sale. It's 11% for long guns. If you are making a gun for yourself and later sell it, you are not required to pay FET. The tax you pay to make a NFA firearm is a separate $200 tax and comes in the form of a stamp. |
Each is a separate serialized item. If you were to have the silencer permanently attached, making the barrle longer than 16", you won't have to SBR the lower. I definitely DO NOT recommend that. You're going to pay $200 for the silencer regardless. If the barrel is less than 16" you'll also have to SBR. If you only want to pay 1 tax, my suggestion is pick a few suppressors you like. Most of them have QD with various flash hiders on the market. Have one of those permanently installed. That way when you do buy a silencer it will fit right on the flash hider & you're still over 16".
There's no inspection. If you manufacture a lower from an 80%, you can never sell it. It's yours forever. If you decide to register it as an SBR, you'll need your name, city, state, model#, & a serial# of your choice engraved on the lower. Minimum 1/16" high letters. ETA: even after it's registered as an SBR & entered in the NFA registry, you still cannot ever sell it. |
Why wouldn't you be able to sell it? The only prohibition (that I know of) of selling homemade firearms is that you can't be making the firearms as a business i.e. making a profit. AKA being a dealer without a license which is a no-no. Where are you getting that you can never sell a home-completed reciever? |
|
Actually, he would be able to sell the receiver(finished from 80% casting) provided that A. he actually used it AND B. he marked it(according to ATF regulation) with his name, a serial #, caliber, and the city/state that it was manufactured in. And, a reciever or firearm can be delisted from the NFA provided that it has been re-configured to comply with regulations for a standard title 1 firearm again. |
|
FET arises by virtue of Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce. The FFL is something Congress requries you to have to engage in interstate commerce in firearms. If you are not 'in the business' of buying or selling firearms, you are not engaging in 'commerce' within the scope of the Interstate Commerce Clause (of the Constitution). Therefore, if you are making a firearm for your personal use, and it is otherwise legal for you to own (when completed), i.e., not a machinegun, short-barreled rifle, etc., then Congress cannot require you to pay any tax thereon, including FET. This is also an unstated concession to the 2nd Amendment, though no one in the halls of power will come right out and say it. Your state, however, is not likewise constrained, so check your state laws. |
A standard FS attached to a 14.5" barrel will not get you to the 16" needed length (rod down the bore and against the face of the bolt). You will need an extended FS unit to silver solder on (read 1150* flow and prep the steel so it bonds) Form 1 to SBR your own produced receiver or a fully store bought completely machined receiver will cost you $200 for the stamp. Form 1 to make a can, or a produced unit on a form 4 will be another $200 for the stamp. If your producing the receiver for yourself form a 0% or 80% receiver for your own use, then no FET tax, even if you decide you don't want it anymore later on and sell it. On the other hand, if you going to be making a few and selling them off, you better be paying the SOT, and paying the FET on the complete units produced. And when you go to sell your home built unit, if SBR or canned, the buyer will need to pay for his own tax stamps since the stamps are not transferable (read $200 per pop). |
There is a difference between selling a rifle you don't want anymore & making it to sell it. My line of thinking is better safe than sorry. Besides, a new top tier lower doesn't cost that much anyway, I doubt you'd get a whole lot for a used homebrew. |
|
As far as an AR goes, when you buy a stripped lower, or a complete firearm the 11% FET is paid by the manufacturer, ie Bushmaster, DPMS, Stag ect. The only way YOu are liable for FET is if YOU manufacture the complete rifle or a stripped lower for sale to another party. NFA aka BATFE tax is a seperate tax stamp you have to get for a full auto, or a Short Barreled Rifle, a silencer aka can, A sawed off shot gun, or an explosive or switchblade knife. The NFA/ATF tax stamp is differant for each of these items. The FET or federal excise tax is 11% for a firearm or the numbered reciever for same. That is figured into the price of the firearm. Assembling parts into a rifle is NOT manufacturing, the company that makes your lower is the manufacturer. Hope that clears things up. |
|
There are 2 separate issues you are asking about. I will assume you will purchase a stripped lower, and not be machining your own from a 0% or 80% receiver. First, the FET: This is a 11% excise tax on the manufacture for resale of a firearm. If you are building your own rifle for your own personal use, you dont need to pay it. Second, the NFA tax: If you are building a SBR or suppressor as an individual, you must pay a $200 making tax. If you are buying a SBR or suppressor built by someone else, you must pay a $200 transfer tax. Either way, it is $200 to obtain either. If you have both it is $400 ($200 for SBR, $200 for suppressor). Permanently attached flash suppressors count toward barrel length - a 14.5" barrel + 1.5" permanently attached flash suppressor is considered a 16" barrel, so it is not a SBR.
It depends upon the barrel you use, or if you intend to permanently attach the suppressor to the barrel. If you use a 16" barrel, you only pay tax on the suppressor. If you use the 14.5" barrel and permanently attach the suppressor, you only pay tax on the suppressor. If you use the 14.5" barrel and screw the suppressor on (i.e., removable) you will pay tax on both the suppressor and a SBR. |
AR Sponsor