Federal Excise Tax Resources for ATA Members

The FET is a 10- to 11-percent tax manufacturers pay on the first sale of firearms, ammunition and some archery equipment. The tax is part of the 1937 Wildlife Restoration Act, more commonly called the Pittman-Robertson Act. Archery equipment was added to the FET in 1972. Since then, bows, arrows and all equipment attached to a bow to shoot archery are subject to the FET.

Revenues generated by the FET are collected by the IRS and sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to distribute to state wildlife agencies for habitat restoration, hunter education, wildlife research, public-access programs and other high-priority nationwide conservation projects. The FET helps boost the archery and bowhunting industry by ensuring people have places to hunt and animals to pursue, which helps create more foot traffic and generate more revenue for archery store owners.

This course provides an overview of the Excise Tax and highlights resources available to ATA Members to help navigate their requirements under the tax law.