NOTE: I will keep this post updated as the bill moves throughout the legislative process.
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The original version of President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ included a provision which eliminated the National Firearms Act (NFA) tax on suppressors but left them subject to the other provisions of the NFA.
In a subsequent amendment, which was approved by the House of Representatives, suppressors were removed from the NFA altogether.
But being approved by the House does not guarantee that version of the bill will become law. Now that it has passed the House, it must be voted on in the Senate. Often, the Senate will pass a different or modified version of a bill and then there has to be a conference committee convened to resolve the differences. So, the final version may be one of these two options or something else altogether.
Once both chambers have passed the bill, and any changes have been reconciled, the final version will be sent to the President to be signed or vetoed.
Some common questions I have been asked:
1) If passed, when will the bill become effective?
If signed by the President, the bill will become law and will be effective based upon the effective date laid out in the bill. The current version of the bill has this language regarding the effective date of the suppressor changes:
“(d) Effective Date.–The amendments made by this section
shall apply to calendar quarters beginning more than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.”
So … for example … if the bill was signed into law on June 6, then 90 days would take us to September 4. The quarter that starts after that date is the 4th quarter of 2025 which starts October 1. Therefore, if the current language survives the Senate, the bill would become effective October 1, 2025.
2) What will happen to those suppressors already registered under the NFA?
That is a good question that will probably not be answered until the ATF promulgates regulations following the enactment of the final bill.
3) Will there be refunds for those suppressors already registered under the NFA?
The bill does NOT provide for the refunding of previously paid excise taxes under the NFA.
4) If I currently live in a state that only allows suppressors if they are owned in compliance with the NFA, will I lose my suppressor?
That is a very interesting question. Attorney Tom Grieve has done a detailed breakdown of this issue on his YouTube channel.
Short answer … at least in the short term, there will almost certainly be collateral consequences in some states.
