West Virginia: Firearms and Ammunition Tax Exemption
Beginning July 1st, 2021, West Virginia enacted a sales and use tax exemption for small arms and ammunition. The exemption applies to small arms, defined as: “any portable firearm, designed to be carried and operated by a single person, including, but not limited to, rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers, with no barrel greater than an internal diameter of .50 caliber or a shotgun of 10 gauge or smaller.” The exemption also applies to ammunition designed for use in small arms, which includes: any complete shell, round, or cartridge; round, shell, or cartridge components; bullets; projectiles; cartridge cases; primers; caps; and propellants.
The law does not exempt accessories for small arms, such as holsters, cases, scopes, and mounts, nor does it exempt accessories for ammunition, such as ammunition boxes, magazines, and clips.
West Virginia is the only state that collects sales tax to exempt small arms and ammunition entirely, but Mississippi and Louisiana each have annual sales tax holiday weekends for the purchase of firearms.
TaxCloud users will want to use new TICs 90505 (firearms) and 90506 (ammunition) to ensure they get the benefit of this exemption. If you are not a TaxCloud customer, you should consider using TaxCloud or another certified service provider to keep you up to date in the constantly evolving world of sales tax compliance.