This is a good news-bad news story:
- JimFor example, assume an individual paid $1,500 to an out-of-state seller for a gun. The out-of-state seller shipped the gun to a Texas gun dealer. The customer picked up the gun at the Texas dealer's place of business and was charged a $25 transfer fee by the dealer. The $25 transfer fee is not considered a sale for Texas sales and use tax purposes and therefore is not subject to sales tax.
The purchase of the gun itself is, however, subject to Texas use tax. If the out-of-state seller does not collect the applicable Texas tax, then the purchaser is responsible for accruing and remitting the tax directly to the Comptroller's office. The Texas gun dealer handling the transfer is not responsible for collecting the use tax since the Texas dealer is not the seller of the gun. Purchasers may use a Texas Occasional Use Tax Return (Form 01-156) to report and remit the Texas use tax on the purchase of a firearm from an out-of-state gun dealer.