A special definition of “firearm”
Congress passed the National Firearms Act in 1934. It used taxes, registration, and transfer records to restrict a particular group of weapons. The law did not cover every gun, and its definition of “firearm” still differs from ordinary usage.
Today that definition includes machine guns, silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, destructive devices, and a category called “any other weapon.” Each has a legal definition with qualifications and exceptions. An ordinary pistol, revolver, or full-length sporting rifle does not become an NFA firearm simply because it is a gun.
Taxes, applications, and a federal record
For much of the law’s history, a covered transfer involved an application, identifying information, federal approval, and a tax. The National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record recorded the firearm and its registered possessor. Businesses had separate licensing and occupational-tax obligations.
That system changed substantially in 2026. Congress reduced making and transfer taxes to $0 for most NFA categories. A court then blocked specified requirements for the parties covered by its judgment, and ATF later announced nationwide nonenforcement of those requirements. Machine guns and destructive devices remain subject to NFA registration, approval, and $200 making and transfer taxes.
The NFA is one part of federal gun law
The Gun Control Act governs a wider range of firearms. Its rules cover matters such as dealer licensing, interstate transactions, and who may possess a firearm. A change to the NFA does not necessarily change those rules. State laws can impose further restrictions.
The 1986 restriction on machine gun possession and transfers is a useful example. Congress placed it in the Gun Control Act, while the NFA continued to supply tax and registration requirements for permitted transactions. The two laws work together, but they answer different questions.
Four turning points
The NFA you encounter in one decade is not quite the same law you encounter in another. These changes explain much of the history.
- 1934
Tax and registration
Congress taxes transfers of selected weapons and requires records. Ordinary pistols and revolvers are left out of the final act.
- 1968
Registration rebuilt
After Haynes, Congress rewrites registration and limits the use of information against applicants. Destructive devices are added.
- 1986
The machine gun cutoff
A separate law generally closes the ordinary civilian market to machine guns not lawfully possessed before May 19, with statutory exceptions.
- 2025–26
Tax cuts and nonenforcement
Most making and transfer rates fall to $0. A limited court injunction is followed by a broader ATF enforcement policy.
For the current position
The current-status page explains the October 2026 policy, the requirements still enforced, and the cases still pending. This introduction is a guide to the history, not advice about a particular firearm.