ATF eForms Go Dark Ahead of $0 Tax Stamp Deadline

The ATF announced a week-long blackout for eForms processing starting Dec. 26 and ending Jan. 1.

The announcement comes as the deadline to remove the $200 tax stamp fee on NFA items like suppressors and SBRs looms in the very near future – set to start on Jan. 1.

ATF officials have called the eForms blackout an administrative pause, but it will impact gun owners in the process of a transfer.

According to officials, all eForm submissions and certifications will be paused starting at midnight on Dec. 26. Any draft forms that are not submitted by midnight on Dec. 26 will be deleted, though any form submitted before the blackout deadline will continue to be processed.

The blackout is scheduled to end on Jan. 1 when the $0 tax takes effect. Though processing times are currently averaging just a few business days for eForm filing, insiders warn there will likely be a surge in new submissions when the $0 tax takes effect, causing delays and backups.

“This is necessary to implement statutory changes contained within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduced the making and transfer tax for certain firearms to $0,” the ATF eForm log-in page said.

“This will also allow ATF to add additional functionality to the Form 4, allowing both qualified licensees as well as other transferors to submit Form 4 applications through the eForms system.”

Although the $200 tax on Form 4s will end on Jan. 1, the ATF warns that photographs, fingerprints, and Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) notifications will still be required.

The removal of the excise tax on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns was part of President Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” passed in July 2025.

2A advocates have long pushed for the removal of suppressors from the NFA, but said eliminating the excise tax was the first step in achieving that goal.

“By eliminating the excise tax on these NFA items, the OBBB will not only lift the heavy burden of an unconstitutional tax from the backs of hard-working Americans, it will also serve as a critical step towards our ultimate goal of dismantling the NFA once and for all,” the Firearms Policy Coalition said in a news release.