Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that he is declaring a “Second Amendment Summer” where residents will not pay taxes on firearms and accessories.
The move is sure to delight Florida gun owners – and gun sellers.
During a press conference, DeSantis announced a series of tax holidays, including the Second Amendment Summer.
“We are unveiling the Second Amendment Summer tax holiday, so from Memorial Day to the Fourth of July, you can get your ammunition, your firearms, and your accouterments tax-free in the state of Florida,” the governor said.
The governor’s office indicated that this particular tax holiday could save Floridians about $8 million on firearm and ammunition purchases.
BASED.
— Royce Lopez (@hippojuicefilm) February 4, 2025
From memorial Day all the way through July 4th ammo will be tax-free in the state of Florida.
DeSantis is absolutely a better Governor than a president.
pic.twitter.com/T7Q1ukAs7o
When a reporter asked whether the legislature might oppose the tax holiday, he said, “I think this is going to be wildly popular.”
He added: “Why would they want to fight back on that? This is something their voters would expect them to support.”
Accessories are defined as items that are “commonly used for firearms, such as charging handles, cleaning kits, holsters, optics, pistol grips, and stock.”
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It is not specified if the sales tax holiday would apply to bump stocks, controversial devices that allow someone to shoot hundreds of bullets a minute from a semi-automatic rifle that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives classified as machine guns (and therefore illegal) in 2018 before the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the classification last year. DeSantis has criticized bans on bump stocks and pistol braces.
The announcement appears to be welcome – especially among gun sellers, according to WPTV.
Monday, he saw the outline for Gov. DeSantis’ “Second Amendment Summer."
"Well, we think in the summertime our industry traditionally slows down so we welcome any tax-free holiday," Devito told WPTV's Jon Shainman.
Devito says the average price of a firearm is about $600, so that would mean $42 in savings.
"I think if someone was tight on money and knew that if they came in the next month and I could save $42 or $50, they might wait," said Devito, adding that firearm pricing is usually pretty rigid.
However, not everyone is happy about the tax holiday. Cathy Swerdlow, chair of the gun violence action prevention team with the League of Women Voters. She argued that taxes on firearms do not prevent people from buying them in the first place. “What we really need is a tax holiday on gun safes and trigger locks, so that people who have guns can store them appropriately," she told WPTV.
The only exemption from the tax holiday is gun-related clothing and apparel, so it would likely cover the devices Swerdlow mentioned.
As someone who is not a fan of taxes in the first place, I believe this is the right move on DeSantis’ part. It should never be difficult for Americans to exercise their right to keep and bear arms, and onerous taxes do pose a challenge – especially for low-income folks. Perhaps the governor might consider making this a permanent tax holiday? One can only dream, right?
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