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HB 25-1128

Income Tax Credit for Firearm Safety Device

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Ryan Armagost and 2 co-sponsors

Provides a nonrefundable Colorado income tax credit up to $200 for purchasing firearm safety devices (2027-2028) with a $500,000 annual cap.

House Committee on Finance Postpone Indefinitely
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Bill Summary · HB 25-1128

HB 25-1128 — Income Tax Credit for Firearm Safety Device (Summary)

Status: Postponed indefinitely by House Committee on Finance (March 10, 2025). Introduced January 28, 2025. (As postponed, the bill will not take effect and estimated impacts would not occur.)

Purpose / Intent

Create a short-term Colorado individual income tax credit to encourage the purchase of devices for the safe storage of firearms (e.g., gun safes, lock boxes) and thereby promote safer firearm storage practices.

Key provisions

  • Eligible years: tax years 2027 and 2028 only.
  • Eligible taxpayers: Colorado resident individuals subject to state income tax.
  • Credit amount: equal to the purchase price of an eligible firearm safety device, capped at $200 per taxpayer per tax year.
  • Purchase requirement: device must be purchased from a federally licensed firearms dealer (18 U.S.C. § 923).
  • Definition: “firearm safety device” includes safes, gun cases, lock boxes, or similar devices designed to store a firearm and to be unlocked by key, combination, or similar means; some draft language excludes glass-front display cabinets.
  • Aggregate cap and allocation: aggregate credits limited to $500,000 per income tax year and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis (amended from an earlier $5 million cap).
  • Refundability / carryforward: credit is nonrefundable but may be carried forward up to five income tax years; carryforwards applied to the earliest year first.
  • Documentation: taxpayers must attach receipts or documentation of purchase price and payment to claim the credit.
  • Rulemaking: Executive Director of the Department of Revenue may adopt implementing rules.
  • Repeal: statutory section repealed Dec. 31, 2038 (bill itself applies only to 2027–2028).

Fiscal and administrative impact (as estimated in fiscal notes)

  • Revenue (General Fund): estimated reduction of $250,000 (FY 2026-27, half-year), $500,000 (FY 2027-28), and $250,000 (FY 2028-29, half-year) — based on assumption that the full $500,000 cap is claimed (2,500 taxpayers at $200 each).
  • State expenditures (Department of Revenue): estimated one-time and ongoing costs of $31,347 (FY 2027-28) and $10,747 (FY 2028-29) for GenTax programming, reporting, form updates, and document processing.
  • TABOR: lower General Fund revenue would reduce the TABOR refund obligation by comparable amounts (no net change to other General Fund availability per fiscal note assumptions).
  • Administrative note: earlier draft (initial fiscal note) included a $5 million aggregate cap and projected much larger revenue loss ($5.0M in FY 2027-28) and greater DOR staffing costs; subsequent committee amendment lowered the cap (and estimated impacts).

Who would be affected

  • Individual Colorado taxpayers who buy qualifying firearm safety devices from federally licensed dealers (may claim up to $200/year).
  • Department of Revenue (administration, programming, forms, audits).
  • State General Fund and TABOR refund calculations.

Implementation & timeline

  • Would take effect 90 days after adjournment sine die (unless referred to referendum).
  • Credits must be claimed in the tax year of purchase (2027 or 2028).
  • Because the bill was postponed indefinitely on March 10, 2025, it will not advance and its provisions will not take effect unless reintroduced.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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