I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 942 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an enhanced research 
credit for the development of smart gun technologies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 31, 2019 
Mr. HIMES (for himself, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Ms. HILL of Cali-
fornia, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. 
SOTO, and Mrs. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
an enhanced research credit for the development of smart 
gun technologies. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Start Advancing Fire-
arms Enhancements and Technology Act of 2018’’ or the 
‘‘SAFETY Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ENHANCED RESEARCH CREDIT FOR DEVELOPMENT 
OF SMART GUN TECHNOLOGIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting after section 45S the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 45T. RESEARCH EXPENSES FOR SMART GUN TECH-
NOLOGIES. 
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of section 38, 
in the case of a taxpayer who is a Federal firearms li-
censee, the smart gun technology credit determined under 
this section for the taxable year is an amount equal to 
30 percent of the excess of— 
‘‘(1) the smart gun technology expenses for the 
taxable year, over 
‘‘(2) the base amount. 
‘‘(b) SMART GUN TECHNOLOGY EXPENSES; BASE 
AMOUNT.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) SMART GUN TECHNOLOGY EXPENSES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 
provided in this paragraph, the term ‘smart gun 
technology expenses’ means the amounts which 
are paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the 
taxable year which would be described in sec-
tion 41(b) if such section were applied with the 
modifications set forth in subparagraph (B). 
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‘‘(B) MODIFICATIONS.—For purposes of 
subparagraph (A), section 41(b) shall be ap-
plied— 
‘‘(i) by substituting ‘smart gun tech-
nology research’ for ‘qualified research’ 
each place it appears in paragraphs (2) 
and (3) of such subsection, and 
‘‘(ii) by substituting ‘100 percent’ for 
‘65 percent’ in paragraph (3)(A) of such 
subsection. 
‘‘(C) EXCLUSION FOR AMOUNTS FUNDED 
BY GRANTS, ETC.—The term ‘smart gun tech-
nology expenses’ shall not include any amount 
to the extent such amount is funded by any 
grant, contract, or otherwise by another person 
(or any governmental entity). 
‘‘(2) BASE AMOUNT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the term ‘base amount’ 
means the amount which would be the base 
amount in section 41(c) if such section were ap-
plied by substituting ‘smart gun technology re-
search’ for ‘qualified research’ each place it ap-
pears. 
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‘‘(B) BASE
AMOUNT
IS
ZERO
FOR
YEARS.—The base amount shall be zero for 
purposes of determining the amount of credit 
for taxable years beginning in 2019, 2020, or 
2021. 
‘‘(c) SMART GUN TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.—For 
purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘smart gun tech-
nology research’ means qualified research (as de-
fined in section 41(d)) for the purpose of developing 
smart gun technologies for firearms. 
‘‘(2) SMART
GUN
TECHNOLOGY.—The term 
‘smart gun technology’ means any technology (other 
than a simple mechanical lock) which is designed— 
‘‘(A) to prevent a firearm from being fired 
by any individual other than an authorized user 
of the firearm, and 
‘‘(B) to convert the firearm from the inop-
erable condition to the operable condition in 
less than 2 seconds after the authorized user 
makes contact with the firearm, the firearm’s 
arming device, or an external safe or locking 
device. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZED USER.—For purposes of this 
subsection, the term ‘authorized user’ means, with 
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respect to a firearm, the owner of the firearm and 
any individual lawfully authorized by such owner to 
operate the firearm. 
‘‘(4) SIMPLE
MECHANICAL
LOCK.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘simple mechanical 
lock’ means a lock that uses a key or a conventional 
combination lock. Such term does not include an ad-
vanced lock that incorporates electronics or biomet-
ric sensors, or a lock with other features to enable 
faster opening from any orientation with low visi-
bility. 
‘‘(d) FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘Federal firearms licensee’ means 
any person holding a license under chapter 44 of title 18, 
United States Code, other than a licensed collector. 
‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH CREDIT FOR INCREASING 
RESEARCH EXPENDITURES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), any smart gun technology expenses for a 
taxable year to which an election under this section 
applies shall not be taken into account for purposes 
of determining the credit allowable under section 41 
for such taxable year. 
‘‘(2) EXPENSES
INCLUDED
IN
DETERMINING 
BASE
PERIOD
RESEARCH
EXPENSES.—Smart gun 
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technology expenses for any taxable year shall be 
taken into account in determining base period re-
search expenses for purposes of applying section 41 
to subsequent taxable years. 
‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) CERTAIN
RULES
MADE
APPLICABLE.— 
Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (1) and (2) 
of section 41(f) shall apply for purposes of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) ELECTION.—This section shall apply to 
any taxpayer for any taxable year only if such tax-
payer elects (at such time and in such manner as 
the Secretary may by regulations prescribe) to have 
this section apply for such taxable year. 
‘‘(g) TREATMENT OF CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED SMALL 
BUSINESSES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under rules similar to the 
rules of section 41(h), section 3111(f) shall apply to 
the payroll tax credit portion of the credit otherwise 
determined under subsection (a) for the taxable year 
and such portion shall not be treated (other than for 
purposes of section 280C) as a credit determined 
under subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) FEDERAL
FIREARMS
LICENSEE
EXCEP-
TION.—For purposes of this subsection, the payroll 
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tax credit portion of the credit otherwise determined 
under subsection (a) shall be determined without re-
gard to whether the taxpayer is a Federal firearms 
licensee.’’. 
(b) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Section 280C of 
such Code is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(i) CREDIT FOR SMART GUN TECHNOLOGY EX-
PENSES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be al-
lowed for that portion of the smart gun technology 
expenses (as defined in section 45T(b)) otherwise al-
lowable as a deduction for the taxable year which is 
equal to the amount of the credit allowable for the 
taxable year under section 45T (determined without 
regard to section 38(c) thereof). 
‘‘(2) SIMILAR
RULE
WHERE
TAXPAYER
CAP-
ITALIZES RATHER THAN DEDUCTS EXPENSES.—If— 
‘‘(A) the amount of the credit allowable for 
the taxable year under section 45T (determined 
without regard to section 38(c)), exceeds 
‘‘(B) the amount allowable as a deduction 
for the taxable year for smart gun technology 
expenses (determined without regard to para-
graph (1)), 
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the amount chargeable to capital account for the 
taxable year for such expenses shall be reduced by 
the amount of such excess. 
‘‘(3) CONTROLLED GROUPS.—In the case of a 
corporation which is a member of a controlled group 
of corporations (within the meaning of section 
41(f)(5)) or a trade or business which is treated as 
being under common control with other trades or 
business 
(within 
the 
meaning 
of 
section 
41(f)(1)(B)), this subsection shall be applied under 
rules prescribed by the Secretary similar to the rules 
applicable under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sec-
tion 41(f)(1).’’. 
(c) CREDIT MADE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS 
CREDIT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 38(b) of such Code 
is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para-
graph (31), by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (32) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by add-
ing at the end thereof the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(33) in the case of a taxpayer who is a Fed-
eral firearms licensee (as defined in section 45T(d)), 
the smart gun technology credit determined under 
section 45T(a).’’. 
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(2) DEDUCTION FOR CERTAIN UNUSED BUSI-
NESS CREDITS.—Subsection (c) of section 196 of 
such Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 
of paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end 
of paragraph (14) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by 
adding after paragraph (8) the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(15) the smart gun technology credit deter-
mined under section 45T.’’. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 45S the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 45T. Research expenses for smart gun technologies.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after 
December 31, 2019, in taxable years beginning after such 
date. 
SEC. 3. FIREARMS TAX NOT TO APPLY TO COST OF SMART 
GUN TECHNOLOGY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4181 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new sentence: 
‘‘The price taken into account under the preceding 
sentence shall not include so much of the price of the fire-
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arm as is attributable to any smart gun technology (as 
defined in section 45T(c)(2)) of such firearm.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall take effect on January 1, 2020. 
Æ 
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