General Alcohol FAQs

Revised: 04/06

G1: Can I produce beer, wine or spirits for my personal or family use without paying Federal excise tax and filing Federal paperwork?

Beer

Production.

Removal of beer.

Wine

Wine for personal or family use.

Spirits

You cannot produce spirits for beverage purposes without paying taxes and without prior approval of paperwork to operate a distilled spirits plant.  [See 26 U.S.C. 5601 & 5602 for some of the criminal penalties.]  There are numerous requirements that must be met that make it impractical to produce spirits for personal or beverage use.  Some of these requirements are paying excise tax, filing an extensive application, filing a bond, providing adequate equipment to measure spirits, providing suitable tanks and pipelines, providing a separate building (other than a dwelling) and maintaining detailed records, and filing reports.  All of these requirements are listed in 27 CFR Part 19.

Spirits may be produced for non-beverage purposes for fuel use only without payment of tax, but you also must file an application, receive TTB's approval, and follow requirements, such as construction, use, records and reports.

G2: What are the Federal and State excise taxes imposed on alcohol (spirits, wine or beer)?

FEDERAL EXCISE TAX

Please note that this does not include import duties that may be imposed.
If you owe interest on Federal Excise Tax, use the rates published by the Internal Revenue Service in http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-05-15.pdf or just file the return and we will assist you in computing any adjustments to the tax.

STATE EXCISE TAX

We cannot guarantee that this information is accurate or has been updated. Check with the appropriate State agency to make sure that you are calculating taxes correctly.

G3: Who can I contact when I have a complaint or suspect illegal activity by a bar, club, liquor store, restaurant or other business selling beverage alcohol products (spirits, wine or beer)?

With the exception of labeling, advertising and containers, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau does not enforce laws about selling or serving spirits, wine or beer to consumers. Usually, State governments regulate persons selling or serving spirits, wine or beer to consumers. This includes the minimum legal age that a person may sell or serve. Most States have commissions or agencies, which oversee persons and businesses that sell or serve beverage alcohol products. Contact the appropriate State agency for help in these areas. Also, visit the Department of Transportation web site about restricting certain funds if a State allows the purchase or public possession of beverage alcohol products under the age of 21.

ACTIVITIES NOT RELATED TO BEVERAGE ALCOHOL PRODUCTS (spirits, wine or beer) - If you have information about illegal activities that do not involve beverage alcohol products (for example, drug sales or prostitution), report this information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. If you have information about illegal activities involving firearms, explosives, arson, or tobacco products, report this information to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

LABELING, ADVERTISING OR CONTAINERS OF BEVERAGE ALCOHOL PRODUCTS (spirits, wine or beer) - Report this information to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau by e-mail, telephone or writing to:

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division
1310 G Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20220

TRADE PRACTICES BETWEEN BUSINESSES SELLING OR PURCHASING BEVERAGE ALCOHOL PRODUCTS (spirits, wine or beer) - Report this information to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau by e-mail, telephone or writing to:

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division
1310 G Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20220

 G4: Does TTB have information or studies about the effects of consuming alcohol?

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau does not normally conduct studies or maintain information about alcohol consumption because we do not enforce laws or regulations relating to the effects from consuming alcohol. The Bureau has regulations about labeling and advertising and is committed to preventing consumer deception in beverage alcohol products.

There are several Federal web site addresses that may beneficial: http://www.whitehouse.gov; http://www.dhhs.gov; http://www.samhsa.gov; http://www.usdoj.gov; http://www.fhwa.dot.gov, and ; http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

You can also contact the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 6000 Executive Blvd., Bethesda, MD 20892-7003 (301-443-3860).

Also, you may want to contact industry associations that represent beverage alcohol products industries. For example, from the Internet you should be able to reach the Wine Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and the Beer Institute.

G5: How does TTB change its regulations?

See “How Laws and Regulations are Made” at http://www.ttb.gov/regulations/rulemaking_process.htm.

G6: Can a student make alcohol as part of a science fair project?

Well, under current law and regulations, we cannot allow you to conduct experiments involving distillation of alcohol at your home.
As an alternative, Federal law allows us to issue a permit for an alcohol fuel plant, or AFP. Under this type of permit, experiments with alcohol fuels can be conducted at locations properly qualified with TTB.

Here's what has to be done:

·  An authorized representative of your school (a teacher or other school official) must complete and forward an application form 5110.74 to us to establish a small AFP at your school.

·  The experiment must be conducted at your school under appropriate adult supervision.

·  The school official must tell us how long the experiment will last. They may allow for additional time in case your experiment is selected for additional competition or display at a regional or area science fair. And,

·  The school official must describe the adult supervision that will be provided. We require this because we are concerned about the safety of children handling hazardous materials and using distillation equipment with alcohol-even with adult supervision.

These steps apply primarily to students who are in elementary through high school. Make sure your application is filed as soon as possible to allow enough time for us to process it. You cannot begin the experiment until we issue you a permit.

Application form 5110.74 and additional information are available from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, National Revenue Center, Spirits Unit A, 550 Main Street, Room 8002, Cincinnati, OH 45202-3263, 1-800-398-2282 or (513) 684-7150, ttbquestions@ttb.treas.gov.