The TTB has issued new guidance on excise tax and operations report filing for wineries.

The TTB will now allow certain wineries to file their excise tax returns annually, rather than semi-monthly or quarterly. The requirements are: The proprietor has not given a bond for deferred payment of wine excise tax, and the proprietor:

• Paid wine excise taxes in an amount less than $1,000 during the previous calendar year.

• Is the proprietor of a newly established bonded wine premises and expects to pay less than $1,000 in wine excise taxes before the end of the calendar year.

“Not given bond for deferred payment” means you do not have an amount listed in the “deferral” space on the bond. The wine bond conditions allow up to $1,000 of the operations coverage on a wine bond of $2,000 or more to be used for deferral, so for an annual filer no additional deferral coverage would be needed. A bond of at least $1,000 and up to $1,999.99 provides $500 in automatic deferral coverage. If you show a deferral amount on the bond or would owe over $1,000 for the year, you do not qualify for annual filing.

Wineries that meet this requirement may file within 30 days of the end of the calendar year.

Proprietors of bonded wine premises operations must file the Report of Wine Premises Operations either monthly, quarterly, or annually. To qualify to file annually, a proprietor must:

• File an Excise Tax Return annually.

• Not expect the total of all bulk and bottled wine to exceed 20,000 gallons for any one month during the calendar year.

If you are not eligible to file an annual Excise Tax Return it means you are not eligible to file an annual Report of Wine Premises Operations. You also need to make sure you do not have more than 20,000 gallons of wine in any month. If you are eligible to file an annual Report of Wine Premises Operations, it is due January 15th of the year following the report year.

Questions? Contact Michael Kaiser at mkaiser@wineamerica.org or 202-223-5172.

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