Virginia winery reporting at a glance
| Report or task | Who handles it | Frequency | Current deadline | Official destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry Winery Monthly Report | Virginia ABC winery licensees using this report | Monthly, including zero-sales months | Postmarked by the 15th of the following month, or next business day when the 15th is not a business day | Virginia ABC Tax Management by mail, or an electronic filing arrangement confirmed with Tax Management |
| Farm Winery Monthly Report | Virginia ABC farm winery licensees | Monthly, including zero-sales months under the current form | Postmarked by the 15th of the following month, or next business day when applicable | Virginia ABC Tax Management |
| Purchase orders tied to winery retail transfers | Winery or farm winery when required by the Virginia ABC reporting workflow | Transaction and monthly reconciliation | If mailed with the monthly tax report, current winery forms say the combined mailing must be postmarked by the 5th, or next business day when applicable | Virginia ABC Tax Management |
| Direct Shipper monthly report | Virginia wine and beer shipper licensee | Monthly, reporting whether shipments occurred | On or before the 15th of the following month | Virginia ABC, using its current online or prescribed report process |
| Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax, Form ST-1 | Registered Virginia sales-tax dealer | Monthly or quarterly as assigned by Virginia Tax | 20th day of the month following the reporting period | Virginia Tax |
| TTB Form 5120.17, Report of Wine Premises Operations | Bonded winery or bonded wine cellar proprietor | Monthly, quarterly, or annually based on eligibility | Generally 15 days after period end; annual report due January 15 of the following year | Pay.gov or TTB National Revenue Center |
| TTB Form 5000.24, Excise Tax Return | Federal excise-tax taxpayer | Annual, quarterly, or semimonthly based on eligibility | Use TTB's annual calendar; 2026 annual return is due January 14, 2027 | Pay.gov or TTB |
Do not use one filing calendar for every winery. A Virginia farm winery with a shipper license can have two separate Virginia ABC monthly workflows, plus Virginia sales tax and federal TTB obligations. A custom-crush client can have a different federal reporting profile from the bonded winery that physically produces the wine.
Who this Virginia winery compliance guide covers
This page is written for commercial wineries and farm wineries operating in Virginia and for wine businesses using Virginia direct-shipping privileges. It separates the obligations of three authorities:
- Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (Virginia ABC): state alcoholic-beverage licensing, wine liter tax administration, product approval, winery tax reports, shipper licensing, and shipper reports.
- Virginia Department of Taxation (Virginia Tax): retail sales and use tax registration and returns.
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB): federal wine-premises qualification, federal excise tax, operational reporting, records, and federal labeling requirements.
Local zoning, land-use, food-service, health, business-license, fire, wastewater, and building requirements can also apply. Those local requirements are outside the statewide reporting scope of this guide and should be checked for the winery's physical locality.
Before filing: federal and Virginia winery licenses
1. Federal TTB qualification comes before commercial wine operations
TTB states that a company must apply and receive permission before producing wine commercially, storing, blending, or bottling untaxpaid wine, or wholesaling/importing wine. A producing winery normally qualifies as a bonded winery. Alternating proprietor and custom-crush arrangements allocate federal responsibilities differently, so the business model matters before the first report is filed. See the TTB federal application process for the wine industry.
2. Choose the correct Virginia ABC manufacturer license
Virginia separately licenses wineries and farm wineries. The correct license depends on the operation, agricultural sourcing, production, and privileges you intend to exercise.
| Virginia license | Current annual state license fee | Key scope point |
|---|---|---|
| Winery, not more than 5,000 gallons manufactured in the license year | $215 | Virginia winery manufacturer license |
| Winery, more than 5,000 gallons manufactured in the license year | $4,210 | Virginia winery manufacturer license |
| Farm Winery Class I | $275 | Class-specific agricultural and production conditions apply |
| Farm Winery Class II | $275 | Class-specific agricultural and sourcing conditions apply |
| Farm Winery Class III | $500 | Class-specific Virginia sourcing and fermentation conditions apply |
| Farm Winery Class IV | $4,000 | Class-specific Virginia sourcing, acreage, and operating-history conditions apply |
Virginia wine excise tax: $0.40 per liter
Code of Virginia § 4.1-234 levies a tax of $0.40 on each liter of wine sold in the Commonwealth, in addition to applicable retail sales and use tax. The statute excludes several transactions, including manufacturer sales to wholesale wine licensees for resale to retailers and specified wine shipped out of Virginia.
The current Virginia ABC Industry Winery Monthly Report also displays the $0.40-per-liter wine rate. Cider and wine coolers follow different state tax rules. If a winery produces those products, use Virginia ABC's current wine and cider tax resources and calculator rather than applying the wine rate by analogy.
Which transactions should a winery put into the tax calculation?
Use the transaction categories and taxable-liter logic in the current Virginia ABC form for your license type. For farm wineries, Virginia ABC specifically instructs licensees to report wine transferred to the farm winery retail operation and to execute a purchase order when wine is transferred to the retail side. Wine sold to a wholesaler for distribution follows the wholesaler purchase-order process.
How to file the Virginia ABC winery monthly report
Virginia ABC currently publishes both an Industry Winery Monthly Report and a Farm Winery Monthly Report. Its 2026 forms index remains the safest place to obtain the current file.
-
Close the calendar month and reconcile movements.
Confirm beginning and ending balances, taxable transfers or sales, tax-exempt movements, wholesale transactions, and purchase-order numbers relevant to the current form. -
Use the report published for your license type.
Do not reuse an old local copy merely because its filename looks familiar. Virginia ABC's forms index currently labels the Farm Winery Monthly Report Excel file as 703-40A, while its linked PDF carries a 703-40 revision code. -
Calculate taxable liters and wine tax.
Apply the current $0.40-per-liter rate to taxable wine liters reported on the Virginia ABC form. Follow the form's separate treatment for cider or other product categories. -
Reconcile purchase orders.
Farm winery guidance requires a purchase order when wine is transferred to the retail side. List or attach purchase orders as required by the current workflow. -
File even when the month has no sales.
The current winery and farm winery reports state that a report is required even if the winery had no sales for the month. -
Meet the 15th-day deadline.
The current forms instruct that the report be postmarked no later than the 15th of the following month. If the 15th is not a business day, the deadline moves to the next business day. -
Use the correct submission path.
For paper filing, the current forms direct the report and remittance to Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, P.O. Box 3250, Mechanicsville, VA 23116-9998. Virginia ABC also states that Tax Management accepts electronic wine tax reports. Contact your Tax Examiner at 804-219-2039 or taxexaminer@virginiaabc.com to confirm the current electronic workflow. Virginia ABC identifies its public Web Tax feature as malt-beverage only. -
Save the report, payment evidence, and supporting records.
Retain the filed report, proof of submission/payment, purchase orders, invoices, shipment records, and the month-end reconciliation under the Virginia two-year recordkeeping rule and any longer federal retention period that applies.
Late wine tax reports can trigger a civil penalty
Code of Virginia § 4.1-332(B) authorizes a civil penalty of up to 5% of the proper tax due for a failure lasting not more than 30 days, plus an additional 5% for each additional 30 days or fraction, capped at 25% in the aggregate. A willfully false or fraudulent return intended to defraud the Commonwealth may be assessed a 50% civil penalty on the proper tax due.
Virginia direct-to-consumer wine shipping
A Virginia winery or farm winery that wants to ship wine to Virginia consumers by common carrier needs the additional Virginia wine and beer shipper's license. The current annual state shipper license fee is $230.
Consumer limit
Under Code of Virginia § 4.1-209.1, a shipper licensee may ship no more than two cases of wine per month to any person in Virginia. For this rule, one case may contain no more than nine liters, so the statutory ceiling is up to 18 liters per person per month. The wine must be for personal consumption and not resale.
Carrier, age verification, and package marking
Virginia direct shipments must use a Virginia ABC-approved common carrier. The carrier must verify that the recipient is at least 21 and obtain the required acknowledgment/signature. Under 3VAC5-70-220, the outside of the package must display this notice in 16-point type or larger:
Monthly direct shipper report
Every wine and beer shipper licensee must file a report with Virginia ABC on or before the 15th of each month for the previous calendar month. The report must state whether shipments occurred. When shipments occurred, it must include the number of containers, volume of each container, brand, recipient names and addresses, and price charged. The appropriate wine tax accompanies the report unless it has already been paid.
Virginia ABC maintains in-state and out-of-state Direct Shipper report forms and an online Direct Shipper submission path. Its current online workflow also supports a zero-report path when applicable.
Direct shipper records
Virginia shipper licensees must retain complete and accurate shipment records for two years, including container count, volume, brand, recipient name/address, and price. These records must be available to Virginia ABC for inspection.
Virginia retail sales tax for winery and DTC sales
Virginia's direct-shipping statute treats each shipment by a wine and beer shipper licensee as a Virginia sale for state tax purposes. The shipper must collect taxes due to the Commonwealth, remit applicable alcohol excise tax to Virginia ABC, and remit sales tax to the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Virginia Tax states that Retail Sales and Use Tax filers use Form ST-1 for filing periods beginning April 2025 and later. Filing frequency is monthly or quarterly based on the account assigned by Virginia Tax, and returns are due on the 20th day of the month following the reporting period. See the current Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax guidance.
Sales tax rates vary by locality and transaction sourcing. Use Virginia Tax's Sales Tax Rate and Locality Code Lookup for the current rate rather than hard-coding a single statewide percentage into a DTC checkout or compliance workbook.
Virginia product registration and wine label approval
Virginia ABC requires wine products sold in the Commonwealth to go through its product approval process. The agency's current online product-registration guide states that the Tax Management application can register wine labels for sale in Virginia and that the processing fee is $30 for each label submitted.
For a wine label submission, Virginia ABC's current guide asks for the federal COLA or TTB ID when federal approval is required, a legible color copy of the label, and franchise documentation when the distribution arrangement requires it. Virginia-origin products sold only inside Virginia can have different federal-document handling in the state workflow, so use the current instructions rather than assuming every label needs the same attachment set.
Start with Virginia ABC's Product Label Approval resources. Federal COLA, formula, and labeling requirements depend on the wine and the channel in which it is sold. TTB explains federal wine labeling obligations in its post-qualification wine guidance.
Federal TTB reporting for Virginia wineries
Virginia reporting does not replace federal TTB reporting. A bonded winery generally maintains federal production, receipt, transfer, bottling, inventory, and taxpaid-removal records, then uses those records to support TTB Form 5120.17 and federal excise-tax returns.
TTB Form 5120.17: Report of Wine Premises Operations
TTB's current Form 5120.17 guidance divides filing frequency by eligibility:
| Frequency | Eligibility summary | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | Eligible annual federal excise-tax filer and within the annual wine-operations threshold under 27 CFR 24.300(g) | January 15 of the following year |
| Quarterly | Eligible quarterly federal excise-tax filer and within the quarterly wine-operations threshold under 27 CFR 24.300(g) | April 15, July 15, October 15, January 15 |
| Monthly | When annual or quarterly operational-report eligibility is not met | 15th day after the end of the reporting month when a report is required |
TTB encourages electronic filing through Pay.gov. The controlling operational-report rule is 27 CFR 24.300.
TTB Form 5000.24: federal excise-tax return
For calendar year 2026, TTB states that a taxpayer can qualify for annual filing when both prior-year liability and reasonably expected current-year liability are not more than $1,000. Quarterly filing is available when both amounts are not more than $50,000. Taxpayers that do not qualify for annual or quarterly filing generally use the semimonthly schedule.
- 2026 annual return: due January 14, 2027.
- 2026 quarterly returns: April 14, July 14, October 14, 2026, and January 14, 2027.
- Semimonthly filers: use TTB's exact 2026 calendar because September has special return periods and EFT rules can change the period boundary.
Use TTB's 2026 Due Dates for Tax Returns before scheduling payments.
Federal wine excise-tax classes
The federal excise rate depends on wine type and tax class. TTB's current base rates, before any applicable Craft Beverage Modernization Act wine tax credit, include:
| Federal wine tax class | Base rate per wine gallon |
|---|---|
| Still wine, not more than 16% alcohol by volume | $1.07 |
| Still wine, over 16% and not more than 21% alcohol by volume | $1.57 |
| Still wine, over 21% and not more than 24% alcohol by volume | $3.15 |
| Artificially carbonated wine | $3.30 |
| Sparkling wine | $3.40 |
| Wine qualifying for the federal hard cider tax class | $0.226 |
Eligibility for CBMA wine tax credits and the hard-cider class has additional rules. Check TTB's current Tax and Fee Rates and Craft Beverage Modernization Act guidance before computing federal tax.
Virginia and federal record retention
Virginia ABC: two years
3VAC5-70-90 requires all Virginia ABC licensees to keep complete, accurate, and separate records for two years. Licensed manufacturers must record alcoholic beverages manufactured, bottled, purchased, sold, or shipped, including quantities, transaction dates, counterparties, prices, and applicable taxes. Records must be retrievable for Virginia ABC inspection.
Federal TTB: generally three years, with possible extension
TTB states that records required by 27 CFR Part 24 generally must be retained for at least three years from the record date or the date of the last required entry, whichever is later. TTB can require records to be kept for up to three additional years when necessary.
Use the longer retention rule in a unified winery record system
For records supporting both a Virginia filing and a federal report, a three-year federal retention period is already longer than Virginia ABC's general two-year rule. Some tax, corporate, employment, or special transaction records may need to be kept longer, so the record-retention schedule should be based on the record's full legal purpose, not only the ABC rule.
Virginia winery compliance checklist
- Confirm TTB approval and the correct federal operating structure before commercial wine operations begin.
- Maintain the correct Virginia ABC winery or farm winery license and any additional privileges actually used.
- Use Virginia ABC's current forms index each filing cycle rather than an archived local copy.
- Reconcile taxable Virginia wine liters and apply the current $0.40-per-liter state wine tax only to transactions that are taxable under the state rules.
- File the monthly Virginia ABC winery/farm-winery report even for a zero-sales month under the current form instructions.
- If purchase orders are mailed with the tax report, calendar the special 5th-day postmark instruction.
- File the normal Virginia ABC monthly report by the 15th, subject to the form's next-business-day rule.
- For DTC shipping into or within Virginia, maintain the shipper license, enforce the two-case-per-person monthly limit, use an approved common carrier, and satisfy the package/age-verification rules.
- File the Virginia Direct Shipper report by the 15th for the prior month's activity.
- Reconcile Virginia DTC sales to the Virginia Tax ST-1 return and use the current locality rate lookup.
- Complete Virginia ABC product approval before selling a new or revised wine product in the Commonwealth when approval is required.
- File TTB Form 5120.17 on the monthly, quarterly, or annual schedule for which the bonded wine premises qualifies.
- File and pay federal excise tax using the applicable Form 5000.24 schedule.
- Retain Virginia ABC records for at least two years and federal wine-premises records for at least three years, longer when another rule requires it.
- Save confirmations, payment evidence, and amended-return support with the underlying transaction records.
Common Virginia winery compliance mistakes
- Treating the winery license as a DTC shipper license. Virginia ABC lists shipping as an additional license requirement.
- Skipping a zero-sales winery month. The current winery tax forms explicitly require a report even when there were no sales.
- Missing the purchase-order mailing rule. Mailing purchase orders with the tax report can move the practical postmark deadline from the 15th to the 5th.
- Using Web Tax for wine without confirmation. Virginia ABC currently identifies Web Tax payment functionality as malt-beverage only and asks wine filers to coordinate electronic reporting with Tax Management.
- Double-paying or failing to pay Virginia excise tax on DTC shipments. Direct shipper tax is due unless the appropriate wine tax was already paid on the product.
- Hard-coding a single Virginia sales-tax rate. Virginia Tax rates vary by locality.
- Assuming state and federal report frequencies match. Virginia ABC winery reporting is monthly while TTB Form 5120.17 may be monthly, quarterly, or annual.
- Discarding source records after a state deadline. Federal wine-premises records generally carry a longer retention period than the Virginia ABC two-year minimum.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Virginia wine tax rate?
Virginia currently levies a $0.40-per-liter tax on wine sold in the Commonwealth under Code of Virginia § 4.1-234, subject to statutory exceptions. Cider and wine coolers can have different state treatment.
Does a Virginia winery have to file a monthly ABC report if it had no sales?
Yes. The current Virginia ABC Industry Winery Monthly Report and Farm Winery Monthly Report both state that a report is required even if the winery had no sales for the month.
When is the Virginia ABC winery monthly report due?
The current winery forms say the report must be postmarked no later than the 15th of the following month, or the next business day when the 15th is not a business day. A separate earlier rule applies when purchase orders are mailed with the report.
What is the special Virginia winery purchase-order deadline?
If purchase orders are mailed with the tax report, current Virginia ABC winery and farm winery forms say the report and purchase orders must be postmarked by the 5th of the month, or the next business day if the 5th is not a business day.
Can a Virginia farm winery deliver wine directly to a consumer itself?
Virginia ABC's current farm-winery guidance says farm wineries are not permitted to personally deliver retail wine for off-premises consumption away from the winery or approved remote location using the farm-winery retail privilege. To ship wine to consumers by common carrier, the farm winery may apply for a shipper license. Other delivery-license structures can have different rules.
How much wine can a licensed shipper send to one Virginia consumer?
Up to two cases per month to that person. Virginia defines a case of wine for this rule as any combination of packages containing no more than nine liters, so two cases can contain up to 18 liters.
Does a Virginia direct shipper file a report in a month with no shipments?
The controlling regulation, 3VAC5-70-220(F), requires a monthly report that states whether shipments were made. Virginia ABC's current online shipper workflow also provides a zero-report path.
How long must a Virginia winery keep ABC records?
Virginia ABC's general rule is two years under 3VAC5-70-90. Federal wine-premises records generally must be kept at least three years, and TTB can require up to three additional years.
Does every winery file TTB Form 5120.17 monthly?
No. Bonded wineries and bonded wine cellars can qualify for annual or quarterly operational reporting under 27 CFR 24.300(g); wineries that do not qualify for those schedules file monthly when a report is required.
Does a custom-crush brand owner file TTB Form 5120.17?
Not merely because it owns the brand. TTB states that the bonded winery performing the custom-crush production is responsible for production records, reports, labeling, and excise tax. A custom-crush client that qualifies only as a wholesaler does not file winery operations reports. Virginia licensing still depends on the client's actual state activities and should be analyzed separately.
How Solera can support the compliance workflow
Solera can help a winery keep production, inventory, cellar, reporting, and DTC records in one operational system so the team can prepare compliance data from the same underlying activity. That can make monthly reconciliations easier and reduce manual re-entry between cellar, inventory, shipping, and reporting workflows.
Solera is not a substitute for Virginia ABC, Virginia Tax, TTB, or professional advice. This guide does not claim that Solera directly submits Virginia or federal government returns. See Solera's winery management features or browse more winery guides.
Official sources and references
All material regulatory claims in this guide were checked against current government sources on August 5, 2026. Where an agency form has an older revision date, this guide relies on the fact that the agency still links that form from its current 2026 resources or forms index.
Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and Virginia law
- Virginia ABC: Winery license
- Virginia ABC: Farm Winery license
- Virginia ABC: Shipper license
- Virginia ABC: Wine, Beer and Cider Industry Resources
- Virginia ABC: Licensee Forms
- Virginia ABC: Industry Winery Monthly Report
- Virginia ABC: Farm Winery Monthly Report
- Virginia ABC: Tax Application Online Product Registration User Guide
- Code of Virginia § 4.1-231.1: Fees on state licenses
- Code of Virginia § 4.1-234: Tax on wine and other alcoholic beverages
- Code of Virginia § 4.1-332: Nonpayment of excise tax and additional penalties
- Code of Virginia § 4.1-209.1: Direct shipment of wine and beer
- 3VAC5-70-220: Wine or beer shipper's licenses
- 3VAC5-70-90: Records to be kept by licensees generally
Virginia Department of Taxation
Federal TTB and eCFR
Verification notes and known limitations
- No publication blocker identified. Material filing deadlines, state wine tax rate, DTC limits, license fees, penalty framework, and record-retention periods are supported by current official sources.
- Virginia ABC form revision dates: the winery and farm-winery PDFs carry June 2022 revision codes but remain linked from Virginia ABC's live 2026 industry resources/forms pages. They are treated here as the agency's current forms as of the verification date.
- Portal workflow: Virginia ABC publicly states that Tax Management accepts electronic wine tax reports, but Web Tax payment functionality is described as malt-beverage only. This guide therefore does not invent a wine Web Tax path.
- Sales tax: Virginia rates vary by locality. This guide deliberately directs users to Virginia Tax's current lookup instead of publishing a single rate that could be wrong for a specific shipment or tasting-room sale.
- Local requirements: zoning, land use, health, fire, building, wastewater, and local business licensing are locality-specific and are not generalized here.
Change log
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | August 5, 2026 | Initial Virginia guide. Verified Virginia ABC winery and farm-winery reporting, $0.40/L wine tax, license fees, direct shipper rules, two-year ABC records, Virginia ST-1 sales tax workflow, and 2026 TTB schedules against current official sources. |
Recommended next verification: November 5, 2026, or sooner if Virginia ABC changes its wine tax-report portal, forms, fee schedule, or direct shipper workflow.
Important: This guide summarizes official information available as of August 5, 2026. Requirements can vary by business structure, location, activity, product, and regulatory status. Confirm material filing decisions with Virginia ABC, Virginia Tax, TTB, or a qualified adviser. This guide is informational and is not legal or tax advice.