Winery Federal Excise Tax: TTB Form 5000.24, Wine Tax Rates, CBMA Credits & Filing Deadlines

Jurisdiction: United States federal
Applies to: U.S. bonded wine premises proprietors that remove wine subject to federal excise tax
Last verified: August 5, 2026
Version: 1.0

Direct answer: A U.S. bonded winery generally determines federal wine excise tax when wine is removed from bond for domestic consumption or sale. The proprietor reports and pays the tax on TTB Form 5000.24. Depending on tax liability, eligible taxpayers may file annually or quarterly; other deferred-payment taxpayers file semimonthly. Eligible producers can reduce wine tax through CBMA credits. 27 CFR 24.270 and 27 CFR 24.271 are the controlling Part 24 rules.

Federal wine excise tax at a glance

Sources: 27 CFR 24.270-.272, 27 CFR 24.300, and TTB's 2026 tax-return due dates.

What federal excise tax means for a winery

Federal wine excise tax is not simply a tax on gallons produced. Under 27 CFR 24.270, tax is determined when wine is removed from bonded wine premises for consumption or sale. That makes the removal event, its tax class, and its supporting record trail central to the return.

Not every physical movement of wine is a taxpaid removal. For example, 27 CFR 24.280 permits wine to move in bond between bonded wine premises or to a distilled spirits plant, subject to the transfer-in-bond rules. Part 24 also separately governs exports, government use, destruction, and other removals without payment of tax. Do not classify a movement as taxable or nontaxable from the shipping document alone. Confirm the regulatory basis and preserve the required records.

Who files TTB Form 5000.24?

27 CFR 24.323 requires a proprietor that removes wine subject to tax to prepare TTB Form 5000.24, Excise Tax Return. TTB's current forms catalog continues to list the TTB F 5000.24sm Excise Tax Return Smart Form as the active return in 2026.

There is an important zero-tax exception. 27 CFR 24.271(a) states that if no tax is due for a return period, filing a return for that period is not required. That exception is about the excise tax return. It does not automatically eliminate a separate obligation to file the Report of Wine Premises Operations, Form 5120.17, when that operational report is otherwise due.

One taxpayer can still have multiple returns

For annual and quarterly filing eligibility, a taxpayer with multiple locations combines its wine tax liability across those locations. A taxpayer with both domestic operations and import transactions also combines the relevant liabilities for the eligibility test. The regulation defines the taxpayer for this purpose by the entity assigned a single EIN. 27 CFR 24.271(b)(1)(iv) sets those rules.

At the same time, the current Form 5000.24 instructions direct proprietors to prepare a separate return for each bonded wine cellar or winery from which removals subject to tax are made. In other words, combining liability to determine filing frequency does not turn several bonded premises into one tax return.

Choose the correct Form 5000.24 filing frequency

The filing-frequency rules for Form 5000.24 and Form 5120.17 are related but not identical. This distinction matters.

Annual excise tax return

A taxpayer may choose an annual return period if:

1. it was liable for no more than $1,000 in wine taxes in the preceding calendar year; and
2. it reasonably expects to be liable for no more than $1,000 in the current calendar year.

For a new taxpayer, the first-year test is based on whether it reasonably expects current-year wine tax liability to stay at or below $1,000. The regulation also defines "reasonably expects" and contains rules for taxpayers that later exceed the threshold. See 27 CFR 24.271(b)(1)(ii) and (iv) and TTB's current annual-filing guidance for wineries.

For calendar year 2026, TTB lists the annual return covering January 1 through December 31, 2026 as due January 14, 2027. TTB 2026 due dates.

Quarterly excise tax return

A taxpayer that is not using the annual procedure may choose quarterly filing if:

1. it was liable for no more than $50,000 in wine taxes in the preceding calendar year; and
2. it reasonably expects to be liable for no more than $50,000 in the current calendar year.

The quarterly rule is in 27 CFR 24.271(b)(1)(iii).

For 2026, TTB lists these quarterly deadlines:

Source: TTB Due Dates for Tax Returns.

Semimonthly excise tax return

Deferred-payment taxpayers that do not qualify for and choose the annual or quarterly procedures use semimonthly periods. Those periods generally run from the 1st through the 15th and from the 16th through the last day of the month. 27 CFR 24.271(b)(1)(i).

September is different. The second semimonthly period is split and accelerated under 27 CFR 24.271(c), with different period boundaries depending on whether EFT is required. Use TTB's current-year tax calendar for the exact dates and confirm any date that appears inconsistent with the regulation.

The due-date rule is unusual

For ordinary periods, the return and payment are generally due no later than the 14th day after the close of the return period. If that due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, 27 CFR 24.271(b)(2) generally moves the due date to the immediately preceding day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. September has its own special rules.

That "preceding day" rule is easy to miss. Do not apply the more familiar assumption that a federal tax deadline always rolls forward to the next business day.

Form 5000.24 frequency is not Form 5120.17 frequency

Do not use your operations-report gallon threshold to select your excise-tax return period.

• Form 5000.24: annual and quarterly eligibility is based on wine tax liability under 27 CFR 24.271.
• Form 5120.17: annual and quarterly operations-report eligibility also includes separate wine-on-hand conditions under 27 CFR 24.300(g).

That means a winery should determine the two filing cadences separately and then reconcile their source data. See Solera's existing TTB Form 5120.17 Instructions: A Line by Line Guide for the operations-report side of the workflow.

Current federal wine excise tax rates

TTB's current wine tax table lists the following base rates for domestic removals. The tax class has to be correct before you calculate any CBMA credit.

The carbonation and composition conditions are part of the tax classification, not optional descriptions. TTB also lists special tax classes for qualifying mead and qualifying low-alcohol wine. Check the current TTB wine tax rates and credits for the full definitions and rates before filing. The governing statute is 26 U.S.C. 5041.

CBMA wine tax credits

The Craft Beverage Modernization Act provisions now provide permanent quantity-limited wine tax credits. For eligible wine other than wine taxed at the hard-cider rate, TTB's current table shows:

Hard cider uses a different, smaller credit schedule. See TTB's current wine tax-rate table.

Who gets the credit matters

The CBMA credit is not simply a discount every bonded premises gets on its first 750,000 gallons. TTB's current CBMA wine guidance explains that eligibility follows the producer and is subject to single-taxpayer and controlled-group rules. Multiple wineries under common ownership or within a controlled group must apply the statutory quantity limitations across the relevant group rather than restarting the credit ladder independently at every bond.

TTB also allows a domestic producer, under statutory conditions, to transfer qualifying wine tax credits to another bonded wine premises that receives the producer's wine in bond and taxably removes it on the producer's behalf. This is particularly important for custom crush, storage, and bottling arrangements. Confirm the specific producer and transferee facts before claiming transferred credits.

How the credit appears on Form 5000.24

TTB's CBMA FAQ TR-G7 instructs wine taxpayers to show tax calculated before the CBMA credit on line 10. The eligible wine credit is calculated in Schedule B, and the resulting decreasing adjustment is incorporated into line 20.

This matters because the current Smart Form still bears an 11/2016 revision date and some printed instructions use pre-CBMA terminology. TTB's current 2026 forms catalog still designates TTB F 5000.24sm as the active Smart Form, but current CBMA calculations should be checked against current statute, TTB tax tables, and current CBMA guidance.

How to prepare TTB Form 5000.24 for a winery

The exact numbers come from your winery's source records. A defensible workflow is:

1. Lock the return period. Determine whether this specific bonded premises is filing for an annual, quarterly, or semimonthly period under 27 CFR 24.271.
2. Reconcile taxable removals. Tie taxpaid removals for the period to your wine-premises records and Form 5120.17 data. Separate transfers in bond and other authorized removals without payment of tax.
3. Classify the wine. Assign each taxable removal to the correct federal wine tax class before calculating tax. Use TTB's current rate table.
4. Calculate gross tax. TTB's current Form 5000.24 guidance uses line 10 for wine tax before the CBMA credit.
5. Apply CBMA only to eligible gallons. Track calendar-year cumulative eligible gallons by producer and apply the relevant single-taxpayer or controlled-group rules. Put the wine credit in Schedule B as TTB directs.
6. Enter supported adjustments. Use Schedule A for increasing adjustments and Schedule B for authorized decreasing adjustments, with the explanations and supporting details required by the current form instructions.
7. Check the amount due and signing authority. Confirm the filer has authority to sign, the return period is correct, and the payment method meets any EFT requirement.
8. File and retain evidence. Submit through Pay.gov or use the current TTB paper-filing instructions. Keep the return, payment evidence, and the source records that support the calculation.

TTB publishes Tips for Form 5000.24 and the current Smart Form. Those are the right places to check current field-level instructions immediately before filing.

How to file and pay through Pay.gov

Pay.gov is the current TTB-recommended electronic channel for excise tax returns and payments. TTB's Pay.gov guidance, last updated June 3, 2026, says industry members can self-enroll and no longer need the former TTB Pay.gov User Agreement. The person submitting the return must still have appropriate Signing Authority, TTB Form 5100.1, or Power of Attorney, TTB Form 5000.8, on file with TTB. TTB: Recent Changes to Pay.gov.

Use this filing sequence:

1. Sign in to or self-enroll for a Pay.gov account.
2. Confirm the person filing has signing authority or power of attorney on file with TTB.
3. Locate the TTB excise tax return in Pay.gov using the current TTB form listing.
4. Enter or upload the return information required by the current Pay.gov version of Form 5000.24.
5. Review the return against the winery's source records and the current tax-rate/CBMA calculations.
6. Submit the return and schedule payment early enough to meet TTB's payment-timing rule.
7. Save the submission and payment confirmation with the period's tax workpapers.

Do not wait until the due date to start an ACH payment

TTB specifically warns that a Pay.gov payment must be submitted the day before it is due because of ACH processing time. TTB says a Pay.gov payment made on the due date will be late. TTB: Recent Changes to Pay.gov.

Paper filing alternative

TTB still provides paper-filing instructions. As of August 5, 2026, TTB's current Tips for Form 5000.24 directs excise tax returns and payments to:

TTB
Excise Tax
P.O. Box 790353
St. Louis, MO 63179-0353

TTB specifically warns not to mail these excise tax returns or payments to the National Revenue Center in Cincinnati. Recheck the official TTB page before mailing because operational addresses can change.

Mandatory EFT for large wine taxpayers

Pay.gov electronic filing and the regulatory EFT mandate are related but not the same rule.

Under 27 CFR 24.272, a proprietor that is liable for a gross amount of wine excise tax equal to or exceeding $5 million in a calendar year must use EFT for wine tax payments in the succeeding calendar year. The test uses gross liability without reduction for drawback, credit, or refund and applies controlled-group aggregation rules described in that section.

For a proprietor subject to mandatory EFT, separate remittance and return requirements still apply for each bonded wine premises from which wine is withdrawn upon determination of tax. See the full regulation before changing payment procedures.

What records should support the tax return?

A Form 5000.24 should be reproducible from the source records behind it. At minimum, the tax workpaper should let a reviewer trace:

• the return period and premises;
• each taxpaid-removal total by tax class;
• transfers in bond and other removals excluded from taxable-removal totals;
• calendar-year CBMA gallons and the producer entitled to the credit;
• any transferred-credit allocation;
• Schedule A and Schedule B adjustments;
• the filed return; and
• payment or EFT confirmation.

27 CFR 24.300(d) requires prescribed returns, reports, records, and source records to be retained for at least three years from the record date or last required entry, whichever is later. TTB may require retention for an additional period of up to three years when it determines that extra retention is necessary.

Part 24 contains more specific record-content requirements for bulk wine, bottled wine, transfers in bond, taxpaid removals, inventories, label information, materials, and other operations. The three-year rule is the retention floor, not a substitute for keeping the right records in the first place.

What happens if the filing frequency threshold is exceeded?

If an annual filer exceeds $1,000 in aggregate tax due during the calendar year, it cannot continue using the annual procedure for the portion of the year after that threshold is exceeded. If a quarterly filer exceeds $50,000, it cannot continue the quarterly procedure for the remaining portion of that year. 27 CFR 24.271(b)(1)(ii)-(iii) sets the transition rules and when unpaid tax becomes due.

The regulation also prevents an ineligible taxpayer from immediately switching back the following year without satisfying the full-calendar-year condition in 27 CFR 24.271(b)(1)(iv)(G).

Treat a threshold crossing as a compliance event, not merely a future planning item.

Late filing and payment

27 CFR 24.274 provides a delinquent-return addition to tax of 5 percent for each month or fraction of a month of delinquency, capped at 25 percent in aggregate, unless the delinquency is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. Separate statutory penalties can apply to failures involving payment, willful refusal, fraudulent nonpayment, and required EFT.

If a filing or payment is already late, do not estimate penalties from this guide. File or contact TTB as appropriate and obtain qualified tax advice for the specific facts.

Common winery mistakes

Using 5120.17 gallon thresholds to choose the 5000.24 filing period

Form 5000.24 filing frequency is driven by tax-liability rules in 27 CFR 24.271. Form 5120.17 has separate inventory conditions. Determine both independently.

Applying the CBMA credit before calculating gross line 10 tax

TTB instructs wine taxpayers to put pre-credit wine tax on line 10 and use Schedule B for the CBMA credit.

Restarting the CBMA credit ladder for each bond

CBMA quantity limits follow producer, single-taxpayer, and controlled-group rules. Common ownership can require aggregation even when returns remain separate by premises.

Treating every shipment as a taxpaid removal

Wine can move in bond or under another authorized removal-without-payment rule. The movement's regulatory status and records determine its treatment.

Initiating Pay.gov ACH on the legal due date

TTB's current Pay.gov guidance says to submit the payment the day before it is due. Build that operational lead time into the winery's close calendar.

Relying on the printed revision date of the form to determine current CBMA rules

TTB still lists the 11/2016 Smart Form as current in 2026, but CBMA was subsequently made permanent. Use current TTB CBMA guidance and the current tax-rate table for the credit calculation.

Practical filing checklist

• Confirm the bonded premises and return period.
• Confirm annual, quarterly, or semimonthly eligibility under 27 CFR 24.271.
• Reconcile taxpaid removals to wine-premises source records.
• Exclude properly documented transfers in bond and other authorized removals without payment.
• Confirm the tax class for each taxable gallon.
• Use TTB's current tax rates.
• Compute gross wine tax before CBMA credit.
• Confirm CBMA producer eligibility and controlled-group/single-taxpayer treatment.
• Enter eligible CBMA credit through Schedule B as TTB directs.
• Support every adjustment with a clear explanation and records.
• Confirm the filer has signing authority or POA on file.
• Submit a Pay.gov ACH payment at least the day before the legal due date, per current TTB guidance.
• Save the filed return, confirmation, payment evidence, and workpapers.
• Retain required returns, reports, and source records for the Part 24 retention period.

How Solera can support the workflow

Solera's current product specification identifies a live CBMA Excise Tax Credit Calculator that tracks cumulative wine gallons removed during the calendar year and applies the current non-hard-cider credit tiers, including controlled-group aggregation. That can support the calculation and reconciliation workflow described above.

Solera should still be treated as the system that prepares and supports compliance records, not as the government filing destination. This guide does not claim that Solera directly submits Form 5000.24 to TTB or Pay.gov.

Frequently asked questions

Is winery federal excise tax based on wine produced or wine sold?

The Part 24 tax-determination rule is based on wine removed from bonded wine premises for consumption or sale, not simply gallons produced. See 27 CFR 24.270.

Does a small winery always file Form 5000.24 annually?

No. Annual filing is optional only when the taxpayer meets the annual liability tests in 27 CFR 24.271. A winery's Form 5120.17 inventory threshold does not by itself make the excise tax return annual.

What if my winery owes no federal excise tax for a return period?

For wine, 27 CFR 24.271(a) says a return is not required when no tax is due for the return period. Check your separate operations-report obligations because Form 5120.17 follows different rules.

What is the federal excise tax rate on still wine at 16% ABV or less?

The current base rate is $1.07 per wine gallon. An eligible CBMA producer may receive a credit of up to $1.00 per gallon on its first 30,000 eligible wine gallons removed during the calendar year, subject to the statutory eligibility and aggregation rules. TTB current wine tax rates.

Can every winery claim the first 30,000 gallons at the $1.00 CBMA credit?

No. CBMA credits are subject to producer, single-taxpayer, and controlled-group rules. Commonly owned or controlled operations may have to share the quantity limitation. See TTB CBMA wine guidance.

Can I file TTB Form 5000.24 online?

Yes. TTB currently recommends Pay.gov for electronic filing and payment. The filer needs appropriate signing authority or power of attorney on file with TTB. TTB Pay.gov guidance.

How long should a winery keep Form 5000.24 workpapers?

Part 24 generally requires prescribed returns, reports, records, and source records to be retained for at least three years from the record date or last required entry, whichever is later. TTB can require up to three additional years in specified cases. 27 CFR 24.300(d).

Official sources and references

1. 27 CFR Part 24, Subpart N, Removal, Return and Receipt of Wine, eCFR / TTB, accessed August 5, 2026.
2. 27 CFR 24.323, Excise Tax Return form, eCFR / TTB, accessed August 5, 2026.
3. 27 CFR Part 24, Subpart O, Records and Reports, eCFR / TTB, accessed August 5, 2026.
4. TTB Tax Rates and Tax Credits for Wine, TTB, accessed August 5, 2026.
5. TTB Due Dates for Tax Returns, TTB, 2026 schedule, accessed August 5, 2026.
6. TTB F 5000.24sm, Excise Tax Return Smart Form, TTB, current form catalog verified August 5, 2026.
7. Tips for Form 5000.24, TTB, updated January 5, 2026.
8. Craft Beverage Modernization Act guidance and FAQs, TTB, accessed August 5, 2026.
9. Recent Changes to Pay.gov, TTB, updated June 3, 2026.
10. TTB G 2023-14, Eligibility Requirements to File Excise Tax Returns and Wine Operations Reports Annually, TTB, accessed August 5, 2026.
11. 26 U.S.C. 5041, Imposition and rate of tax, U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, accessed August 5, 2026.

Important note

This guide summarizes official information available as of August 5, 2026. Requirements can vary by business structure, location, activity, product, ownership, and regulatory status. Confirm material filing decisions with TTB or a qualified tax or alcohol-regulatory adviser.

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