IRS Tax Form 720

[Spsteige]

I am in the early research stages for micro-distilleries and am a bit confused about the Federal collection of excise tax, IRS, TTB, etc.

The IRS provides a tax form "Form 720" for many broad categories of industries requiring an excise tax, including alcohol. I also understand that a distillery must file quarterly excise tax reports with the TTB. Is this Form 720 in congruence with the TTB forms? or not applicable to a distillery producing alcohol for beverage purposes? I couldn't find any relevant information on the Form 720 for a beverage spirit distillery.

[paul@mbroland.com]

The TTB website, WWW.TTB.GOV, is a wonderful thing. If you plan to get into this business you need to learn it well, specifically the regulations and the reporting requirements.

All distilled spirits report forms can be found:

http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/forms.shtml

Excise Taxes in particular:

http://www.ttb.gov/forms/helpful_hints500024.shtml

[Spsteige]

Thanks for the help Paul, I appreciate the links. I have been reading up on the TTB site the past month- I'm slowly but surely grasping the concepts. My main confusion was with the Form 720, specifically with the IRS. Can you offer any insight on this form? Or does it not concern distillers? It is a very likely possibility my research has steered me off course.. in which case, I'm sorry for wasting your time!

Thanks again for the help.

[Kristian]

You will need to get a pay.gov account when you get your license and all of the tax forms can be submitted online. The IRS 720 is not the right form, that is for businesses who have collected excise taxes for one reason or another to be able to report and pay that collected amount to the IRS. (shipping companies, airlines, etc.)

As a distillery you are not collecting excise tax for anyone. You are making a product that requires you to pay the excise tax for yourself. Depending on what you are producing you will have to follow detailed record keeping requirements, file multiple forms for each tax period, and excise tax returns for each payment. TTB forms 5110.11, 5110.28, 5110.40, 5000.24 and any required state forms.

[Spsteige]

Thanks for the help!