Mixed Beverage Tax in Texas

If you are looking to start or already selling alcoholic beverages in Texas, you should familiarize yourself with the mixed beverage tax to help you report and pay your taxes correctly. Here’s an overview of what every bar, club or restaurant owner needs to know about these mixed beverage taxes in Texas.

What is a Mixed Beverage?

Any alcoholic beverage such as beer, wine, distilled spirits, and ale are all mixed beverages. This also includes other mixed beverages that contain more than 1/2 of 1% of alcohol by volume. The seller of the mixed beverages is referred to as the permittee under Texas legislation and is expected to have a permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) to conduct their business.

What is a permittee?

A permittee is the holder of one or more of the following permits depending on the type of business that you want to set up:

• mixed beverage permit;
• private club registration permit;
• private club exemption certificate permit;
• mixed beverage or private club late hours permit;
• daily temporary mixed beverage or private club permit;
• mixed beverage or private club registration permit holding a food and beverage certificate;
• caterer’s permit; or
• distiller’s and rectifier’s permit

Does the permit you pick matter?

Yes, it does. Generally, the type of permit you have from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) will determine the subject of tax you should pay.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) issues these permits. and permit holders are subject to mixed beverage taxes.

What are the types of mixed beverage taxes?

The first is the mixed beverage gross receipts tax and the permittee(seller) pays this tax. The next is the mixed beverage sales tax which is paid by the customer of the permittee(seller). Both of these mixed beverage taxes are both based on the sale, preparation or service of alcoholic beverages and mixes.

How Do These Taxes Work?

There are two primary types of mixed beverage taxes in this state: one for the permittee and the other for the consumer. These taxes cover not only the sale of alcoholic beverages but also its preparation and service. As the business owner (permittee), you will pay the gross receipts tax, while the consumer will pay you the mixed sales beverage tax. You should know that in both of the permittee and consumer taxes, ice and other non-alcoholic beverages sold together are also subject to mixed beverages tax if they are prepared for the purpose of being mixed with alcohol.

The Tax Rates

As a business dealing with the sale, preparation, and service of mixed beverages, your mix gross receipts tax rate is 6.7 %. On the other hand, the consumer will have a tax rate of 8.25 % as their mixed beverage sales tax. These are the new mixed beverage tax rates that took effect on January 1, 2014.

Should Both Taxes be Filed in the Same Report?

Though you can remit them at the same to the state of Texas, you should file your mixed gross income tax on a separate report to mixed sales tax. This is because they are different from each other. The mixed gross receipts tax should be filed on Form 67-100, while the mixed sales tax is filled on the Form 67-103.

Keep in mind that you should file your taxes monthly by the 20th day. If you have a challenge picking which TABC permit is best for you, consult your lawyer or any other expert in the field.

How to File: 

Less than $10,00

Reporting: Webfile or Tax Forms

Payment: EFT or Credit Card payment via Webfile, TEXNET or check

$10,000-$49,999

Reporting: Webfile or Tax Forms

Payment: EFT or Credit Card payment via Webfile, TEXNET

$50,000-$499,999

Reporting: Webfile ONLY

Payments: EFT or Credit Card payment via Webfile, TEXNET

$500,000 or more

Reporting: Webfile ONLY

Payment: TEXNET ONLY