Alcoholic beverage wholesalers annual reporting requirement
Resale certificate (Form ST-120) now required to make tax-exempt sales for resale to alcoholic beverage retailer
You must get a properly completed Form ST-120, Resale Certificate, when you sell otherwise taxable products for resale (such as beer, wine, liquor) to an alcoholic beverage retailer. See the attached alert for additional information.
This filing requirement applies to you if:
- you’re an alcoholic beverage wholesaler licensed by the State Liquor Authority; and
- you sold an alcoholic beverage during the period covered by the return without collecting sales tax (other than a sale made to an exempt organization or to another alcoholic beverage wholesaler whose license does not permit it to make retail sales of alcoholic beverages).
Note: Businesses operating under multiple Alcohol Beverage Control Law (ABCL) licenses are not exempt from this filing requirement if their annual production of any individual type of alcoholic beverage exceeds the annual production limit for businesses operating under a farm winery, farm cidery, farm distillery, farm brewery or farm meadery license.
For example, a business holding both a farm distiller’s license and a distiller’s license is exempt from the reporting requirement if its total production limit under both licenses is no more than 75,000 gallons of liquor annually. Further, a business holding a wholesalers’ license, as provided in ABCL is also not exempt from filing an annual sales tax information return.
You need to tell us each filing period if you have no reportable transactions
After logging into your online services account, select Annual Beer, Wine, & Liquor Wholesalers Transactional Information and check the box that indicates that you have no reportable transactions. You may need to create an online services account if you don't already have one.
When to file
| Filing period | Return due date |
|---|---|
| March 1 - February 28 (29) | March 20 |
What you must report on your return
You must report specific information, including the identity of and sales made to each vendor. For example, you must include the name of each vendor to whom you sold an alcoholic beverage without collecting sales tax and the total monthly sales amounts for sales of alcoholic beverages to each vendor. For a complete list of the information that you must report, see TSB-M-09(10)S, New Requirement for the Filing of Information Returns for Alcoholic Beverage Wholesalers.
How to file
- Download and complete the Excel spreadsheet.
- See file formatting for instructions on how to format your file.
- Use the spreadsheet template to submit your information.
- If you need help with your upload, see our common problems and solutions page.
- If you are using the MS Excel spreadsheet template provided by the Department, enter your data into the spreadsheet and select save as .CSV (comma delimited) file. Do not remove any existing text in the spreadsheet.
- If you are not using the MS Excel spreadsheet template, follow the column requirements stated in the file formatting document above. Create a data file with data only. Do not include the header row. Your data must be in a comma delimited format. If commas are contained within a column, surround the column with double quotes.
- Acceptable file extensions include .CSV (comma delimited), .TXT, or .DEL
- Create a business Online Services account (if you have not already done so). Once registered, login and select Annual Beer, Wine, & Liquor Wholesalers Transactional Information, and follow the directions to upload your spreadsheet.
- You can submit a replacement spreadsheet if you’d like to correct an error in the original uploaded file. You must submit the replacement file before the filing deadline to avoid a penalty.
Vendor notification requirement
In addition to filing the information return, you’re required to provide a statement to each vendor that shows the information that you reported for that vendor on the return. See page 2 of TSB-M-09(10)S for more details.
Penalties
| Offense | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Failure to provide the required information or true and correct information on your return |
$500 penalty for 10 or fewer failures and a $50 penalty for each additional failure in excess of 10 |
| Failure to notify each vendor about the statement you made on the information return about them | |
| Failure to file the information return on time | $500 to $2000 penalty |
For more information
- See TSB-M-09(10)S, New Requirement for the Filing of Information Returns for Alcoholic Beverage Wholesalers.
- See TSB-M-09(10.1)S, Additional Guidance Relating to the New Requirement for the Filing of Information Returns for Alcoholic Beverage Wholesalers
- See TSB-M-12 (11)S, Farm Wineries and Farm Distilleries Excluded from Filing Annual Sales Tax Information Returns
- See TSB-M-12(12)S, Creation of Farm Brewery License and the Exclusion From Filing a Sales Tax Information Return
- See TSB-M-14(5)S,Summary of 2013 Budget Legislation and Other 2013 Legislation Affecting Sales and Use Taxes
- See TSB-M-15(6)S, Certain Breweries Excluded from Filing Annual Sales Tax Information Return
- See TSB-M-16(1)S, Certain Wineries Excluded from Filing Annual Sales Tax Information Return
- See TSB-M-20(1)M, (1)S, Summary of Alcoholic Beverages Tax, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax, and Sales and Use Tax Changes Enacted in the 2020-2021 Budget Bill
- Contact the Sales Tax Information Center