Brewery Excise Tax Calculator — Federal Beer Tax per Keg and Case

What does federal excise tax really cost your brewery per keg and per case?

Enter what leaves your brewery in a year. You get the federal beer excise tax at the Craft Beverage Modernization Act rates, the effective rate per barrel, the tax built into each keg, case and pint, and what happens to your bill as you grow past the 60,000-barrel reduced rate, so you can price, plan and budget your return.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example numbers are made up. A planning estimate, not a TTB return.

1. What you remove from the brewery in a year

1/2 bbl kegs removed per year

1/4 bbl kegs removed per year

1/6 bbl kegs removed per year

Cases of 24 x 12 oz per year

Cases of 24 x 16 oz per year

64 oz growlers filled per year

Other barrels (bulk, already counted in barrels)

2. Your reduced-rate status

Barrels produced per year (all breweries you control)

Your share of the 60,000-barrel $3.50 allotment (barrels)

Enter your volumes, or load the example, then click Calculate the tax.

Result

Tax by rate tier

Tier	Barrels	Rate per barrel	Tax

Tax inside each package

Package	Count	Tax each	Tax total

If you grow

Volume	Barrels	Tax	Effective per barrel	Next-barrel rate

The rates this applies, and what it leaves out

$3.50 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels removed in a calendar year, for a domestic brewer producing 2 million barrels or fewer (IRC 5051(a)(2)).
$16 per barrel on the remaining barrels up to 6 million, and $18 above that. A barrel is 31 gallons.
Brewers under common control share one 60,000-barrel allotment.
Tax attaches when beer is removed for sale or consumption, including taproom sales, not when it is brewed.
Not modelled: state and local beer tax, importer and contract-brew assignment rules, tax-free removals and losses, returns and refunds, and your actual filing period. Check current TTB guidance.

Common questions

How much is the federal excise tax on beer?

Federal law taxes beer removed from a brewery at $18 per barrel, but the Craft Beverage Modernization Act lowers that to $16 per barrel on the first 6 million barrels and to $3.50 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels for a domestic brewer that produces no more than 2 million barrels a year. A barrel is 31 gallons.

How much federal excise tax is that per keg or case?

At the $3.50 rate a half-barrel keg carries about $1.75 of federal tax and a 24 x 12 oz case about 25 cents. At $16 the same keg carries $8.00 and the case about $1.16. The calculator works out your own mix.

What happens when I pass 60,000 barrels?

Only the barrels above 60,000 move to $16, so the rate on those barrels is about 4.6 times higher. The earlier barrels keep the $3.50 rate. The calculator shows the effective rate and the next-barrel rate.

Do brewers under common ownership each get 60,000 barrels?

No. Brewers in a controlled group share a single 60,000-barrel reduced-rate allotment. Enter your share in the allotment box if you split it.

Is tax due when I brew the beer or when I sell it?

Beer is taxed when it is removed from the bonded premises for sale or consumption, such as a keg leaving or beer sold in the taproom, not when it is brewed. Enter what you remove.

How often do I file?

Brewers whose federal excise tax is expected to be $50,000 or less a year can generally file quarterly, and those at $1,000 or less can generally file annually. Above that it is semi-monthly. Confirm your own eligibility with TTB.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts.

Is this tax advice?

No. It is a planning estimate from numbers you enter. State excise tax, local tax, importer rules and the actual TTB return are outside it. Verify against current TTB guidance or ask your accountant.