taxes

Out-of-State Wineries

An out-of-state winery can sell and ship wine directly to Texas customers, even those who live in dry counties where alcohol sales are prohibited.

In order to sell in Texas, an out-of-state winery must obtain

• a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit from the Comptroller’s office; and
• an Out-of-State Winery Direct Shipper’s Permit from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

For more information about winery permits and regulations, see the TABC’s Wine Shipping to Texas webpage.

Sales and Use Tax

For wine sold and delivered to Texas customers, an out-of-state winery with a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit must collect, report and remit taxes to the Comptroller’s office. The safe harbor provision for remote sellers does not apply to out-of-state wineries.

The out-of-state winery must collect the 6.25 percent state sales tax and

• up to 2 percent local sales tax based on where the order is shipped or delivered; or
• the single local use tax rate.

An out-of-state winery can verify its customers’ tax rates using our Sales Tax Rate Locator and entering the customer’s physical address. The tax rate locator provides the percentage of tax to collect and what the specific local taxing jurisdictions are for each location.

An out-of-state winery (i.e., remote seller) may elect to use the single local use tax rate to assess the tax on wine delivered to Texas customers.

Due Dates

Taxpayers will be notified by letter after their application for a sales tax permit has been approved whether they will file monthly or quarterly. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next working day is the due date.

For more information about collecting, reporting and remitting sales and use taxes, see our Sales and Use Tax webpage.

Franchise Tax

Texas franchise tax is a privilege tax imposed on each taxable entity formed in or doing business in Texas.

Out-of-state wineries with nexus in Texas are required to file annual franchise tax and information reports. An entity has nexus if it

• has physical nexus (i.e., presence in Texas);
• meets the economic nexus threshold of $500,000 in gross receipts for its Texas sales; or
• fails to overcome the presumption that holding an active Texas sales and/or use tax permit creates nexus.

For more information about reporting and paying franchise tax, see our Franchise Tax webpage.

Additional Resources

• Sales Tax Rate Locator
• Texas Online Tax Registration Application
• Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

94-179
(12/2020)