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Origin and trade agreements

Importing alcohol and tobacco into the US

What US alcohol and tobacco imports need: TTB importer permits, label approval (COLA), federal excise tax rates, state rules, and why neither can go by US mail.

Updated · 12 official sources

Selling alcohol or tobacco into the United States takes federal permits before the first shipment: a TTB importer's basic permit and a certificate of label approval (COLA) for each alcohol label, or a TTB permit to import tobacco products. CBP collects federal excise tax on top of the duty, the states add their own licensing and tax rules, and neither alcohol nor most tobacco may be sent through the US mail.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What permits does a US alcohol importer need?#

A business importing spirits, wine or malt beverages into the United States needs a Federal Basic Importer's Permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), filed on TTB F 5100.24 at no charge. The importer must keep a staffed US business office; a foreign producer without one contracts with a licensed importer instead.

The importer must also register as an alcohol dealer on TTB F 5630.5(d) before starting business, and obtain a COLA for each unique product and label, filed on TTB F 5100.31 through COLAs Online. TTB says the importer must possess the COLA at the time of importation. Some products need a formula or other pre-COLA approval first. Wine made from grapes or other fruit after 31 December 2004 needs a certification of proper cellar treatment unless it comes from a country with an enological practices agreement, and some wines and spirits need a certificate of age or origin.

Alcohol is food under FDA rules, so the importer also registers the facility with FDA and gives FDA prior notice of each shipment. Before you ship, have each of these in place:

How much federal excise tax is due on imported alcohol?#

Federal excise tax on imported alcohol is a specific tax set by the Internal Revenue Code, charged per proof gallon for spirits, per wine gallon for wine and per barrel for beer, and CBP collects it at entry along with the duty. TTB's current rates are:

Product Rate
Distilled spirits $13.50 per proof gallon
Still wine, 16% alcohol or less $1.07 per wine gallon
Still wine, over 16% to 21% $1.57 per wine gallon
Still wine, over 21% to 24% $3.15 per wine gallon
Artificially carbonated wine $3.30 per wine gallon
Sparkling wine $3.40 per wine gallon
Hard cider $0.226 per wine gallon
Beer $18.00 per barrel of 31 gallons

Foreign producers can assign the Craft Beverage Modernization Act's reduced rates to an electing US importer: $2.70 per proof gallon on the first 100,000 proof gallons of spirits and $13.34 up to 22,230,000, wine credits of up to $1 per wine gallon on the first 30,000 gallons, and $16 per barrel on the first 6,000,000 barrels of beer. Since 1 January 2023 the importer pays CBP the full rate and then claims the reduction as a refund from TTB.

Take 600 bottles of 750 ml French still red wine at 13% alcohol, HTSUS 2204.21.50, worth $3,000, shipped by sea. The 450 liters are 118.88 wine gallons, so the excise tax is $127.20. The duty is 6.3¢ a liter, $28.35, topped up to a 10% total by the Section 301 forced labor duty on EU goods, $300 in all. With the $34.58 merchandise processing fee and $3.75 harbor maintenance fee, the entry costs $465.53 before the importer's state taxes.

What does imported tobacco pay?#

Imported tobacco products pay federal excise tax at TTB's rates, collected by CBP at entry with the duty, and the business importing them needs a TTB permit to import tobacco products, filed on TTB F 5230.4 or through Permits Online. TTB's permit requirement covers cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipe tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco imported for business.

Product Rate
Small cigarettes $50.33 per 1,000
Large cigarettes $105.69 per 1,000
Small cigars $50.33 per 1,000
Large cigars 52.75% of the sale price, up to $402.60 per 1,000
Pipe tobacco $2.8311 per pound
Chewing tobacco $0.5033 per pound
Snuff $1.51 per pound
Roll-your-own tobacco $24.78 per pound
Cigarette papers $0.0315 per 50 papers
Cigarette tubes $0.0630 per 50 tubes

The tax on papers and tubes isn't prorated: fewer than 50 pay the same as 50.

Can alcohol or tobacco be sent by mail?#

Alcohol can't be sent through the US mail: TTB points out that federal law (18 U.S.C. 1716) prohibits sending alcohol beverages through it, and suggests private couriers instead. Cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and, since October 2021, electronic nicotine delivery systems are generally nonmailable too, with narrow exceptions in the Postal Service's rules.

Couriers set their own conditions for alcohol, and many states prohibit shipping alcohol directly to individuals. Neither alcohol nor tobacco qualifies for the $100 gift exemption, so a gift bottle pays duty and tax like a sale (19 CFR 10.153). The US postal guide covers what the post accepts.

Do states have their own alcohol rules?#

US states regulate alcohol on top of the federal rules, and an importer must meet the requirements of each state and local jurisdiction it imports into or sells in. State laws can require their own licenses, limit the quantity a person may bring in for personal use, or prohibit direct shipment of alcohol to consumers altogether.

One-time imports for personal use don't need a TTB permit or COLA, but CBP decides at the port whether an importation is personal, and repeated imports can be treated as commercial. Gifts given away as samples to win orders count as commercial use. The landed cost calculator adds the federal excise tax to a quote when you give the volume and strength, and Restrict shows the FDA and TTB flags CBP sets on a drink's code. Check bans by origin, such as the Canadian goods under the Section 338 action, yourself.

Common questions#

Do I need a license to import wine into the US?#

To import wine as a business, yes: a TTB importer's basic permit, a COLA for each label and the state licenses where you sell. A one-time personal import doesn't need the permit or COLA.

Can I ship wine to a US customer by USPS?#

No. Federal law prohibits sending alcohol beverages through the US mail. A private courier may carry it if the destination state allows direct shipment.

Who pays the excise tax on imported alcohol?#

The importer of record, at entry: CBP collects the federal excise tax with the duty, and any CBMA reduction assigned by the producer comes back later as a TTB refund.

Sources#