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Pay beer tax

  • Steuern und Abgaben

If you produce or import beer or mixed beer drinks, you must pay beer tax.

  • Basic information

    The beer tax is an excise tax levied on beer and beer-based mixed drinks. It is unique among the excise taxes regulated by federal law: The Customs Administration—a federal agency—collects the beer tax, while the revenue goes to the federal states.

    The tax becomes due as soon as the beer is removed from a so-called tax warehouse. A tax warehouse is a location authorized by the main customs office where products may be manufactured, handled, processed, stored, received, or shipped. In addition, the tax becomes due, among other things, when you import beer from a third country.

    Amount of the Beer Tax

    The amount of the beer tax is generally based on the original gravity of the beer. This is measured in degrees Plato. For beer blends or flavored beer, the original gravity of the beer used serves as the basis for calculating the beer tax. The degrees Plato of the finished beverage is calculated based on the mixing ratio of the beer component with other ingredients.

    The original gravity refers to the proportion of substances dissolved from the malt in the unfermented wort. These are primarily malt sugars, but also include proteins, vitamins, minerals, and flavor compounds. During fermentation, with the help of yeast, these substances are converted into approximately one-third alcohol, one-third carbon dioxide, and one-third residual extract.

    The higher the original gravity, the stronger the resulting beer. Most beers in Germany are full-bodied beers with an original gravity between 11 and 16 degrees Plato. The alcohol content ranges between 4.5 and 5.5 percent by volume.

    The standard tax rate is 0.787 EUR per degree Plato per hectoliter (hl), i.e., per 100 liters. The alcohol content does not affect this rate.

    Example:

    If you produce one hectoliter of full-bodied beer—such as Pils, Kölsch, or Alt—with an original gravity of 12 degrees Plato, the beer tax amounts to 9.44 EUR.

    12 × 0.787 EUR = 9.44 EUR. Converted to a 0.2-liter glass of beer, that amounts to 0.019 EUR in beer tax.

    Beer-based mixed drinks

    If you produce beer mixes or flavored beer, the original gravity of the beer used is also the basis for calculating the beer tax. Based on the mixing ratio of the beer component to other ingredients, you can calculate the degrees Plato of the finished beverage. 

    You can therefore calculate the degree Plato of a beer mixture by multiplying the degree Plato of the beer by the number of hectoliters of beer, then dividing by the number of hectoliters of the beer mixture.

    You can find sample calculations for beer tax on the Customs Administration’s website.

    Exceptions and Reduced Tax Rates

    • Non-alcoholic beer: Alcohol content below 0.5 percent by volume—not subject to beer tax.
    • On-site consumption: Beer provided free of charge to employees by licensed breweries for on-site consumption is tax-exempt.
    • Home and hobby brewers: Beer produced by home and hobby brewers is tax-exempt up to a quantity of 200 liters per calendar year. The start of production and the place of production must be reported in advance to the responsible main customs office. If the aforementioned quantity is exceeded, a tax return must be filed using the official form, and the beer tax must be paid. For the taxable quantities, the standard tax rate of 0.787 EUR per hectoliter and degree Plato applies.
    • Reduced Tax Rates: Smaller, legally and economically independent breweries may claim reduced beer tax rates for brewed beer if their total annual production is less than 200,000 hectoliters. Depending on annual production, the standard tax rate can be reduced by up to 50 percent based on a volume-based sliding scale. This is based on so-called graduated tax rates.

    When the reduced graduated tax rates are applied, the standard tax rate is reduced evenly in 1,000-hectoliter increments

    • to 75 percent for an annual production of 40,000 hectoliters,
    • to 70 percent for an annual production of 20,000 hectoliters,
    • to 60 percent for an annual production of 10,000 hectoliters, and
    • to 50 percent for an annual production of 5,000 hectoliters.

    The reduced tax rates do not apply to beer-based mixed drinks and flavored beers, as these are not produced through the brewing process. This also applies to beer delivered to the tax territory by a foreign independent brewery with a total annual production of less than 200,000 hectoliters. An official certificate confirming the foreign brewery’s production in the previous year must be submitted. 

    Requirements

    You must pay beer tax if the tax has become due and you are a taxpayer within the meaning of the law. This can be the case in various situations, for example, if

    • you are the owner of a tax warehouse from which the goods were removed or in which they were consumed, 
    • you are a “registered consignee” and take the products into your business following their transport under tax suspension, or 
    • you were involved in production without the required permit. 

    To qualify for reduced tax rates, small breweries must be legally and economically independent of other breweries, and their total annual production must be less than 200,000 hectoliters. 

  • Procedure

    You can submit your beer tax return or registration by mail or online.

    Submitting a return by mail:

    • If you remove beer from a tax warehouse, consume it, or are a “registered recipient,” you must file a written tax return.
      • Download the “Beer Tax Return” form (Form 2076).
      • Fill out the form completely and mail it to the Stuttgart Main Customs Office.
      • The Stuttgart Main Customs Office will review your tax return.
    • If you receive regular shipments of beer from other European countries and hold a permanent permit for the purchase of beer under tax suspension or for commercial receipt in free circulation, you must report these shipments in a written tax return:
      • To do so, use the form “Monthly Tax Declaration/Exemption Declaration for Beer” (Form 2074).
      • Fill out the form completely and mail it to the Main Customs Office responsible for your area.
      • The main customs office will review your tax return.
        • If any discrepancies are found during the review, you will have until the due date of the duties to correct any incorrect information or complete any missing information.
        • If the tax liability is already due or if you do not correct the information, the main customs office will assess the taxes via a tax assessment notice and notify you accordingly.
        • If the review does not result in any objections, the amount due will normally be collected from your account via direct debit
        • in such cases, you do not need to take any further action.
    • If the beer tax arose in connection with irregularities, for example in the case of
      • brewing without a permit,
      • exceeding the tax-exempt limit for home and hobby brewers, or
      • a violation of a prohibition, then you must calculate the tax yourself and submit a written tax return:
        • To do so, use the form “Tax Return for Beer in Individual Cases” (Form 2075).
        • Fill out the form completely and mail it to the main customs office responsible for your area.
        • The main customs office will review your tax return.
    • If you:
      • only occasionally import beer from other EU countries as a “registered consignee,”
      • import beer into the EU from a third country and have not already submitted the tax return on the customs declaration, or
      • your authorization as a tax warehouse operator has expired,
    • you must submit a written tax return (Form 2077).

    Submit the declaration online:

    • You can also fill out and submit the beer tax forms online.
    • Access the online application on the Customs Portal. It will guide you step by step through the required information, which you can enter electronically.
    • Upload the required documents as files and submit the application.
    • The Main Customs Office will review your information and documents.
    • You will receive a tax assessment notice.

    The Main Customs Office responsible is the one in whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a business, in whose district you reside. If your business is operated from a location outside Germany or if you are not a resident of Germany, the Main Customs Office with local jurisdiction is the one in whose district you first become subject to taxation.

    More information

    Calculation of Beer Tax at Reduced Rates

    The customs administration uses its own data processing procedure to calculate beer tax.

    Based on the data submitted, this program calculates both the amount of beer tax due each month and the untaxed shipments to EU member states and third countries.

    Based on the data collected, you will receive a tax assessment notice.

    Appeal

    • Objection
    • Lawsuit before the Tax Court

  • Necessary Documents
    • If you remove beer from a tax warehouse, consume it, or are a "registered recipient":
      • Beer Tax Return (Form 2076)
    • If:
      • If these are regular shipments of beer from other European countries and you hold a permanent permit for the purchase of beer under tax suspension or for receiving beer from the free market as a certified consignee:
        • Monthly Tax Return/Credit Claim for Beer (Form 2074)
    • If the beer tax has been incurred in specific cases—such as production without a license or mail-order sales—or in connection with irregularities:
      • Tax Return for Beer in Special Cases (Form 2075)
    • If:
      • If you purchase beer from other EU countries as a “registered consignee” on a case-by-case basis, import beer from a third country into the EU and have not already submitted the tax return with the customs declaration, or if your authorization as a tax warehouse operator for beer has expired:
        • Beer Tax Return in Individual Cases (Form 2077)

  • Competent Department

  • Online Services

  • Forms

  • Fees / Costs

    gebührenfrei
    Late payment penalties are possible.

  • Deadlines & processing time

    What deadlines must be paid attention to?

    You must file the "Beer Tax Return" (Form 2076) by the 7th day of the month following the month in which the beer tax became due.
    You must submit the "Tax Return for Beer in Individual Cases" (Form 2075) immediately.
    You must file the “Monthly Tax Return/Refund Application for Beer” (Form 2074) by the 10th day of the month following the month in which the tax became due.
    You must submit the "Beer Tax Return for Individual Cases" (Form 2077) immediately.

    How long does it take to process

    7 days

  • Legal Bases

  • More Information

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This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.

The official information in German is complete and correct. 03.07.2026

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