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Author Topic: Home Brewing Limit  (Read 14043 times)

Offline Pawtucket Patriot

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #30 on: August 19, 2010, 02:54:38 pm »
For the benefit of inquiring minds...

26 U.S.C. section 5053(e)
(e) Beer for personal or family use
Subject to regulation prescribed by the Secretary, any adult may,
without payment of tax, produce beer for personal or family use and
not for sale. The aggregate amount of beer exempt from tax under
this subsection with respect to any household shall not exceed -
(1) 200 gallons per calendar year if there are 2 or more adults
in such household, or
(2) 100 gallons per calendar year if there is only 1 adult in
such household.
For purposes of this subsection, the term "adult" means an
individual who has attained 18 years of age, or the minimum age (if
any) established by law applicable in the locality in which the
household is situated at which beer may be sold to individuals,
whichever is greater.






Thanks Matt!

I vote for you to be our in house legal council.

Make that law degree earn some respect.   ;D

I'd probably quit my job in a second if there were an in-house opportunity at the AHA!!!  
Matt Schwandt | Minneapolis, MN
AHA Member

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Offline marty

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #31 on: August 19, 2010, 02:55:40 pm »
Quote
dog house in the yard counts as a separate household right?

Depends on how you answered the question, "do these jeans make my butt look big?"

whatever it takes to get that extra 200 gallons

Offline dhacker

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #32 on: August 19, 2010, 02:58:04 pm »
" . . .Yes your Honor, I only brew 200 gallons a year, but my brother-in-law also brews 200 gallons a year, uses my brewing system, and stores his beer here because I have the cooler space . . ." 
Just brew it...

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #33 on: August 19, 2010, 03:11:02 pm »
I love how the law implies it's legal for 18 year olds to homebrew and drink homebrew
It is legal, as long as the drinking age in that place is 18 or lower.  ;)

(emphasis mine)
For purposes of this subsection, the term "adult" means an
individual who has attained 18 years of age, or the minimum age (if
any) established by law applicable in the locality in which the
household is situated at which beer may be sold to individuals,
whichever is greater.

Tom Schmidlin

Offline tubercle

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #34 on: August 19, 2010, 03:14:40 pm »
  The way law enforcement works is if you brought enough attention to yourself, say by getting caught selling some, your bank/debit/credit transactions would be subpoenaed along with the records of the suppliers you were found to be doing business with. You don't have to be caught with over 200 gals on hand, they just have to prove you bought enough ingredients to produce that much.

That may indeed be how law enforcement would go about it, tubercle, but I think the authorities would be up a creek if that's all they had to go on.  The statute specifically says "any adult may . . . produce beer" up to the prescribed limits.  So, I think they'd actually have to prove that you produced beer in a quantity that exceeded the prescribed limit within a single calendar year.  A purchase of 5000 lbs of malt and 50 lbs of hops could just be stocking up before our future Chinese overlords artificially spike our commodities prices!   ;D :P

 Chinese overlords...I like that :D Not a bad idea. Who knows?

  I said what I did because this is really how its done. Innocent until proven guilty? Not always. I never dealt with anything alcohol related but I have drug dealers (yes, The Tubercle was a narc...10 years worth, but that is now a former life) and this is how things are usually done with the big guys. Can't get 'em any other way? Drop a dime to the IRS. There is a big difference though. All the ingredients to make beer are legal, its just the amount produced when the various things are brought together to make a product where "illegal" (actually controlled) substances are usually not, with the exception of some, like meth and some others that use legal over -the-counter products to make controlled substances.

  The point I was trying to make is in response DHACKER's "Then an almost impossible law to enforce ". Never underestimate the IRS. They are on a mission.
Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee

Offline bluesman

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #35 on: August 19, 2010, 03:34:33 pm »
" . . .Yes your Honor, I only brew 200 gallons a year, but my brother-in-law also brews 200 gallons a year, uses my brewing system, and stores his beer here because I have the cooler space . . ." 

LMAO... :D

That is the funniest thing I've heard all day.
Ron Price

Offline wfaris

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #36 on: August 19, 2010, 03:38:01 pm »
I simply destroy the evidence that I have produced that much beer.  I never have enough undrunk beer around at one time to give anyone the impression that I may have exceeded the limit.  Besides, "destroying the evidence" is one of the reasons we brew, isn't it?  :)

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company
Nebraska Brews Since 2002

Offline weithman5

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #37 on: August 19, 2010, 03:48:42 pm »
of course growing your own barley can keep that off the grid as can the small hop farm on the side of my house.  and how about those adjuncts.  corn, rice, pumpkin, apple juice for cider.  oh the ins and outs and the hidden sugars.  makes my head swim. of course you could just "leave"  a full corny on the porch when the tax man cometh... 8)
Don AHA member

Offline tubercle

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #38 on: August 19, 2010, 03:56:31 pm »
" . . .Yes your Honor, I only brew 200 gallons a year, but my brother-in-law also brews 200 gallons a year, uses my brewing system, and stores his beer here because I have the cooler space . . ." 


  Or better yet, "my good friend (keep a recent obituary column handy, just pick somebody out) brought me this to keep for him". Dead men tell no tales 8)
Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee

Offline andude

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #39 on: August 19, 2010, 04:16:17 pm »
this now ties in with another active thread "what i like most about brewing"  Not giving the government tax revenue on all the beer i don't buy because i am brewing it myself. 8)
but didn't you give the government taxes when you bought the ingredients to make the beer?  perhaps not if you grew some or all of them yourself, but even then you'd have to pay some taxes for growing supplies and equipment (and water???)
-Andude

Offline Pawtucket Patriot

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #40 on: August 19, 2010, 04:18:25 pm »
(yes, The Tubercle was a narc...10 years worth, but that is now a former life)

Man, I bet you've seen an "interesting" slice of humanity! 
Matt Schwandt | Minneapolis, MN
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Offline bobburchler

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #41 on: August 19, 2010, 04:24:42 pm »
Quote
but didn't you give the government taxes when you bought the ingredients to make the beer?  perhaps not if you grew some or all of them yourself, but even then you'd have to pay some taxes for growing supplies and equipment (and water???)
-Andude 

Good point. It's not completely tax free, but without paying taxes for ingredients and the big alcohol tax, it's about as close as you can get. No doubt that cleaning supplies, energy, etc. are taxed.

Offline tubercle

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #42 on: August 19, 2010, 04:26:30 pm »
(yes, The Tubercle was a narc...10 years worth, but that is now a former life)

Man, I bet you've seen an "interesting" slice of humanity! 

 More than anyone should. There are two separate worlds we live in.
Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee

Offline myrtlebeachbums

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #43 on: August 19, 2010, 07:22:07 pm »
of course you could just "leave"  a full corny on the porch when the tax man cometh... 8)

My luck I'd leave my finest barley wine for the guy and he'd turn out to be a Coors Lite drinker. "This is too strong."

Offline euge

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Re: Home Brewing Limit
« Reply #44 on: August 19, 2010, 08:28:40 pm »
Gee... Been breaking the law and didn't even know it. I don't even speed... much.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis