Florida Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Bond

Get Your Florida Alcohol or Tobacco Tax Bond

Who Is Required To Purchase an Alcohol and/or Tobacco Bond In Florida?

There's a huge list of different licenses and permits encompassing the sale of beverages and tobacco.

All of these available licenses and permits are subject to the surety bond requirement subject based on the following categories:

Tax on Tobacco Products

A tobacco product is any product that directly uses the tobacco leaf. This can include cigarettes, cigars, and chewing or dipping products.

The bond amount will be 110% of the established tax liability for the previous 30 day period.

$2,000 is the bond minimum.

Tax on Other Tobacco Products

An "other" tobacco product includes any product that uses nicotine and not directly the leaf of the tobacco plant. This would include vaping products, nicotine body patches and pouches like Zin.

The initial bond amount is $25,000.

The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco will review the surety bond amount on a semiannual basis to ensure the bond amount is adequate to protect the state. This is based on sales from the distributor.

Alcohol Products

Alcohol Manufacturer and/or Distributor

You need to get permission from Division to lower the bond amount closer to $10,000. They will look at the amount of business you conduct and assess the bond amount accordingly.

Brewer Bonds

The Division will revise your bond amount based on the amount of sales you have. Keep in mind this means they can lower the bond amount and raise it.

Wine or Wine Cordial

Again the Division will tell you the correct bond amount based on your business.

Distributor (Special Cases)

If you're a alcohol distributor that:

• One, sells beverages only containing not more than 4.007 percent alcohol by volume in Florida counties where the sales of intoxicating liquors, wines, and beers is prohibited.

• Two, sells to distributors beverages containing not more than 17.259 percent alcohol by volume and wines regardless of alcohol content in counties where the sale of intoxicating beverages is permitted.

Finally, if you're a distributor in a county with a population of 15,000 or less and your sales are restricted to distributors and vendors who have obtained licenses in the same county, you have a bond amount of $5,000.

Spiritous Liquor Distributors

Spiritous liquor license is for the sale of large quantities of alcohol from producers and/or importers.

The bond amount for this license is $100,000.

State Bonded Warehouses

Finally, warehouses, called bonded warehouses (not related to surety bond), are required to purchase a surety bond for storing any alcohol produced that is subject to taxes.

This does not apply to a federal warehouse owned and operated by a manufacturer or distributor licensed under the beverage law.

Now that you understand the various bond amounts and licenses and permits that require a bond, here's why you're required to purchase this surety bond.

Why is a Florida Alcohol or Tobacco Tax Bond Required?

As a distributor, seller, or agent who sells alcohol and/or tobacco products, you're responsible for collecting sales taxes during the course of business.

Typically, you need to record your sales and pay sales taxes to the state at the end of every quarter.

This is why the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco requires you to purchase this bond.

The bond is the primary tool used to hold you accountable to paying the required sales taxes to the state.

It's unfortunate, but every year the state will discover businesses that:

• Fail to pay the correct amount of sales tax
• Misrepresent sales to pay lower amounts in tax
• Falling into tax delinquency and failing to pay back previous tax amounts

Because of the frequency of businesses not paying the correct amount of taxes, the Division requires the bonding requirement.

If a business fails to pay the correct amount of sales taxes or use taxes, the Department of Revenue can make a claim against the businesses surety bond for compensation covering the amount of delinquent taxes.

How Much Does a Florida Alcohol and/or Tobacco Bond Cost?

At a high level, the price of a surety bond is calculated by a rate, quoted from a surety.

A surety is a special type of insurance company that underwrites surety bonds. To quote this rate, a surety will typically look at the following primary factors:

• The personal credit of the owner or owners
• The business experience and tax history
• The history of being bonded if an owner has ever been bonded before

Based on these factors the surety will quote a rate.

And every surety is different. This means the rate from one surety can be multiple percentage points different compared to another.

At Surety Bonds Direct, we are a specialize surety agency with the sole purpose of being your personal surety bond shopper.

We work with the highest A rated sureties to find you the lowest rate and price.

Here's how pricing breaks down for alcohol and tobacco surety bonds.

Surety Bond Amounts $10,000 or Less

Following licenses and permits have bond amounts that can be less than $10,000:

• All tobacco surety bonds
• Alcohol product bonds
• Brewer bonds
• Distributor bonds
• State bonded warehouses

If the bond amount you require is $10,000 or less, we have already secured low fixed prices with zero credit check required.

This means you can purchase your bond today for the low price of $100 and have it issued within one business day.

Surety Bond Amounts Over $10,000

Bond amounts over $10,000 are going to be credit driven.

This is where we can potentially save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars, depending on the specific bond amount you need.

Once we get your information, it typically takes about 24 hours to collect all the prices from the sureties.

Let's look at some examples so you can get an idea of what you can expect.

We'll use a bond amount of $25,000. Pay attention to how one to two percentage points can be hundreds of dollars in difference.

The final rate you get makes a huge difference.

Get Your Pricing Today With No Obligation To Purchase

If you request pricing for your bond through our online quote form or by calling a bond specialist at 1-800-608-9950, you can get your exact pricing within one business day.

And you're under no obligation to purchase.

So this is the exact information you need to make the right decision for your business with no risk to you.

How Long Does a Florida Alcohol and/or Tobacco Bond Last?

Alcohol and tobacco surety bonds have a bond term of 12 months from the active date of the bond. This active date is called the effective date and you choose the date when you purchase your bond.

However, for many of these licenses and permits the Division will review the amount of sales you're making with your current active bond amount. Based on these figures they may require you to increase (or decrease) your bond amount.

This is another great reason to work with a surety agency like Surety Bonds Direct.

You get your own bond specialist to manage your account.

So 30 to 40 days before your bond expires, your bond specialist will call you to remind you of your bond's expiration date and they'll have renewal pricing ready to go.

If you need to increase or decrease your bond amount during the year, your bond specialist can help provide you with a bond rider.

A bond rider is just an additional document detailing the change to the bond terms, in this case the change to the bond amount.

It all starts by getting your pricing so you know how much money you can save.

Click here and request your no obligation price quote.

Or call a bond specialist right now at 1-800-608-9950.

Alcohol or Tobacco Tax Bonds And Getting Your Florida Business License/Registration

A completed license application along with the surety bond must be submitted to the local Auditing District Office for those engaging in each of the following alcohol related activities in Florida:

• Distilled Spirits - Liquor Manufacturer
• Malt Beverages - Beer Manufacturer
• Rectify and/or Blend Manufacturer
• Wine Only Manufacturer
• Wine and Cordials Manufacturer
• Bonded Warehouse (Alcohol)
• JDBW Distributor (Alcohol)
• KLD Distributor (Alcohol)
• Distributing Agent (Cigarettes)
• Exporter (Cigarettes)
• Stamping Distributor - Cash (Cigarettes)
• Stamping Distributor - Charge (Cigarettes)
• Tax-paid Distributor (Cigarettes)
• Distributor (Tobacco Products)

The license and permitting process typically includes the following steps. You can find all the details on the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco's website.

• Application fees
• Complete the application with the self identifiable information and business information
• Fingerprints for criminal background check
• Purchase your surety bond
• Submit a right of occupancy if applicable
• Provide Department of Revenue clearance
• SSN or EIN number depending on how your business is setup
• Provide copies of all contracts and agreements
• Outline the partner or stockholder information

Additional Florida Alcohol or Tobacco Tax Bond Resources & Links

DBPR ABT-6032 – Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Surety Bond Form

Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Application Center Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Licenses

Surety Bond Requirements and Information

As set forth by the Florida Statutes, surety bonds are required by all manufacturers and distributors of alcoholic beverages (Sections 561.37, 561.371, and 562.25, F.S.), all distributing agents and wholesale distributors of cigarettes (Sections 210.05(3)(b) and 210.08, F.S.), and all wholesale distributors of tobacco products (Section 210.40, F.S.). The surety bond must be in place prior to approval of the license application approval. All bond forms should be filed with the appropriate Florida District Licensing Office when submitting a completed application for a license or permit and a separate surety bond must be submitted for each type of license or permit. Along with a completed bond form, a properly certified copy of the Surety Agent’s Power of Attorney will be provided by Surety Bonds Direct and must be included with your bond form and application.