Last update: 10 November 2011

The laws on importing liquor into the various states are as diverse as the states themselves. People considering taking large amounts of alcoholic beverages back to the States are well advised to check with their state alcohol board (ABC) in advance. Whether you are shipping your prized wine collection or just lugging a crate of European beer onto the plane home, state laws vary so much that it is best to know exactly which restrictions apply in the state you arrive in and at your final destination.

The Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Board list of ABCs is linked here and click here to see what it has to say about personal importation of liquor.

Many Americans start a wine collection while in Europe and want to send it to the United States when their overseas tour ends. With a little advance planning and patience, wine connoisseurs can still enjoy their favorite European vintages if they find a way to ship their collection and pay any tax or duty that may be due.

“First contact your local transportation office to find out about weight limitations, shipping procedures and how, if possible, to get reimbursed for the transportation costs,” said William Johnson of the U.S. European Command's Customs and Border Clearance Agency. However he added that any duty or tax you pay is not reimbursable.

Military transportation officials will usually not put the collection in your personal property shipment because of the damage risk from broken bottles but they will have a list of wine merchants or moving companies that ship wine collections. “The company will tell you about state restrictions on alcohol and how to pay any tax that needs to be paid.”

He explained that the airport you ship the collection to must have a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office. As for other shipping options, Johnson pointed out that the U.S. Postal Service will not let you mail wine and courier companies are usually unwilling to ship it. Some airlines will let you pay for excess checked baggage on the flight home if you have a small collection.

After the company packs the collection, you receive a shipping document and a copy of the bill of sale for the tax and shipping costs. It is also best to find out your shipment’s airline, flight number, date of arrival and, most important of all, its shipping document number before you fly.

“When you arrive stateside, go to the airport’s cargo section with the shipping documents,” Johnson went on. “They will give you additional paperwork to take to the CBP office.” He recommends you clear your wine collection at the port of entry yourself because using a customs house broker is very expensive. Customs will work out the duty and IRS tax and stamp your customs clearance.

Customs officials report that the duty on still wine is currently 8.4 cents per liter, but goes up to 19.8 cents for sparkling wine. Duty can be as little as 3.5 cents for vermouth. IRS tax depends on the alcoholic strength of the beverage concerned and works out to around 6 cents per liter for wine. However, these rates of tax and duty are subject to change “Take your customs clearance back to the cargo section where the collection is released to you,” Johnson concluded.

Follow these rules and you can enjoy the best products of Old World vineyards at your new stateside home for many years.

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