Texas TABC Licenses and Permits: Which Alcohol Permit You Need and What It Costs

If you plan to sell beer, wine, or liquor in Texas, your permit comes from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). People search for a Texas liquor license, a TABC license, or a Texas TABC permit, but they are all asking about the same thing: one of the TABC permit types covered here. This guide explains which permit matches your business, what the state and local fees run, how mixed beverage taxes work, and what to have ready before you file.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Permit eligibility, fees, and tax rates depend on your facts and can change. Confirm current figures with the agencies named below and consult a qualified attorney or CPA before you sign a lease or commit money to a buildout.

Texas does not issue or require a general state business license, so the TABC permit is the license that governs alcohol sales. Counties do not license general businesses either. The county filing most owners run into is an assumed name certificate, and only sole proprietors file it with the county clerk.

Start with the permit type that matches your business

TABC issues several permit types. Your choice depends on whether customers drink on the premises, take sealed containers home, or whether you manufacture the product. Mixing up permit types is expensive because each one carries its own fee and its own privileges. Use the table below as a starting point, then read the permit description on tabc.texas.gov before you file.

Permit	Abbreviation	Typical fit
Mixed Beverage	MB	Restaurants, bars, hotels, and clubs selling liquor by the drink for on-premises drinking
Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's	BG	Businesses selling beer and wine, most often for on-premises drinking
Package Store	P	Retailers selling liquor, beer, and wine in sealed containers to take home
Wine-Only Package Store	Q	Retailers selling only wine in sealed containers to take home
Brewpub	BP	Businesses that brew beer and sell it at the same location
Winery	G	Wineries producing wine, with sales rights at the winery
Distiller's and Rectifier's	D	Producers distilling spirits

In practice, a full-service restaurant that wants a full bar usually applies for an MB permit. A restaurant limited to beer and wine should look at BG. A grocery or liquor store selling bottles to take home usually needs a P permit, and a wine-only shop would look at Q. Confirm the exact privileges of any permit with TABC before you choose, because the wrong permit type means refiling and paying again.

TABC license cost: the state fees

The state fee is paid to TABC for a two-year permit. The figures below come from the fee schedule effective September 1, 2021. TABC may have changed them since, so check the current schedule at tabc.texas.gov before you build a budget.

Permit	State fee (two-year)
Mixed Beverage, original	$5,300
Mixed Beverage, renewal	$2,650
Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's (BG)	$1,900
Package Store (P)	$1,800
Wine-Only Package Store (Q)	$1,600
Brewpub (BP)	$1,100
Winery (G)	$3,000
Distiller's and Rectifier's (D)	$3,000

The mixed beverage renewal fee is half the original fee. The schedule above lists a single fee for the other permit types, so confirm with TABC whether renewal amounts differ for them.

The state fee is only the start. Your startup budget also has to cover the premises (lease, buildout, and equipment), business insurance, entity formation, and any local fees, which are covered next.

Local fees on top of the state fee

Cities and counties may charge a local fee on a TABC permit of up to one-half of the state fee. For an MB permit, that ceiling is $2,650 on top of the $5,300 original state fee. Mixed beverage permits are exempt from local fees for the first three years, under Alcoholic Beverage Code sections 11.38 and 61.36, according to county tax office guidance.

Confirm with the city or county tax office where your premises sits whether a local fee applies to your permit, how the exemption is applied, and when it ends. Local practice varies, so the office that covers your address is the authority to ask.

Mixed beverage taxes in Texas

If you hold an MB permit, you deal with two separate taxes that people often confuse. They are paid by different parties and handled differently on your books.

• Mixed beverage gross receipts tax: 6.7 percent. You pay this as the permit holder. It is reported and paid monthly, with payment due by the 20th of the month.
• Mixed beverage sales tax: 8.25 percent. You collect this from customers on mixed beverage sales and remit it to the Comptroller.

Here is how the numbers look on $1,000 of mixed drink sales. Customers pay $82.50 in mixed beverage sales tax, which you collect and remit. The gross receipts tax is a cost to you, so on the same $1,000 it comes to $67 if the base is the $1,000 figure. The Comptroller sets the exact tax base, so confirm it with the agency before you build your pricing or budget.

Food and non-alcohol sales follow the regular Texas sales tax, which is 6.25 percent. Most restaurants also need a Texas sales and use tax permit to collect it. The Comptroller issues that permit at no charge through comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/permit/, and it typically takes two to three weeks to process. Apply for it early so you are not collecting tax without a permit on opening day.

Before you apply: wet or dry status, the certificate of occupancy, and your entity

Most TABC delays happen at the premises stage, not the paperwork stage. Handle these items before you sign a lease.

1. Confirm the sale is legal at the address. Alcohol sales depend on local wet or dry status. Ask the city or county whether the premises sits in a jurisdiction where the sale you plan is allowed, including mixed beverage sales if you plan to serve drinks by the glass.
2. Get the certificate of occupancy first. Some local offices, Houston among them, ask for a certificate of occupancy number as part of the TABC process. Obtain that certificate before you apply rather than after, or the application can stall.
3. Check the lease. Make sure the permitted use in the lease allows alcohol sales at that location. A lease that only covers general retail or food service can block an otherwise approved permit.
4. Form the business entity. A Texas LLC files a Certificate of Formation (Form 205) with the Texas Secretary of State for a $300 filing fee. A corporation files Form 201 for the same $300. File through SOSDirect at direct.sos.state.tx.us. The name must include an organizational designation such as LLC, and the entity must maintain a Texas registered agent at a physical Texas street address.

Once formed, a Texas LLC or corporation owes no state income tax, but it is subject to the Texas franchise tax, which the Comptroller administers. For the 2026 and 2027 report years, entities with total revenue at or below $2,650,000 owe no franchise tax. They still file the Public Information Report with the Comptroller by May 15 each year. That report is not filed with the Secretary of State. Above the threshold, rates are 0.375 percent for retail and wholesale and 0.75 percent for all other entities, with a 0.331 percent EZ Computation rate for entities under $20 million in total revenue. Which rate applies to a restaurant or bar depends on how the business is classified, so ask a CPA to confirm it.

Where to confirm each figure

Use the official source for each number rather than a third-party summary, including this one. The agencies that control each part of the process are:

• TABC: permit types, the current fee schedule, and application forms at tabc.texas.gov.
• Comptroller: mixed beverage gross receipts and sales tax, the sales and use tax permit, and franchise tax at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes.
• Secretary of State: entity formation and name rules at sos.state.tx.us.
• Your city or county: wet or dry status, local permit fees, and the certificate of occupancy process for your address.

If you are not sure what applies to your business, the Texas Small Business Development Center Network offers free counseling at sbdctexas.org. For tax questions, use a CPA. For questions about eligibility or the entity's legal exposure, use an attorney.

Next steps

1. Choose the permit type that matches what you will sell and where customers will drink it.
2. Confirm the current TABC fee schedule and whether a renewal fee differs from the original.
3. Confirm the wet or dry status of the address and ask the city or county about local fees and the exemption.
4. Get the certificate of occupancy before you apply.
5. Form your LLC or corporation for $300 and maintain a registered agent.
6. Apply for the sales and use tax permit, and set up your point-of-sale system to track both mixed beverage taxes from the first sale.

This guide is informational and is not legal or tax advice. Permit requirements, fees, and tax rates depend on your specific facts and on current law. Confirm each figure with TABC, the Comptroller, the Secretary of State, and your local government, and consult a qualified attorney or CPA before you act.