Microbrewery startup costs in Montana

What this breakdown covers, and what it cannot

This page totals every fee a Montana microbrewery owes with a number attached to a published source. It covers the paperwork, the licenses and the taxes.

It does not cover the brewhouse. Tanks, glycol, coolers and a building are the real budget, and no agency publishes a figure for them. Any number you see quoted for equipment is somebody's estimate, not a fee schedule.

Treat this page as the compliance budget, the floor you cannot go under. Then put the real money behind it, and check the cost of the entity itself and the filing services comparison before paying anyone.

$500 + $200A new Montana brewery license costs $500, with a $200 application processing fee on original applications that is not applied to renewals. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

The entity and the state license

Two filings start the paperwork: the business entity and the brewery license. Together, at the minimum, they cost $735.

The LLC filing is $35 with the Montana Secretary of State. The brewery license is $500, plus a $200 processing fee on the original application. Both numbers are published, and neither moves with who files.

That $700 licensing total repeats differently next year. The license renews at $200 for a brewery under 20,000 barrels, and the LLC annual report fee is waived when you file by April 15.

$35Montana charges a $35 filing fee for domestic LLC Articles of Organization, and waives the annual report fee for reports filed prior to April 15, charging $35 after. — Montana Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29

The federal side: cheap permits, real taxes

The federal paperwork is nearly free. The federal excise tax behind it is not, and it is the number to model first.

The Brewer's Notice itself carries no application fee, and label approval through COLAs Online is free too. The federal excise tax on beer from a brewer producing 2,000,000 barrels or less is $3.50 a barrel on the first 60,000 barrels.

At 1,000 barrels a year, that is $3,500 in federal excise tax. It is paid on removals for consumption or sale, not on brewing, so it follows your sales from the first batch sold.

$3.50 a barrelThe federal excise tax rate on beer removed by a domestic brewer producing 2,000,000 barrels or less per calendar year is $3.50 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels. — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, retrieved 2026-09-29

There is no fee to apply for a Certificate of Label Approval through TTB's COLAs Online system. — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, retrieved 2026-09-29

The bond: a cost most small breweries skip

The Brewer's Bond used to be a standard startup line. For most small breweries it now reads zero.

A brewer paying tax on a deferred basis, eligible for an annual or quarterly return period, is not required to provide a bond under 27 CFR 25.91(e). A brewery liable for $50,000 or less in federal excise tax a year files quarterly and fits.

A brewery outside the exemption posts TTB Form 5130.22 through a surety company, and surety premiums are set by the bond amount and credit, not published as a fee schedule. Model it as zero only if your tax liability genuinely fits the exemption.

27 CFR 25.91(e)Under 27 CFR 25.91(e), a brewer paying tax on a deferred basis who is eligible for an annual or quarterly return period is not required to provide a bond. — Code of Federal Regulations via Cornell LII, retrieved 2026-09-29

The Montana barrel tax, on its own fiscal clock

Montana taxes beer sold directly to retailers and consumers, based on the barrels produced in a year. The year is the state's fiscal year, running July 1 to June 30.

The first 5,000 barrels are taxed at $1.30 a barrel. The next band, 5,001 to 10,000, is $2.30. Above 10,000, it is $4.30. A brewery at 10,000 barrels or fewer in the prior year starts the next year back at $1.30.

At 1,000 barrels a year, that is $1,300 in state beer tax on top of the $3,500 federal. Both taxes attach to the same beer, so model them together.

$1.30 a barrelMontana brewery taxes are based on barrels produced in the department's fiscal year beginning July 1, at $1.30 a barrel for 0 to 5,000 barrels, $2.30 for 5,001 to 10,000, and $4.30 for 10,001 or more. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

A first-year compliance budget, itemized

For a small domestic brewery at 1,000 barrels in year one, the compliance budget adds up to $5,535 before equipment, rent or grain.

That is $35 for the LLC, $700 for the license and processing fee, $3,500 federal excise tax and $1,300 Montana barrel tax. The Brewer's Notice and the label applications add nothing.

The tax line is the one that scales. Double the beer and the taxes double, while the license renewal stays at $200. The taxes page covers the return periods, and the yearly page covers what repeats.

$200 renewalA Montana brewery license renewal for a brewery producing 10,000 or fewer barrels is $200 a year under Montana Code 16-4-501. — Montana Code Annotated, retrieved 2026-09-29

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