The yearly calendar for a Montana brewery
Which renewals and recurring filings does a Montana brewery owe every year?
The year has more than one New Year
A Montana brewery runs on four clocks, and none of them agree. The federal tax year is the calendar year. The Montana tax year starts July 1. The license renews by June 30. The LLC annual report is due April 15.
Miss any one of them and the consequence lands differently: a lapsed license stops sales, a late annual report costs $35, a missed tax return costs penalties and interest.
The fix is a single calendar with all four clocks on it. This page is that calendar, with each date's source and consequence attached.
June 30A Montana brewery license must be renewed every year by June 30, and the Montana brewery tax year begins July 1. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
June 30: the brewery license renewal
The brewery license renews every year by June 30. That is the date that keeps the sample room, the take-home sales and the delivery rights alive.
The renewal fee follows volume: $200 for a brewery producing under 20,000 barrels a year, $500 at 20,000 or more. The $200 processing fee from the original application does not repeat on renewals.
Renew through TAP, the same portal as the license itself. Put a reminder in June, not in July, because a lapsed license stops the legal basis for every sale the brewery makes.
$200 renewalA Montana brewery license renews every year by June 30, at $200 under 20,000 barrels a year and $500 at 20,000 or more; the $200 processing fee never repeats. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
April 15: the LLC annual report
The business behind the brewery reports to the Secretary of State by April 15 each year. The fee is waived for reports filed before that date and $35 after.
The waiver is the quiet trap. An owner who assumes the report costs money anyway, or that the deadline is soft, pays $35 and risks the state's attention on a lapsed entity.
Reinstatement is pricier than the report: $35 plus an additional $35 for each year of delinquent annual reports. File in March, treat the fee waiver as the reward for a calendar you already own.
April 15Montana LLC annual reports are due April 15, with the filing fee waived prior to April 15 and $35 after, and reinstatement costs $35 plus an additional $35 for each year of delinquent annual reports. — Montana Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29
July, October, January, April: the state tax quarters
Montana's brewery tax year begins July 1, and the reporting quarters begin July 1, October 1, January 1 and April 1. All brewery reports are filed through TAP.
In-state breweries file the Beer Wholesalers/Brewers Quarterly Tax Return, Form BET. The return covers beer sold directly to retailers and consumers, taxed at the graduated rates set in 16-1-406, MCA.
Cross a production band and the rate rises the following quarter, with written notice due to the department and your wholesalers by the end of the quarter in which you exceeded the band. The quarterly calendar carries that deadline too.
Form BETMontana brewery reports are due quarterly through TAP on quarters beginning July 1, October 1, January 1 and April 1, with in-state breweries filing Form BET. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
The federal clock: returns, reports and the four-year bond
The federal side runs alongside. Federal excise returns on TTB Form 5000.24 are annual for a brewery liable for $1,000 or less, quarterly at $50,000 or less, and semi-monthly otherwise unless prepaid.
Operations reports on TTB Form 5130.26 or TTB Form 5130.9 run on their own schedule from the day the Brewer's Notice is approved. Records stay at the premises and are preserved at least three years.
A brewer that does post a bond files a new one every four years. A brewer in the annual or quarterly return periods under the 25.91(e) exemption posts none at all, but should re-check the exemption each year against its own liability.
every 4 yearsFederal excise returns on TTB Form 5000.24 are annual at $1,000 or less liability, quarterly at $50,000 or less, and semi-monthly otherwise; bonds expire every four years. — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, retrieved 2026-09-29
Every other year: the FDA registration
One more clock, easy to lose: a facility that manufactures, processes, packs or holds food for consumption in the United States registers with the Food and Drug Administration, and registrations renew every other year.
A brewery is a food facility in this framework, so the renewal lands in the even-year rotation alongside everything else.
It is the quietest item on the calendar because nothing about it produces a fee bill or a license renewal notice. Calendar it explicitly, with the rest.
every other yearFacilities engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing or holding food for consumption in the United States must register with the FDA and renew the registration every other year. — U.S. Food and Drug Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29
Ownership events belong on the calendar too
Renewals are not the only dated duties. Ownership changes at a brewery trigger federal filings, and the thresholds sit low: any stockholder or interest holder at 10 percent or more requires an Owner Office Information Application through Permits Online.
A change in control, including LLC membership ownership changes, is its own amendment category. The entity keeps operating, but the paperwork is mandatory.
So a term sheet that closes in November is a compliance date in November. The structure behind the permit is covered on the LLC page, and the amendment mechanics on the Brewer's Notice guide.
10 percentAny new stockholder or interest holder at 10 percent or more requires an Owner Office Information Application, and a change in control is its own amendment category. — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, retrieved 2026-09-29
The calendar, assembled
Here is the whole year in one table. Pin it, delegate it, review it each quarter, but keep it in one place.
Two dates carry the sharpest consequences: June 30 for the license and the quarterly dates for the tax returns. April 15 is cheap if respected and $35 if not.
The taxes behind the quarterly dates are detailed on the taxes page. The fees behind the rest are itemized on the cost breakdown, and the license behind it all is on the Montana license guide.
| Date | What is due | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| April 15 | LLC annual report (fee waived if filed before) | Secretary of State |
| June 30 | Brewery license renewal | Department of Revenue |
| July 1, Oct 1, Jan 1, Apr 1 | Quarterly brewery tax reports, Form BET | Department of Revenue via TAP |
| Quarterly or semi-monthly | Federal excise returns, TTB F 5000.24 | TTB via Pay.gov |
| Quarterly | Federal operations reports, TTB F 5130.26 | TTB |
| Every other year | FDA food facility registration renewal | FDA |
June 30 and April 15The Montana brewery license renews every year by June 30, the LLC annual report is due April 15, and brewery tax reports are due quarterly on July 1, October 1, January 1 and April 1. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
What happens if a Montana brewery misses the June 30 license renewal?
The license lapses, and with it the legal basis for the sample room, take-home sales and deliveries. Renewals are handled through TAP, and the renewal fee is $200 under 20,000 barrels a year and $500 at 20,000 or more.
Does the LLC annual report really cost nothing?
Yes, when filed prior to April 15 the fee is waived. After April 15 the fee is $35, and reinstating a lapsed LLC costs $35 plus an additional $35 per year of delinquent reports.
When are the Montana brewery tax reports due?
Quarterly, on the state's fiscal quarters beginning July 1, October 1, January 1 and April 1, filed through TAP. In-state breweries file Form BET.
Which federal filings recur for a brewery?
Excise tax returns on TTB Form 5000.24 at a frequency set by your liability, quarterly or monthly operations reports on TTB Form 5130.26 or 5130.9, and a new bond every four years if one is required.
Does anything renew every other year?
The FDA food facility registration. A facility that manufactures, processes, packs or holds food for consumption in the United States registers with the FDA and renews the registration every other year.