TTB Establishes Waiver Process for Late Excise Tax Filings for Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Distilleries Affected by Fires

A small but important silver lining for moonshiners in Sevier County.  After the tragic fire, we asked the TTB to consider easing the deadlines on reporting and paying excise taxes – to give impacted distilleries time to recover.  We blogged about it here.

The announcement from TTB is great news and here is the e-mail:

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) recognizes that the devastation caused by wildfires in and around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, may have affected your operations. As a result, you may not be able to timely file returns or timely pay or deposit the excise taxes administered by TTB, as required by the Internal Revenue Code. TTB will consider waiving late filing, payment, or deposit penalties on a case-by case basis. Waivers will be approved based on the statutory standard of reasonable cause and a lack of willful neglect.

To qualify for such a waiver, you must:

1) Demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the appropriate TTB officer, that the wildfires or related events directly affected your ability to timely file tax returns and/or pay or deposit excise taxes; and

2) Contact the TTB National Revenue Center at

550 Main St, Ste 8002
Cincinnati, OH 45202-5215
Toll free: 1-877-882-3277
Direct: (513) 684-3334
Email: ttbquestions@ttb.gov

One of Willa’s favorites by Alan Jackson comes to mind:

Pop a top again
I think I’ll have another round
Set ’em up my friend
Then I’ll be gone and you can let some other fool sit down.