Form 8906

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service

Distilled Spirits Credit

▶ Attach to your tax return.

OMB No. 1545-1982

2011

Attachment 

Sequence No. 150

Name(s) shown on return Identifying number

1 Total number of cases of distilled spirits (see instructions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

2 Average tax-financing cost per case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

3 Multiply line 1 by line 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

4 Distilled spirits credit from partnerships and S corporations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

5 Add lines 3 and 4. Partnerships and S corporations, report this amount on Schedule K. All others, 

report this amount on Form 3800, line 1n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions. Cat. No. 37715M Form 8906 (2011)
Form 8906 (2011) Page 2 

Instructions

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.

Purpose of Form

Use Form 8906 to claim the distilled spirits credit. The credit is 

part of the general business credit.

Taxpayers that are not partnerships or S corporations, and 

whose only source of this credit is from those pass-through 

entities, are not required to complete or file this form. Instead, 

they can report this amount directly on Form 3800.

How To Figure the Credit

Generally, the credit for the tax year is figured by multiplying the 

number of cases of bottled distilled spirits purchased or stored 

during the tax year by the average tax-financing cost per case 

for the most recent calendar year ending before the beginning of 

the tax year. See the instructions for line 1 below.

Line 1

If you are an eligible wholesaler, enter the number of cases of 

distilled spirits that were bottled in the United States and 

purchased by you during the tax year directly from the bottler of 

the spirits. An eligible wholesaler is any person who holds a 

permit under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act as a 

wholesaler of distilled spirits and is not a state or political 

subdivision thereof, or an agency of either.

If you are not an eligible wholesaler, but you are subject to 

section 5005, enter the number of cases of bottled distilled 

spirits which are stored in a warehouse operated by, or on 

behalf of, a state or any political subdivision thereof, or an 

agency of either, and for which title has not passed on an 

unconditional sale basis.

For purposes of this line, a case consists of twelve 80-proof 

750-milliliter bottles. For any lot of distilled spirits that does not 

consist of cases of 80-proof 750-milliliter bottles, figure the 

number of cases in the lot as follows.

1. Divide the number of liters in the lot by 9.

2. Multiply the result by a fraction, the numerator of which is

the stated proof of the lot and the denominator of which is 80.

3. The result is the number of cases in the lot.

Example. You purchased a lot of ninety 500-milliliter bottles of

150-proof rum. The number of liters in the lot is 45 (0.5 liters x

90). Divide 45 by 9 and the result is 5. Multiply 5 by 150/80

(1.875). The result is 9.375, which is the number of cases in the 

lot.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information 

on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United 

States. You are required to give us the information. We need it 

to ensure that you are complying with these laws and to allow 

us to figure and collect the right amount of tax.

You are not required to provide the information requested on 

a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless 

the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or 

records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as 

long as their contents may become material in the 

administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax 

returns and return information are confidential, as required by 

section 6103.

The time needed to complete and file this form will vary 

depending on individual circumstances. The estimated burden 

for individual taxpayers filing this form is approved under OMB 

control number 1545-0074 and is included in the estimates 

shown in the instructions for their individual income tax return. 

The estimated burden for all other taxpayers who file this form is 

shown below.

Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . 1 hr., 25 min.

Learning about the law or the form . . . . . . . 12 min.

Preparing and sending the form to the IRS . . . . 13 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time 

estimates or suggestions for making this form simpler, we would 

be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for the tax 

return with which this form is filed.