Planning an event can be a huge undertaking. There are many things to consider during the process, from costs and suppliers to permits and licenses. Being the tax season, discussing tax exemptions for one of the most common events for wine-loving Upstate New York – wine tastings – seemed fitting.

While some tax exemptions require the completion of forms and receipt of certain document/certificates from the government (i.e Worker’s Compensation), tax exemptions for taxes on wine in wine tastings do not require any set of forms. Using wine for a wine tasting at an event is a tax-exempt use that does not need to be reported to the Department of Tax and Finance. According to New York State, the tax exemption applies to:

“Wine or wine products furnished by the official agent of a farm winery, winery, wholesaler, or importer at a wine tasting held in accordance with section eighty of the alcoholic beverage control aw to a customer or prospective customer who consumes such wine at such wine tasting.”

Even though the wine and wine tasting does not need to be reported as a result of the exemption, the Department of Tax and Finance recommends that the winery keeps a record as well as all the documentation associated with the wine used for the event, should the exemption require justification in the future.

To learn more about this exemption, visit https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/memos/sales/m97_12.pdf