How to calculate German alcohol duty: formula, table and examples

German alcohol duty comes out of a single formula, and wrong figures still turn up in quotations every week. Usually the cause is arithmetic on bottle volume instead of pure alcohol, or a budget that books the duty at the moment the goods go into storage. This article sets out the formula, a table for common bottle sizes and the deadlines that follow.

The formula

The tax base is the pure alcohol contained in the goods, measured at 20 degrees Celsius, rather than the volume of liquid (section 2 (1) AlkStG). The standard rate is 1,303 euro per hectolitre of pure alcohol, which works out at 13.03 euro per litre. The calculation is therefore volume in litres times alcoholic strength in percent divided by 100 times 13.03 euro. The glossary entry on the litre of pure alcohol explains the unit.

A worked example with 1,000 litres

A consignment of 1,000 litres of spirits at 40 percent ABV contains 400 litres of pure alcohol. Multiplied by 13.03 euro that gives 5,212.00 euro of alcohol duty (section 2 (1) AlkStG). The same consignment at 37.5 percent ABV would contain 375 litres of pure alcohol and attract 4,886.25 euro. Two or three percentage points of strength therefore move several hundred euro on larger volumes.

Duty per bottle and per case of six

The figures below are rounded to two decimal places and use the standard rate of 13.03 euro per litre of pure alcohol (section 2 (1) AlkStG). The first row for each size shows the pure alcohol content so that you can follow the calculation and transfer it to other pack sizes. For cases of twelve, double the value in the six bottle row.

For a full pallet you simply scale the case figure up. Sixty cases of six bottles of 0.7 litres at 40 percent ABV contain 100.8 litres of pure alcohol and carry 1,313.42 euro of alcohol duty. That number also shows why partial releases are worth having, because every pallet that stays inside the procedure ties up no duty at all until it is removed.

From pallet to duty return

In daily work you rarely count litres, you count cases. The path is always the same. Number of cases times bottles per case times bottle contents gives the volume, and volume times strength divided by 100 gives the pure alcohol. The important part is to calculate per product. A shipment carrying three brands at 37.5, 40 and 43 percent produces three separate duty amounts that are only added up at the end.

The strength comes from the product master data and not from the delivery note, because delivery notes often carry a rounded figure. What counts is the quantity of alcohol contained in the product at 20 degrees Celsius (section 2 (1) AlkStG). Anyone already keeping stock per product and per lot therefore has the tax base for the return to hand.

When the duty arises

Duty arises on release for consumption. For a tax warehouse that means removal, unless a further duty suspension arrangement follows immediately (section 18 (2) no. 1 AlkStG). The person liable is then the warehouse keeper (Steuerlagerinhaber), whether or not they caused the removal themselves. Placing goods into a warehouse therefore triggers no payment to the main customs office (Hauptzollamt).

Reduced rates and their limits

Alongside the standard rate the statute knows two reductions. Alcohol from a flat rate distillery (Abfindungsbrennerei) or from a material owner is charged at 1,022 euro per hectolitre of pure alcohol, and sealed distilleries (Verschlussbrennerei) producing no more than 4 hectolitres a year at 730 euro (section 2 (2) AlkStG). Both rates belong to the producer alone and require the distillery to be legally and economically independent. Bought in trade goods always attract the standard rate.

Return and payment in four steps

1. Record for every removal which product left the procedure, in what quantity and at what strength.
2. Group all removals of one calendar month together and calculate the duty yourself.
3. File the duty return on the official form with the main customs office by the tenth day of the following month (section 19 (1) AlkStG, section 44 AlkStV).
4. Pay the declared amount by the fifth day of the second month following the month in which the duty arose (section 19 (1) AlkStG).

The three common mistakes

The first is confusing bottle volume with pure alcohol. The second concerns products whose strength changes between fillings, for example when a brand moves from 40 to 35 percent and the master data keeps the old figure. The third is budgeting the duty at the point of storage although it only arises on removal. The glossary entry on alcohol duty covers the term itself.

Calculate per product rather than per shipment, because pack size and strength move the amount noticeably. Where the goods only reach the German market as customers call them off, they stay duty unpaid until then, and the duty falls due in portions. How that works in practice is set out on our page about release for consumption in Germany. For a calculation on your own range, send us a short note listing your pack sizes and strengths.

Last updated 21 September 2026. This article is not legal or tax advice.