How IL Taxes Beer, Wine And Spirits, And How Those Industries Help Main Street

The next time you raise a toast with Illinois-produced beer, wine or spirits, there’s more in the glass than the drink itself: local jobs, state taxes and economic activity that reaches well beyond breweries, wineries and distilleries.

Illinois drinkers pay 23 cents per gallon in state beer taxes, $1.39 per gallon in state wine taxes, and $8.55 per gallon in distilled spirits taxes, according to three separate 2026 Tax Foundation reports. In a side-by-side comparison, they show significant differences in how states treat these “sin taxes.”

There is no single alcohol tax scoreboard. Beer, wine and spirits are taxed differently, measured differently and regulated differently from state to state. That means Illinois can rank one way on beer taxes, another way on wine taxes, and somewhere else entirely on distilled spirits.

The Tax Foundation’s beer and wine reports focus on state excise taxes, while noting that state and local sales taxes may also affect what consumers pay. The spirits report reflects the far more complicated world of liquor taxes, especially in “control states,” where government plays a direct role in liquor sales or distribution.

Nationally, the Tax Foundation found wide variation across all three categories. Kentucky has the highest wine tax burden at $3.82 per gallon, followed by Alaska, Florida and Iowa, while California has the lowest at 20 cents per gallon, according to the wine report.

For spirits, Washington has the highest distilled spirits tax rate at $36.68 per gallon, followed by Oregon and Virginia. Wyoming and New Hampshire, both control states, are listed at an effective rate of $0.00 per gallon, followed by Missouri at $2.00 per gallon, according to the Tax Foundation.

Illinois’ Alcohol Scorecard

Beer taxes are generally lower on a per-gallon basis, but the Tax Foundation notes that beer taxes are only one layer of the broader tax burden on beer, which can also include sales taxes and other costs built into the final retail price.

Here’s Illinois' alcohol tax snapshot:

• Beer tax: 23 cents per gallon (national rank 27th)
• Wine tax: $1.39 per gallon (national rank 14th)
• Distilled spirits tax: $8.55 per gallon (national rank 20th)

Beyond The Bar Tab

Separate industry studies show what beer, wine and spirits contribute to the economy.

Beer Serves America, a biennial economic-impact study commissioned by the Beer Institute and National Beer Wholesalers Association, says the beer industry contributes $471 billion in economic impact, supports more than 2.42 million jobs, and pays $58 billion in taxes nationally. The report also breaks the industry into sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, brewing, distribution and retail.

Here is Illinois' beer industry snapshot:

• Total jobs: 97,382
• Total wages and benefits: $6.2 billion
• Total economic output: $19.9 billion
• Total taxes paid: $2.7 billion

The economic impact of Illinois' beer industry is felt far beyond brewery taprooms. Here’s a closer look:

• Brewing jobs: 2,698
• Distributing jobs: 4,505
• Retail jobs: 39,997
• Agricultural jobs: 1,546
• Manufacturing jobs: 3,682

Wine’s Big Economic Pour

WineAmerica’s 2025 Economic Impact Study says the U.S. wine industry generates about $323.55 billion in total economic activity and supports 1.75 million jobs, with producers, distributors, retailers and consumers in every state.

In Illinois:

• Total economic activity: $11.72 billion
• State reach: 174 wine producers and 529 acres of vineyards
• Jobs: 34,602 direct jobs, plus 12,159 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries.
• Wages: Wine industry jobs pay an average of $58,800 in annual wages and benefits, while the industry’s broader economic activity generates $3.70 billion in total wages.
• Tourist activity: 1.17 million tourist visits and $223.67 million in annual tourism expenditures.
• Tax revenue: In 2025, the wine industry paid $838.32 in state and local taxes and $865.09 in federal taxes, for a total of $1.70 billion. That includes $41.39 million in federal consumption taxes and $331.31 million in state consumption taxes, such as excise and sales taxes.

How Spirits Spark Economic Activity

The spirits industry is smaller than wine by producer count but larger by reported economic activity.

Spirits support about 1.7 million U.S. jobs and contribute $200 billion to the national economy through production, importing, exporting, sales and distribution, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

Here’s a snapshot of the spirits industry in Illinois:

• Supported jobs: 85,000
• Economic impact: $10,089,000,000
• Value of spirits exports in 2024: $128,052,473

Tourism is part of that footprint. Distilleries and distillery trails have become draws in some parts of the country, bringing visitors into tasting rooms and surrounding businesses. Distillery Trail, a craft spirits industry site with a searchable distillery directory, lists these distillers in Illinois.

• KOVAL Distillery (Chicago)
• FEW Spirits (Evanston)
• Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. (DeKalb)
• Blaum Bros. Distilling Co. (Galena)
• Stumpy’s Spirits Distillery (Columbia)
• Thornton Distilling Co. (Thornton)

The Distilled Spirits Council also tracks consumer spending across major spirits categories, including American whiskey, brandy and cognac, cordials and liqueurs, Canadian whiskey, gin, Irish whiskey, rum, Scotch, tequila and mezcal, and vodka.