PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Congressional Research Service
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People & committees
Rep. Harshbarger, Diana [R-TN-1] · R–TN
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 22, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-08-27 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Freedom to Home Distill Act would exempt qualifying spirits made at home for personal or family use from the federal distilled-spirits tax. It would also remove certain federal notice and registration requirements for home-distilling equipment. Equipment sold or transferred for exclusive use in a qualifying home distillery would need a pressure release valve, a vacuum relief valve, and a capacity of no more than 50 gallons.
This Act may be cited as the Freedom to Home Distill Act.
Subject to regulations prescribed by the Secretary, the tax imposed by subsection (a) shall not apply to distilled spirits produced at a home distillery establishment.
(ii) produces distilled spirits solely for personal or family use by the owner of such establishment.
Any requirements prescribed by the Secretary under paragraph (1) or (2) shall not apply with respect to any still, boiler, or other vessel manufactured or set up exclusively for the purpose of distilling at a home distillery establishment.
(e) Exemption from stills registration requirement Section 5179(a) of such Code is amended by inserting stills or distilling apparatus set up in a home distillery establishment and after except that.
The Secretary shall, pursuant to regulations, require that no still, boiler, or other vessel may be sold or transferred to any person who intends to use such still, boiler, or vessel solely as part of a home distillery establishment, unless such still, boiler, or vessel has— (1) a pressure release valve, (2) a vacuum relief valve, and (3) a capacity of not greater than 50 gallons.
To qualify as a home distillery, the establishment would have to be in the owner's dwelling or a connected shed, yard, or enclosure, and produce spirits solely for the owner's personal or family use.
The term home distillery establishment means an establishment that— (i) is located in the dwelling house of the owner of such establishment, or in any shed, yard, or inclosure connected with such dwelling house, and (ii) produces distilled spirits solely for personal or family use by the owner of such establishment.
The bill would require an establishment to be treated as producing solely for personal or family use if it produces no more than 10 proof gallons per calendar year for a household with one adult, or 20 proof gallons for a household with two or more adults, and none of its spirits are sold or transferred to another person for sale. This language supplies a basis for that treatment; it does not expressly state that exceeding those amounts automatically disqualifies an establishment. The supplied text does not define “proof gallon.”
A home distillery establishment shall be treated as producing distilled spirits solely for personal or family use if— (I) such establishment produces no more than— (aa) in the case of a household with only 1 adult, 10 proof gallons of distilled spirits per calendar year, or (bb) in the case of a household with 2 or more adults, 20 proof gallons of distilled spirits per calendar year, and (II) no distilled spirits produced by such establishment are sold to any person, or transferred to any person for sale by such person.
For these household production thresholds, an adult would be someone at least 21 years old, or older if the applicable local minimum age for buying distilled spirits is higher.
For purposes of this paragraph, the term adult means an individual who has attained 21 years of age, or the minimum age (if any) established by law applicable in the locality in which the household is situated at which distilled spirits may be sold to individuals, whichever is greater.
The proposal would exempt spirits produced at qualifying home distilleries from the tax imposed by Internal Revenue Code section 5001(a), subject to regulations prescribed by the Secretary. This is an exemption from that specified tax.
(a) Exemption from tax Section 5001 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
Subject to regulations prescribed by the Secretary, the tax imposed by subsection (a) shall not apply to distilled spirits produced at a home distillery establishment.
A qualifying home distillery would be excluded from the Code's definition of a “distilled spirits plant.” A person producing only spirits covered by the new tax exemption would be excluded from its definition of a “distiller.”
(A) Definition of distilled spirits plant Section 5002(a)(1) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: Such term shall not include any home distillery establishment.
(B) Definition of distiller Section 5002(a)(4) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new flush sentence: Such term shall not include any person who produces only distilled spirits exempt from tax under section 5001(d).
Stills, boilers, and other vessels manufactured or set up exclusively for distilling at a qualifying home distillery would be exempt from requirements prescribed under section 5101(a)(1) or (2). The bill describes these as notice requirements, but does not reproduce them.
(c) Exemption from notice requirements related to stills Section 5101(a) of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
Any requirements prescribed by the Secretary under paragraph (1) or (2) shall not apply with respect to any still, boiler, or other vessel manufactured or set up exclusively for the purpose of distilling at a home distillery establishment.
The Secretary would have to issue regulations restricting equipment sales and transfers to people intending to use it solely in a qualifying home distillery. The equipment would need both a pressure release valve and a vacuum relief valve, and its capacity could not exceed 50 gallons.
The Secretary shall, pursuant to regulations, require that no still, boiler, or other vessel may be sold or transferred to any person who intends to use such still, boiler, or vessel solely as part of a home distillery establishment, unless such still, boiler, or vessel has— (1) a pressure release valve, (2) a vacuum relief valve, and (3) a capacity of not greater than 50 gallons.
Under a heading describing a registration exemption, the proposal would insert “stills or distilling apparatus set up in a home distillery establishment and” after “except that” in section 5179(a). The existing provision is not reproduced, so the full operation of the amended exception cannot be determined from this source.
(e) Exemption from stills registration requirement Section 5179(a) of such Code is amended by inserting stills or distilling apparatus set up in a home distillery establishment and after except that.
The proposal would add the new home-distilling tax exemption to the statutory references in section 5222(a)(2)(C), under a heading addressing restrictions on producing or using distilling materials in certain locations. The existing provision is not reproduced, so the source does not show the full operation of this exception.
(f) Nonapplication of prohibition on production or use of distilling materials in certain locations Section 5222(a)(2)(C) of such Code is amended by striking section 5042 or 5053(e) and inserting section 5001(d), 5042, or 5053(e).
Under a heading describing relief from a criminal penalty for home distilling, the proposal would insert “or in the case of a home distillery establishment” after the reference to section 5178(a)(1)(C) in section 5601(a)(6). The existing provision is not reproduced, so the full scope of this exception cannot be determined from the source. It does not establish a general exemption from criminal laws.
(g) No criminal penalty for distilling in home distillery establishment Section 5601(a)(6) of such Code is amended by inserting or in the case of a home distillery establishment after section 5178(a)(1)(C).
The amendments would apply to spirits produced, and stills, boilers, and other vessels sold, after December 31, 2026. The effective-date clause expressly mentions equipment sales, although the equipment restriction also covers transfers.
(h) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to distilled spirits produced, and stills, boilers, and other vessels sold, after December 31, 2026.
no still, boiler, or other vessel may be sold or transferred to any person who intends to use such still, boiler, or vessel solely as part of a home distillery establishment
The supplied action snapshot, updated September 22, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Ways and Means on August 27, 2026. It does not establish subsequent action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-22T15:26:03Z. 2026-08-27: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. 2026-08-27: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-08-27. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential carve-out beyond ordinary coverage of the bill's intended beneficiaries was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 22, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI