If you serve alcohol at your restaurant or bar in Texas, you’re paying for a mixed beverage bond every year. Actually, two of them. Most owners never look at that bill twice. One of our restaurant clients did, and it saved them real money at every location.
Here’s what happened. We wrote the mixed beverage bonds for one of their locations. A few weeks later they called back with a question: our price was a tenth of what their current carrier was charging for their other locations. What was different?
Honestly, my first thought was that we must be quoting different bond amounts. So we checked. Same bonds. Same amounts. Same state requirement. The difference was the market behind them.
What Is a Mixed Beverage Bond?
The Texas Comptroller requires every mixed beverage permit holder to carry two separate bonds. They aren’t insurance for you. They’re a guarantee to the state that your alcohol taxes get paid.
Bond #1: The Mixed Beverage Gross Receipts Tax Bond
This bond backs the 6.7% gross receipts tax on your alcohol sales. You pay this tax yourself. You can’t add it to the customer’s bill.
Bond #2: The Mixed Beverage Sales Tax Bond
This bond backs the 8.25% mixed beverage sales tax. Your customer pays this tax on their check, and you send it to the state.
Two taxes, two separate bonds, at every location. If you run three restaurants, that’s six bonds.
Who Needs Mixed Beverage Bonds?
You need both bonds if you hold any of these:
- A mixed beverage permit (most restaurants and bars that serve cocktails, beer, and wine on-site)
- A private club registration permit
- A private club exemption certificate
The required bond amount depends on your permit type. For a standard mixed beverage permit, the minimum is $3,750 for each bond. The Comptroller can require more based on your sales.
Why Mixed Beverage Bond Prices Aren’t All the Same
The state sets the bond amount, but it doesn’t set the price. Each surety company sets its own rates for the same bond, and not every agency has access to the same companies.
That’s where our client’s savings came from. We have access to a better surety market for these bonds. Same bond, same state requirement, a fraction of the cost.
Most owners never find out. The bond renews, the invoice gets paid, and nobody asks.
The Bond Is the Same. Your Price Doesn’t Have to Be.
A mixed beverage bond from one surety does the same job as one from another. The state accepts both. Your permit doesn’t care which company backs it.
So if you’ve been renewing on autopilot, especially across several locations, it’s worth a second look. Here’s what to have ready:
- Your current premium for each bond at each location
- Your permit type and bond amounts
- Your renewal dates
Why This Matters More When You Have Multiple Locations
An overpriced bond on one location is easy to miss. Multiply it by two bonds per location, then by every location you run, and it adds up fast. That’s money that could go toward your staff, your menu, or your next opening.
We work with restaurants all over DFW and The Woodlands, and we’ve placed surety bonds for years. Restaurant owners have enough on their plates. Overpaying for a bond the state requires shouldn’t be one of them.
How Switching Your Bonds Works
Switching doesn’t mean starting over on your permit. Your new bonds get filed with the Comptroller, and your old ones get cancelled once the new ones are in place. The key is timing: you never want a gap where your permit isn’t bonded. That’s our job. We line up the new bonds before anything gets cancelled.
Mixed Beverage Bond FAQs
Is a mixed beverage bond the same as liquor liability insurance?
No. The bonds guarantee your alcohol taxes get paid to the state. Liquor liability insurance protects your business if a customer you served causes harm. Most restaurants need both.
Do I need separate bonds for each location?
Yes. Each permitted location carries its own gross receipts tax bond and its own sales tax bond.
Can I bundle my bonds with my restaurant insurance?
They’re separate products, but we can handle both. That means one agency, one call, and one team that knows your whole operation.
Need a different kind of bond? Read our guide to contractor bonds and insurance.
Get Your Mixed Beverage Bonds Quoted
Send us your current bond information and we’ll tell you where you stand. If your price is already good, we’ll tell you that too.
Or call us at 214-324-3660