- An April 10, 2026, decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court decision and injunction and held that a federal ban on home distillation – even for mere hobbyists – exceeded the scope of the Constitution’s taxation power and the necessary and proper clause. These were the authorities under which the 150-year-old home distillation ban was defended. Article I, § 8, cl. 1 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to collect Taxes and clause 18 gives it the power to “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution” its powers.
- 26 U.S.C. § 5178(a)(1)(B) prohibits the production of distilled spirits in the home (among other places) and 26 U.S.C. § 5601(a)(6) provides penalties for distilling on prohibited premises such as the home. Defendants, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, argued that the provisions were enacted to prevent tax evasion through concealment of distilling operations in the home.
- The Court held that the ban on home distillation exceeded Congress’s taxing authority, which it held to be limited to requiring individuals to pay money and did not permit the government to compel or punish an individual who paid the tax. The Court noted that the home distillation ban not only did not raise revenue, but in fact amounted to an anti-revenue provision because it prevented the production of taxable home distilled spirits. With respect to the necessary and proper clause, the Court held that it granted Congress no new powers and so did not support the government’s case.
