Buying a bar: the liquor licence, the seller's taxes and your deposit

Before you pay a deposit on a bar, find out whose name the liquor licence is in and what your state does when a bar is sold. In Texas the licence cannot be transferred: the new owner applies for their own. In Florida the seller may obtain a transfer to you, but only if the state approves your application. In New York you apply to the State Liquor Authority, and a temporary permit may let you trade while you wait.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by state, county, city and contract.

In short: four things before the deposit

1. Look at the licence itself. Ask for a copy and note the name, the type and the address. If the name is not the seller's, ask why, in writing.
2. Ask the regulator, not only the seller. Ask what your deal needs: a new application, a transfer, a temporary permit, or a report of a change in owners. Keep the answer.
3. Make your own licence a condition of closing. A deposit that you lose if the state says no is a bet on a decision you do not control.
4. Get the tax paper before the money leaves you. In Texas and Florida, ask for the state's receipt or certificate. In Texas, if it is not ready, hold back the amount the state names. In Florida, money held back and paid to the state within 30 days after the sale reduces the seller's tax debt, but only the certificate or the Department of Revenue's audit frees you of it fully.

The liquor licence: what each state's regulator says

A bar without its licence is a room with stools: the licence decides when the bar you pay for opens under you.

Trading while you wait: temporary permits

A temporary permit lets a bar keep serving while the buyer's application is reviewed. The state decides; it is not your right.

New York. The SLA's form sets the conditions (SLA form):

• The premises "must have operated under a retail license within thirty days" of the application, and the contract of sale goes with it.
• "The permit gives the applicant the privileges of the current license for the business that is being sold." The seller's licence is surrendered to the SLA or placed in its safekeeping first.
• The fee is $640 for each bar counter ($128 for an on-premises beer licence) and is not refunded. The permit is granted "at the discretion" of the SLA, for 180 days.
• If the buyer does not fix the gaps the SLA lists by the due date, the permit is cancelled and the application refused.

In New York City, a temporary permit for a bar under the state's "500 Foot Law" can come with limits on hours, outdoor space and music (Advisory #2026-1). If the bar earns its money on late or DJ nights, ask the SLA before the deposit whether the law covers it.

Florida. The division's guide says a temporary initial licence is issued, if requested, when the application "is complete on its face" and the temporary fee is paid (DBPR guide). Ask the division whether this applies to your transfer.

Buying the company, not only the bar

Some sellers offer the shares of the company that holds the licence. The licence stays in the company's name, but the state has a say in that too.

• Texas. For a Mixed Beverage Permit held by a corporation, the permit "may not be renewed" if over 50% of the stock has changed hands since it was issued. That change must be reported before it happens; other changes of owners or officers, within 30 days (TABC).
• Florida. If the bar holds a quota licence, a change in the company's shares can count as a transfer of the licence, with its own fee and limits (F.S. 561.32(4)). Ask the division whether it is one, and when it was first issued.

A real case: a Texas nightclub bought for $35,000

A Texas tax decision, with the names hidden, shows what a bar's old taxes can cost the buyer.

• In August 2016, a buyer agreed to buy the assets of a nightclub for $35,000. The sale closed on 1 September 2016, and the buyer kept running a nightclub there.
• In 2017 the state assessed the seller $53,475.03 of mixed beverage gross receipts tax, the Texas tax on alcohol sold by the drink, and $25,514.48 of sales tax, plus penalty and interest.
• The state then assessed the buyer $35,000, the price paid, plus interest. The buyer paid $38,282.08 and asked for a refund.
• The buyer "did not withhold any amount from the purchase price or obtain a receipt or a certificate of no tax due", and argued it had not understood the law. The decision: "ignorance of the law does not merit a refund". The refund was denied (Comptroller decision 201811010H, issued 7 November 2018).

In effect, this buyer paid for the nightclub twice. The rule behind it: in Texas, a buyer who does not hold back part of the price until the seller shows the state's tax receipt or certificate may have to pay the seller's taxes, up to the price (Tax Code § 111.020; the full rule is in our laundromat post). Florida has a rule of the same kind (F.S. 213.758; the ways out are in our restaurant post). New York wants a notice before you pay; see our US guide.

Two more things to ask before the deposit

• Local taxes on the premises. In Texas, the commission may cancel or deny a permit if the holder or applicant has not paid overdue ad valorem taxes, the local taxes on the value of real estate and business equipment, due on the premises or from a business run there (Alcoholic Beverage Code § 11.38(e)). Ask the county tax office what is overdue on the address.
• Proceedings against the licence. In Florida, nobody has a right to a transfer if the division has told the licence holder in writing that a revocation, suspension or other proceeding has been or will be brought against the licence (F.S. 561.32(2)(a)). Ask the seller for every letter the division sent.

Our count: SBA loans to buy a running bar

We counted the 7(a) loans backed by the US Small Business Administration (SBA), approved in fiscal years 2020–2025, cancelled loans left out. Under NAICS code 722410, drinking places, there were 1,759; 214 of them (12.2%) paid for buying a bar that was already open, against 10.8% across all industries. The median such loan was $351,250.

Only SBA-backed loans are counted, and a loan is not the price. Some purchases may be filed under other loan purposes, so the real share may be higher. Data as of 30 June 2026.

What to save and compare in your list

Comparing two bar listings? Put side by side: the type of liquor licence and the name on it; whether it sells the assets or the company's shares; the rent, the years left on the lease and the hours the bar keeps today.

The PDF report from our free extension has lines for licences and for what exactly is for sale: the premises and equipment, or the company itself. If either says "not stated", that is your first question for the seller.

Your next three steps

1. The extension. On a computer: Add to Chrome — free or Add to Edge — free. Reading on your phone? Open this page on your computer. "Open a business-for-sale listing and press “Download PDF”. You get a report on the 12 things a check of the business needs: what the listing says about each, and which ones it does not say."
2. Your account. "Saving a listing takes a My list account. In it, the listings you save from different sites sit in one place." Create my account.
3. The check. The €550 report covers "Licences: whether they exist and in whose name" and "What protects you from the seller's old debts, and by when to act". Start for €550. The €950 report also reads the seller's own papers and shows "How much, by the documents, was left to the owner after costs." Start for €950. Both are on our pricing page. We do not contact the seller. "You pay only if we take it on."

Sources

1. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, FAQs (retrieved 29 October 2026)
2. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Manage or report changes to an existing license (retrieved 29 October 2026)
3. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, Chapter 11, § 11.38 (retrieved 29 October 2026)
4. Texas Tax Code, § 111.020, Tax collection on termination of business (retrieved 29 October 2026)
5. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Decision 201811010H, issued 7 November 2018 (retrieved 29 October 2026)
6. Florida Statutes 2026, § 561.32, Transfer of licenses; change of officers or directors; transfer of interest (retrieved 29 October 2026)
7. Florida DBPR, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, application checklist: Beer, Wine and Liquor Consumption on Premises (4COP) (retrieved 29 October 2026)
8. Florida DBPR, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, How do I get an alcoholic beverage license (updated April 2016) (retrieved 29 October 2026)
9. Florida Department of Revenue, Alcoholic Beverage License Approvals (retrieved 29 October 2026)
10. Florida Statutes 2026, § 213.758, Transfer of tax liabilities (retrieved 29 October 2026)
11. New York State Liquor Authority, Get a License (retrieved 29 October 2026)
12. New York State Liquor Authority, Temporary Retail Permit application (rev. 26 February 2026) (retrieved 29 October 2026)
13. New York State Liquor Authority, Advisory #2026-1, Temporary permits (retrieved 29 October 2026)
14. New York State Liquor Authority, On-premises license application instructions (rev. 19 December 2025) (retrieved 29 October 2026)
15. U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) & 504 FOIA loan data, as of 30 June 2026 (retrieved 29 October 2026)