MCC 5921: Package Stores – Beer, Wine, and Liquor
Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual (April 2026), Section 2: Merchant Category Code Listing, PDF page 78. Checked 2026-10-15.
What MCC 5921 means
The Visa manual describes it this way:
Merchants classified with this MCC sell packaged alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and liquor for consumption off the premises and may also sell a limited variety of food and snack items, newspapers and magazines, and a limited selection of toiletries and over-the-counter medicines.
How an MCC is assigned
Visa says the Merchant Category Code is a four-digit number assigned to describe a merchant's primary business based on annual sales volume, and that acquirers and their agents must assign the correct MCC to each merchant.
If a merchant has more than one line of business, Visa's rules say it must either use the MCC for the business with the highest sales volume or use different MCCs for each line of business. "Miscellaneous" codes, usually ending in 99, are for businesses with no more specific MCC.
On the tax side, the IRS asks for a payee's MCC in Box 2 of Form 1099-K and tells filers to use the code that most closely matches the payee's business.
Source:Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual,IRS Instructions for Form 1099-K.
Your processor or merchant account provider assigns your code when you apply. If you think the wrong code was assigned, ask them to review it.
Nearby codes
- 5817: Digital Goods – Applications (Excludes Games)
- 5818: Digital Goods – Large Digital Goods Merchant
- 5912: Drug Stores and Pharmacies
- 5931: Used Merchandise and Secondhand Stores
- 5932: Antique Shops – Sales, Repairs, and Restoration Services
- 5933: Pawn Shops