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OVERVIEW

Tax affects everyone’s life, not only for business owners and employees, but also for anyone who is under the government. Income earned, whether from business profit or from employment compensation, is generally taxed. The commodities and services everyone consumes may also be charged with Value Added Tax and other business taxes. Thus, the food you eat at the restaurant or even the diaper your baby is using may be charged with business tax. Furthermore, donations and estates may also be imposed with donor tax and estate tax, respectively. Tax is such a burden that we will be facing from the time we are born to even after our death. However, taxes are the lifeblood of our country. Without collecting taxes, our government will not generate the needed revenue to fund our government expenditures, such as the building of infrastructures and the allocation of budgets for education, culture, sports, health, tourism, national defense, and many others. With all that said, we need to learn how to deal with the BIR.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is the government agency, under the supervision and control of the Department of Finance (DOF), which is mandated by law to assess and collect all national internal revenue taxes, fees, and charges, and the enforcement of all forfeitures, penalties, and fines connected therewith, including the execution of judgments in all cases decided in its favor by the Court of Tax Appeals and the ordinary courts (Sec. 2 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997). In short, BIR is the government agency tasked to collect taxes, such as your income tax, value added tax, documentary stamp tax, withholding tax, and other taxes that may be due from you. Taxpayers also go to BIR to register their businesses, practice of profession, books of accounts, and official receipts. You also register with the BIR to get your TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number), which is a requirement for employment and for transacting with other government offices, as well as banks and other private institutions.

You can visit the BIR website at www.bir.gov.ph. In their portal, you can read the BIR’s latest news, announcements, and tax reminders. The following pages may also become helpful to every taxpayers, whether Filipinos or foreigners who are doing business in the Philippines.

Tax Information – this is where you can read useful discussions about difference taxes, such income tax, withholding taxes, Value Added Tax, Percentage Tax, and several others. The topics discussed on each type of tax include the tax description, tax rates, required taxpayers and filers, deadline or due date, BIR forms required, procedures for filing, and frequently asked questions.

Issuances and rulings – this is where BIR archived their Issuances (Revenue Regulations, Revenue Memorandum Orders, Revenue Memorandum Rulings, Revenue Memorandum Circulars and Revenue Bulletins) and Rulings in a yearly manner.

BIR Forms – this is where you can download the BIR forms you need for filing and paying your tax returns with the BIR and other authorized agents. The downloadable forms range from application forms to other legal forms. Most of the forms are downloadable in PDF and zipped MS excel files.

Directory – if you are looking for addresses, contact numbers, and key officers of the revenue district officers near you, you can browse this page.

Whether we like it or not, we need to be familiarized with the taxation system in the Philippines. We should give what is due to the government. That is why we need to visit the BIR website to learn things that we might find useful and interesting. Corruption kills our nation. Hence, we need to stop the corrupt politicians and government officials who are stealing our money. However, we can only say our money… if we pay taxes to the government.

For the BIR, the following 9 values of the bureau shall always be observed to encourage taxpayers to pay their tax dues: god-fearing, consistency, competency, innovativeness, accountability, synergy, respect, fairness, and transparency.

To learn on how to compute different taxes, such as income tax, VAT, percentage tax, and withholding taxes, you may read our tax guide post here.