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So you know the basics of income taxes. You should also know why you need to pay them. If you’ve accepted your obligation to contribute to government operations and for national development, then you can go to the nearest revenue district office (RDO) of the Bureau of Internal Revenue to file your income tax documents.
But before you go visit your nearest RDO, check first if you are among those required to pay taxes and how to compute your income tax.
Forms, so many forms
The BIR has among the most number of forms for a variety of tax requirements. For income tax filings alone, it has 17. If it is your first time to file for your income tax return, you won’t have to worry about remembering all of these related forms. Only three forms matter:
– BIR Form 1700 — Annual income tax return (ITR) for individuals earning purely compensation income. Filed by employees earning from salaries
– BIR Form 1701 – ITR for self-employed individuals, estates, and trusts. Filed by those earning from mixed-income sources, including businesses and freelancers
– BIR Form 2316 – Certificate of income tax withheld
– BIR Form 1702-RT – Annual ITR for corporations, partnerships, and non-individual taxpayers.
All these documents can be downloaded from the BIR’s website, though they are also available as printouts at all RDOs.
How to do manual filing of ITR
Manual filing is the more tedious approach but it is otherwise straightforward. The first step is for you to fill up three copies of the corresponding BIR forms. You can then go to the RDO where you first registered your tax identification number (TIN) to submit your filled-out forms.
Fortunately, you can also go to any authorized agent bank to file your forms.
Final step is for you to receive your duly stamped and validated forms (one of the three that you filled up). Remember to keep those forms safe to keep track of your filings.
How to do online filing of ITR
Under Revenue Regulations No. 9-2001, you can file your ITRs via the BIR’s electronic filing payment systemor eFPS. This is the easiest way to file your ITR. It requires you to create an account and fill up the necessary information.
After registration, you’ll have wait from three days to 10 days to receive an email from the BIR confirming your enrolment. When you receive the confirmation, you can proceed to fill in the requirements in your account, and choose your preferred mode of payment. When you successfully file your ITR via eFPS, you will be provided with a filing reference number (FRN). Once you’ve completed this process, you can secure a certification of your ITR filed online at the RDO where you are registered.
