A. Update
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has released a circular called Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 25-2024, which amends the provisions of RMC No. 16-2024 on the format and deadline of the Alphalist for the taxable year 2023. Taxpayers with their own extract program shall strictly observe the revised file structures and standard naming convention as provided in Annexes A and B of the RMC. The deadline of submission of the Alphalist shall be 30 days from the date of posting of a tax advisory on the BIR’s website announcing the availability of the updated version of the Alphalist Data Entry and Validation Module. In case where Alphalist were submitted using the old version, taxpayers shall resubmit their Alphalist using the updated module upon its availability.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: February 13,2024
C. Effective Date: February 13,2024
A. Update:
As per the circular no 460 released by the Pag-IBIG authority, the monthly savings of Pag-IBIG Fund members, for both the employee’s share and the employer’s counterpart, shall increase from one hundred pesos (P100) to two hundred pesos (P200).
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: January 15 ,2024
C. Effective Date: February 01,2024
A. Update
As per Section 10 of Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act of 2019, read with PhilHealth Circular No. 2019-0009 on the "Premium Contribution Schedule in the National Health Insurance Program (Revision 1), the premium rate for PhilHealth contribution shall be revised to 5%, with an income floor of P10,000.00 and income ceiling of P100,000.00 effective from January 2024. The minimum and the maximum contributions with respect to the monthly contribution salary and premium rate are as follows:
| Year | Monthly Basic Salary | Premium Rate | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 to 2025 | P10,000 | 5.00% | P500 |
| P10,000.01 to P99,999.99 | P500 to P5,000 | ||
| P100,000.00 | P5,000 |
The adjusted premium rate shall take effect in the Electronic Premium Remittance System (EPRS) and the PhilHealth Member Portal starting the applicable month of January 2024.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: January 04, 2024
C. Effective Date: January 01,2024.
A. Update
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has released Revenue Regulation (RR) number 07-2023 on July 7, 2023, stating following changes effective from January 2023:
- The maximum annual contribution to the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) has been raised from PHP 100,000 to PHP 200,000 for Non-Overseas Filipinos employees and from PHP 200,000 to PHP 400,000 for Overseas Filipinos or those contributing on their behalf. Any contributions exceeding these limits will not be accepted in the PERA Account but may be considered for other Savings/Investment Accounts with no PERA Act benefits.
- If PERA Tax credit certificate (TCC) remains unutilized after five (5) years from the date of issuance, it shall be considered invalid and cannot be used to settle internal revenue Tax liabilities. The amount covered by the certificate issued shall be automatically cancelled by the ePERA System. Further, in case of damaged or lost certificate, reissuance of certificate will not be available after five (5) years from the date of issuance of the original certificate."
The increase in PERA contribution will be effective starting January 1, 2023. Other provisions in the regulations will take effect fifteen (15) days after their publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation, whichever comes first.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: July 7, 2023
C. Effective Date: January 1, 2023
A. Update
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has released a circular called (RMC)NO.160-2022 on 27 December 2022, wherein the revised Alphalist Format of BIR Form No. 1604-C (Annual Information Return of Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation) January 2018 ENCS has been released.
The revised Alphalist format includes information on the utilization of 5% tax credit under Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Act of 2008.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: December 27, 2022
C. Effective Date: January 1, 2023
A. Update
During December 2022, Executive Secretary from the President’s office, issued a memorandum suspending the PhilHealth scheduled premium rate and amount ceiling for the year 2023.
The above order was discussed on January 4, 2023, by the board of Directors of the Philippine Health Insurance corporation (PhilHealth). Accordingly, an official statement was announced by PhilHealth authority confirming the suspension of the increased premium rate from 4% to 4.5% and the income celling from P80,000 to P90,000 in 2023.
Accordingly, the revised PhilHealth premium rate for the Calendar Year 2023 remains to be 4% and the income ceiling is P80,000.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: January 4, 2022
C. Effective Date: January 4, 2023
A. Update
As per Circular no. 2022-33, new schedule for Social Security (SS) contributions have been introduced pursuant to Republic Act No 11199, otherwise known as the Social Security Act of 2018.
The social security contribution rate has been increased to 14%. Further, the minimum monthly salary credit (MSC) has been increased to ₱4,000, and the maximum MSC to ₱30,000 effective from January 2023.
The table attached below in source section provides details for the compensation details required to be considered for contribution and the amount of contribution which employer and employee needs to do for Regular SS, Employee Compensation (EC) and the Worker’s investment and saving program (WISP) that are administered by SSS.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: December 15, 2022
C. Effective Date: January 1, 2023
A. Update
As per Section 3 of the Circular “Implements the Income Tax Provisions of Republic Act No. 10963”, Individuals who are citizens or resident alien of the Philippines shall be liable to pay taxes on their taxable income as per the below schedules provided under Sec. 24(A)(2)(a) of the Tax Code, effective from January 2023:
| DAILY | ||||||
| Compensation Range | ₱685 and below | ₱685 -₱1,095 | ₱1,096 - ₱2,191 | ₱2,192 - ₱5,478 | ₱5,479 - ₱21,917 | ₱21,918 and above |
| Prescribed Withholding Tax | 0.00 | 0.00 +15% over ₱685 | ₱61.65 +20% over ₱1,096 | ₱280.85 +25% over ₱2,192 | ₱1,102.60 +30% over ₱5,479 | ₱6,034.30 +35% over ₱21,918 |
| WEEKLY | ||||||
| Compensation Range | ₱4,808 and below | ₱4,808 - ₱7,691 | ₱7,692 - ₱15,384 | ₱15,385 - ₱38,461 | ₱38,462 - ₱153,845 | ₱153,846 and above |
| Prescribed Withholding Tax | 0.00 | 0.00 +15% over ₱4,808 | ₱432.60 +20% over ₱7,692 | ₱1,971.20 +25% over ₱15,385 | ₱7,740.45 +30% over ₱38,462 | ₱42,355.65 +35% over ₱153,846 |
| SEMI-MONTHLY | ||||||
| Compensation Range | ₱10,417 and below | ₱10,417 - ₱16,666 | ₱16,667 - ₱33,332 | ₱33,333 - ₱83,332 | ₱83,333 - ₱333,332 | ₱333,333 and above |
| Prescribed Withholding Tax | 0.00 | 0.00 +15% over ₱10,417 | ₱937.50 +20% over ₱16,667 | ₱4,270.70 +25% over ₱33,333 | ₱16,770.70 +30% over ₱83,333 | ₱91,770.70 +35% over ₱333,333 |
| MONTHLY | ||||||
| Compensation Range | ₱20,833 and below | ₱20,833 - ₱33,332 | ₱33,333 - ₱66,666 | ₱66,667 - ₱166,666 | ₱166,667 - ₱666,666 | ₱666,667 and above |
| Prescribed Withholding Tax | 0.00 | 0.00 +15% over ₱20,833 | ₱1,875.00 +20% over ₱33,333 | ₱8,541.80 +25% over ₱66,667 | ₱33,541.80 +30% over ₱166,667 | ₱183,541.80 +35% over ₱666,667 |
ANNUAL TAX TABLE:
| EFFECTIVE DATE JANUARY 1, 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Not over ₱ 250,000.00 | 0% |
| Over ₱ 250,000.00 but not over ₱ 400,000.00 | 15% of the excess over ₱ 250,000.00 |
| Over ₱ 400,000.00 but not over ₱ 800,000.00 | ₱ 22,500.00 + 20% of the excess over ₱ 400,000.00 |
| Over ₱ 800,000.00 but not over ₱ 2,000,000.00 | ₱ 102,500.00 + 25% of the excess over ₱ 800,000.00 |
| Over ₱ 2,000,000.00 but not over ₱ 8,000,000.00 | 402,500.00 + 30% of the excess over ₱ 2,000,000.00 |
| Over ₱ 8,000,000.00 | ₱ 2,202,500.00 + 35% of the excess over ₱ 8,000,000.00 |
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: January 5, 2018
C. Effective Date: January 1, 2023
A. Update
As per Section 10 of Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, read with PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0005 on the "Premium Contribution Schedule in the National Health Insurance Program (Revision 1), the premium rate for PhilHealth contribution has been revised to 4.0%, with an income floor of P10,000.00 and income ceiling of P80,000.00 effective January 2022. The table provided for the PhilHealth contributions from 2019 to 2025 is provided below:
| Year | Monthly Basic Salary | Premium Rate | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | P10,000 | 2.75% | P275 |
| P10,000.01 to P49,999.99 | P275 to P1,375 | ||
| P50,000 | P1375 | ||
| 2020 | P10,000 | 3.00% | P300 |
| P10,000.01 to P59,999.99 | P300 to P1,800 | ||
| P60,000 | P1,800 | ||
| 2021 | P10,000 | 3.50% | P350 |
| P10,000.01 to P69,999.99 | P350 to P2,450 | ||
| P70,000 | P2,450 | ||
| 2022 | P10,000 | 4.00% | P400 |
| P10,000.01 to P79,999.99 | P400 to P3,200 | ||
| P80,000 | P3,200 | ||
| 2023 | P10,000 | 4.50% | P450 |
| P10,000.01 to P89,999.99 | P450 to P4,050 | ||
| P90,000 | P4,050 | ||
| 2024 to 2025 | P10,000 | 5.00% | P500 |
| P10,000.01 to P99,999.99 | P500 to P5,000 | ||
| P90,000 | P5,000 |
The adjusted premium rate shall take effect in the Electronic Premium Remittance System (EPRS) and the PhilHealth Member Portal starting the applicable month of June 2022. Members and employers who have already paid their contributions at 3% are advised to generate the corresponding Statement of Premium Account for the paid periods so they can settle the 1% differential payments/remittances until December 31, 2022.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: May 11, 2022
C. Effective Date: June 01, 2022
A. Update
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has announced the availability of the Alphalist Data Entry and Validation Module (Version 7.0) through RMC NO. 7-2021 issued on January 8, 2021.
The changes announced in the circular is as follows:
- BIR 1604CF has been divided into BIR 1604C and 1604F
- Alphalist Schedule 1 and 2 have been consolidated in one form, Alphalist format of 1604C.
The new forms need to be filed with BIR from January 2021 onwards.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: January 8, 2021
C. Effective Date: January 2021
A. Update
PhilHealth has temporarily suspended the hike, from 3% to 3.5%, in member’s contribution to the agency. Also, the ceiling would be retained at P60,000 instead of P70,000. This is in response to the directive of the President of the Philippines to defer the increase. Further, this arrangement will be good until Congress of Philippines will be able to pass a new law, allowing the deferment of the scheduled adjustment. If no legislation is passed to amend the Universal Health Care (UHC) law, it will proceed with the scheduled premium rate and ceiling.
Previously, Philhealth had announced the implementation of the scheduled contribution rate and adjustment in income ceiling for 2021 as mandated by Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law. According to this, the rate of contribution was increased to 3.5% and the income ceiling was raised to P70,000.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: January 5, 2021
C. Effective Date: January 1, 2021 till any further notification is received
A. Update
Through Circular No. 2020-033, Social Security System has released the provision to increase the following effective 1 st January 2021:
| Component | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security Contribution Rate | 12% | 13% |
| Minimum MSC* | PHP 2,000 | PHP 3,000 |
| Maximum MSC* | PHP 20,000 | PHP 25,000 |
*MCS – Monthly Salary Credit
Updated contribution schedule for employers and employees has been issued in the official release by SSS.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: 7 December 2020
C. Effective Date: 1 January 2021
A. Update
Congress of Philippines has extended the tax incentives previously provided under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 1), in relation to COVID-19, by signing into law the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 2). Section 5 of the updated Act, related to the retirement benefits, has brought specific changed to tax calculations.
Tax exemption on retirement benefits available under Bayanihan 2:
Retirement benefits received by officials and employees of private firms from 5 June 2020 until 31 December 2020 are exempt from income tax, subjected to following conditions:
- Any re-employment of such officials or employees in the same firm, within succeeding 12 month period, shall be considered as proof of non-retirement and shall be subject the benefits received to appropriate taxes
- Any person who willfully evades or defeats any imposable tax under this section shall be criminally liable and penalized under Section 255 of Republic Act No.8424
- The employer is obligated to refund the taxes withheld to the retired employee and the employer, in turn, shall adjust/deduct the said over-remittance of taxes (to the BIR) from the its subsequent monthly remittance return of income taxes withheld on compensation (BIR Form No. 1601C)
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: September 14, 2020
C. Effective Date: June 5, 2020 to December 31, 2020
A. Update
The BIR has issued RMC No. 83-2020 to explain the rules and clarifications regarding the extended stay of cross-border workers who have been stranded/quarantined in the Philippines due to the implementation of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.
As per RMC an individual who is prevented from leaving the Philippines on his scheduled day of departure due to travel restrictions will not be regarded as being in the Philippines for the period after the scheduled day of departure, provided that the individual leaves the Philippines as soon as the circumstances would permit.
In all cases, applications for relief from double taxation should be supported with records outlining the circumstances of the taxpayer's extended stay. Furthermore, the individual or company concerned must submit to the BIR the relevant documents as specified in the circular as proof that the extended presence in the Philippines is due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The above update is for information only and does not have any product impact.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: August 17, 2020
C. Effective Date: August 17, 2020
A. Update
A circular has been issued by Philhealth authorities with the objective of implementing a uniform understanding on the collection of contribution premium for the Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFW) in context with the circular 2019-009.
The circular covers all Filipinos living and working abroad including those on-vacation or those waiting for documentation to National Health Insurance program.
The circular provides the below understanding:
- The premium of overseas Filipinos shall be computed based on monthly income to be paid in Philippine peso equivalent, in accordance with terms of payment and corresponding due dates as specified by the corporation.
- For uniform application, the conversion rate will be guided by daily reference exchange rate issued by Bangko Sentral ng Philipinas (BSP) through its reference exchange rate bulletin. Other currencies not included in the BSP shall be converted first to US Dollar before converting it to Philippine Peso as available at online conversion sites.
- After determination of the premium the member has the option to pay annual premium in full or pay the initial premium then quarterly thereafter.
- Calendar Year (CY) 2020 is considered as transition year. Payment of PHP 2,400 shall serve as initial payment. The member can opt to pay the balance in full or in quarterly payments. Payment settlement period is one year.
- By January 1, 2021, the minimum acceptable initial payment is a 3-month premium based on the prescribe rate at the time of payment. Still the member has the option to pay the balance in full or in quarterly payments; payment period is one year.
- The member who fails to pay the premium after the due date set by the corporation shall berequire paying all the missed contribution with monthly compound interest.
Frequency and mode of payment
While the computation of premium is monthly the payment shall be made every 3-month, 6-month or full 12-month period. For sea based OFW’s, the payment is to be done monthly through deduction from salary by their Employers.
Further all the members are required to update their member record by submitting Philhealth member Registration Form.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: April 22, 2020
C. Effective Date: May 08, 2020
A. Update
Due to the strict community quarantine to manage the COVID-19 situation Social Security Commission has issued a circular for releasing guidelines on Moratorium on Short-term Loans.
Coverage of Circular
Members with Salary Loan, Calamity Loan, Emergency Loan, Restructured Loan under the Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) and Educational Assistance Loan (EAL) in the entire Philippines are covered by circular.
A moratorium will be applicable from February to April 2020, without interest and penalties. According to circular for employed member-borrowers, the employer will immediately cause the temporary stoppage of salary deduction upon the effectivity of this circular. And employer, without notice of SSS, will resume loan deduction after the end of the moratorium period.
However, any remittance made during the moratorium period will be applied to the outstanding balance of the loan following the order of priority in the application of payments.
Eligibility
- Members must be residents of Philippines.
- The Salary Loan, Calamity Loan, Emergency Loan must be granted from January 01, 2018, to March 16, 2020
- The Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) and Educational Assistance Loan (EAL) must be currently amortizing means the last amortization month is not earlier than February 2020.
- Members must have not been granted any final benefit.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 31, 2020
C. Effective Date: February 01, 2020 to April 30, 2020
A. Update
Pag-IBIG is offering a three-month moratorium to its member-borrowers to help defray their expenses during the enhanced community quarantine being implemented by the government in its fight to contain COVID-19 virus.
Housing loan, Multi-purpose Loan, and Calamity Loan borrowers with payments due on March 16, 2020, until June 15, 2020, are eligible to apply for the moratorium. Presently, only those residing in Luzon and the National Capital Region can avail of the offer.
Pag-IBIG Fund has started receiving application in the region Metro Manila as well as the rest of the island of Luzon of the Philippines. Members may submit their application at the nearest Pag-IBIG fund branch or shall apply online on the Pag-IBIG website (https://www.pagibigfund.gov.ph/index.html) and click the “Virtual Pag-IBIG” under the e-services until June 15, 2020.
Post the submission, employees will get a reference number of the application which needs to be provided to the employer. Post 7-20 days approval will also be shared by Pag-IBIG which also needs to be shared with the employer.
In case the employer has made any remittance during the moratorium period, it shall be considered as an advance payment for the month of July 2020.
B. Statutory Compliance Release Date: March 18, 2020
C. Effective Date: March 16, 2020 to June 15, 2020
A. Update
The submission of BIR form 1604 CF including the alphabetical list of employees was extended from Jan. 31, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2020. However, the electronic formats of these forms are not yet available in the Electronic filing and Payment System. (e FPS) and Electronic Bureau of Internal Revenue Forms (e BIR Forms) as of this date due to some technical issues.
In order to address this concern, the old forms the Annual Information Return of Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation and Final Withholding Taxes (BIR Form No. 1604 CF). Accordingly, the Alphalists of these returns shall be submitted through the existing Alphalist Data Entry and Validation Module Version 6.1.
