If your corporation was registered with the SEC and BIR in 2025, and is under a calendar fiscal year, then your first Annual Income Tax Return (AITR) is due on April 15, 2026. You file using BIR Form 1702-RT, covering the period from your registration date through December 31, 2025. Yes — even if you had zero income.
That's the short answer. Now let's make sure you do this right.
For a lot of Filipino founders who incorporated last year, April 15 feels like it appeared from nowhere. You were focused on getting your SEC Certificate of Incorporation, your BIR Certificate of Registration, your Business Permit, etc. And now April is here and someone in a group chat is asking about AITR and suddenly you're not sure if that's your problem, too.
It is. But it's manageable. Here's everything you need to know.
What Is an AITR?
The Annual Income Tax Return (AITR) is a document you file with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that reports your corporation's income, deductions, and total tax due for the previous year. Think of it as your business's tax declaration — a formal report to the BIR that says: here's what we earned, here's what we're allowed to deduct, and here's what we owe.
For corporations, the AITR is a mandatory annual requirement. It does not matter if your business is just getting started, has very few transactions, or earned nothing at all in its first year. If you are a registered corporation with an active BIR registration, you file.
Does This Apply to Your Corporation?
Yes, if all three of the following are true:
You are registered with the SEC. This guide covers domestic stock corporations registered under the Revised Corporation Code — not DTI sole proprietorships, not cooperatives.
You are using the calendar year as your fiscal year. Most newly incorporated Philippine corporations default to a calendar year: January 1 to December 31. If you chose a different fiscal year-end at registration, your deadlines differ — check with your accountant.
You completed your BIR registration in 2025. Once your Certificate of Registration (BIR Form 2303) is issued, you have active BIR obligations. That includes the AITR. Under BIR Revenue Regulations No. 15-2024, every registered business must display its Certificate of Registration and comply with all ongoing filing requirements from the date of registration.
If your corporation was registered in mid-to-late 2025 and only operated for a few months, you still file for the period you were registered. You simply report income (if any) from your registration date through December 31, 2025.
Which BIR Form Do You Use?
There are three AITR forms for corporations. Choosing the right one matters:
BIR Form 1702-RT is for corporations subject to the regular corporate income tax rate. This covers most domestic stock corporations, taxed at 25% — or 20% if your net taxable income does not exceed Five Million Pesos and your total assets (excluding land) do not exceed One Hundred Million Pesos. If you're a newly incorporated small or medium business, this is almost certainly your form.
BIR Form 1702-EX is for tax-exempt organisations — non-stock, non-profit entities, cooperatives, and others with a formal BIR exemption.
BIR Form 1702-MX is for corporations earning mixed income: income subject to multiple tax rates or special preferential rates.
When in doubt, check your BIR Certificate of Registration (Form 2303) — the applicable form type is typically indicated. You can also find the complete list of BIR income tax forms on the BIR website.
When Is the Deadline?
April 15, 2026. That's few days from today.
The BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 20-2026 on March 16, 2026, confirming this deadline and laying out filing guidelines for Calendar Year 2025. There is no extension announced at the time of writing. Plan for April 15 as a firm date.
Missing the deadline results in a 25% surcharge on any tax due, plus 12% annual interest from the deadline date. Even if you owe zero tax, a late filing of a nil return carries a failure-to-file penalty. File before April 15 regardless of whether you have income to report.
What If You Had Zero Income in Your First Year?
You still file.
This is one of the most common misconceptions among first-year founders: "I barely had any transactions, so I probably don't need to file." This is not correct. Once your corporation has an active Certificate of Registration with the BIR, your annual reporting obligations apply regardless of income.
Filing a nil AITR takes the same process as filing one with income — the numbers in your income and deductions sections will simply be zero or minimal. Failing to file, even on a zero-income year, exposes your corporation to the same penalties as if you missed a standard return.
What Documents Do You Need?
Before you sit down to file, gather the following:
Your BIR Certificate of Registration (Form 2303) — you will need your TIN, registered name, and registered address. The BIR registration requirements page outlines what documents you should have received and retained at the time of registration.
Your official books of accounts and accounting records for 2025. Even with minimal activity, you should have clean records of any transactions, expenses, or account movements.
Your audited financial statements, if either of the following applies: (a) your gross sales or receipts exceeded PHP 3 million for the year (BIR threshold under the NIRC), or (b) your total assets or total liabilities exceed PHP 3 million (SEC threshold under MC No. 4, s. 2026, effective for fiscal years ending December 31, 2025 onwards).
If you fall below both thresholds, you are not required to have your financials audited — but you must still submit financial statements to the SEC accompanied by a Statement of Management's Responsibility (SMR), signed under oath by your president and treasurer or CFO.
Supporting schedules, depending on your deductions. These can include schedules of itemised deductions, trial balances, or summary of income and expenses.
If you are unsure what records you should have been keeping from the time of incorporation, the BIR's registration requirements page is a useful reference for understanding your ongoing obligations.
How Do You File?
The BIR processes AITR filings through two main electronic channels:
eBIRForms is the BIR's offline software application for preparing and filing tax returns electronically. You download the software from the BIR website, fill in your return offline, and then submit it electronically. Most small and medium corporations use eBIRForms for their annual filings.
eFPS (Electronic Filing and Payment System) is the BIR's fully online portal. Large taxpayers are required to use eFPS, but non-large taxpayers can enroll and use it voluntarily.
Once your return is prepared and submitted, you pay any tax due through an authorised agent bank (AAB), through GCash, or through other BIR-accredited payment channels. For nil returns, no payment is required — just the filing.
A Note on Quarterly Filings
The AITR is your annual return, but corporations also have quarterly income tax filing obligations during the year, using BIR Form 1702Q. If your corporation was active in 2025, you may also have outstanding quarterly returns for Q3 or Q4 of 2025 — separate from the AITR, with their own deadlines. Check with your accountant or review your BIR registration obligations to confirm whether any quarterly returns are still pending.
What Happens After You File?
Keep everything: your filed return, your acknowledgment receipt, and your payment receipt (if applicable). These documents may be required when opening a corporate bank account, transacting with government offices, or responding to a future BIR audit.
Your next AITR deadline will be April 15, 2027, covering Calendar Year 2026. Use this first filing as the template for building your annual compliance calendar going forward.
Getting It Right From the Start
The first AITR is the one founders stress about most, because everything feels unfamiliar. The good news: once you've done it once, subsequent filings become routine.
For this filing, the rules are straightforward: use Form 1702-RT, file by April 15, report even if income is zero, and keep your records.
If your corporation still needs to complete its BIR registration — meaning you have your SEC papers but have not yet processed your Certificate of Registration with the BIR — you can begin the process through the BIR NewBizReg Portal, or let korp.ph handle it for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
