01 · When
When to register
The Tax Code requires a business to register on or before the commencement of business. For a new corporation, business commences on the earlier of two dates:
1The day of its first sale, or
230 calendar days after its SEC certificate of incorporation or its mayor’s permit is issued, whichever comes first.
In practice the SEC certificate starts the clock. The mayor’s permit isn’t on the BIR’s checklist, so BIR registration doesn’t wait for it.
02 · How
How to register
A corporation registers with the Revenue District Office (RDO) that covers its principal office, the address in its articles of incorporation. The filing is online, through the BIR’s Online Registration and Update System (ORUS): the company applies, uploads its documents, and downloads its TIN and Certificate of Registration once the RDO approves. If ORUS fails, it can file at the RDO instead.
Documents
✓SEC certificate of incorporation
✓Articles of incorporation
✓A final sample of the company’s own invoice, or a purchase of BIR-printed invoices
✓If someone files on the company’s behalf: a board resolution or secretary’s certificate authorizing them, and their ID
03 · Certificate
The Certificate of Registration
The Certificate of Registration, BIR Form 2303, records the company’s TIN, its RDO and every tax it is registered for. It must be displayed where the public can see it; a business selling online displays a BIR Registration Seal Badge on its online store instead.
The ₱500 annual registration fee was abolished from 22 January 2024, for new registrations and renewals alike.
04 · Invoices
Invoices replaced official receipts
Under the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, the invoice is the primary evidence of a sale, for goods and services alike. Companies no longer have to issue official receipts. Issuing an “Official Receipt” after 30 June 2024 is treated as failing to issue an invoice.
Before the first sale
The company gets an authority to print its own invoices, which is free, or buys BIR-printed invoices.
For each sale above ₱500
Or whenever the buyer asks, it issues an invoice. A VAT-registered company issues one for every sale, whatever the amount.
Where the buyer withholds tax
The invoice shows the amount of creditable withholding tax as a separate line.
Electronic invoicing
Mandatory by 31 December 2026 for some taxpayers only: online sellers above micro size, large taxpayers, and businesses using a computerized accounting system or invoicing software. An invoice made in Word, Excel, Google Docs or Google Sheets is not an electronic invoice. Other businesses will be phased in by later regulations.
After registration, the RDO issues a Notice to Issue Invoices, holds an initial briefing for the new taxpayer, and makes a compliance visit about 30 days later.
05 · VAT or percentage tax
VAT or percentage tax
This is the main choice at registration.
VAT
12% on sales of goods and services. Registration is mandatory once sales over the past or coming 12 months exceed ₱3 million.
Percentage tax
3% of gross quarterly sales, paid by a company below the ₱3 million threshold that isn’t VAT-registered.
Opting into VAT
Allowed below the threshold, but the company can’t cancel it for the next three years.
A company exporting services needs VAT registration to zero-rate its export sales. Zero-rating is then automatic, with no separate export classification at the BIR: each sale is paid in foreign currency, inwardly remitted under BSP rules, and invoiced as a zero-rated sale.
Foreign founders guide →06 · Books
Books of account
Books don’t have to be registered at business registration, but each kind has its own deadline.
Manual books
Registered through ORUS before the first quarterly or annual income tax return is due, whichever comes first.
Loose-leaf or computerized books
Need a Permit to Use or an Acknowledgement Certificate from the BIR before use, which can only be issued once the company has its TIN. They are registered through ORUS every year after.
Every record
Kept for 10 years: the first five in hard copy, the rest electronically.
07 · Other taxes
The other taxes registered at the start
A company registers every tax it is liable for, not only income tax and VAT.
Withholding on compensation
Once it pays salaries.
Expanded withholding
On the payments the regulations list.
Documentary stamp tax
On the shares issued at incorporation, 0.75% of their par value, filed early in the month after they are issued.
08 · First returns
The first returns
CoversTax withheld on salaries
Due10th of the following month (15 January for December)
CoversExpanded withholding, first two months of each quarter
Due10th of the following month
CoversExpanded withholding, quarterly
DueLast day of the month after the quarter
CoversVAT
Due25 days after the quarter
CoversPercentage tax
Due25 days after the quarter
CoversQuarterly income tax
Due60 days after each of the first three quarters
CoversAnnual income tax
Due15 April, for a calendar year
Corporate income tax is 25% of net taxable income, or 20% for a corporation with net taxable income of ₱5 million or less and total assets of ₱100 million or less, excluding land. From the fourth year, a minimum corporate income tax of 2% of gross income applies when it exceeds the regular tax. See the
annual compliance calendar.
A branch also registers with the BIR. Profits it sends to its head office are taxed at a further 15%, except for PEZA-registered activities.
Foreign founders guide →09 · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
When does a new corporation have to register with the BIR?
Within 30 days of its SEC certificate of incorporation, or before its first sale if that comes sooner.
Is there still a ₱500 BIR registration fee?
No. The annual registration fee was abolished from 22 January 2024.
Do we still issue official receipts?
No. The invoice is now the primary evidence of a sale. An official receipt issued after 30 June 2024 counts as a failure to issue an invoice.
Do we have to register for VAT?
Only once sales over 12 months exceed ₱3 million. Below that, a company pays 3% percentage tax unless it opts into VAT, which it then can’t cancel for three years. A company zero-rating export sales has to be VAT-registered.
