Comprehensive Guide: How to File and Pay Quarterly Percentage Tax (BIR Form No. 2551Q) under CREATE Law

 What you need to know about filing BIR Form 2551Q or Quarterly Percentage Tax (QPT)?

1. What is BIR Form No. 2551Q.
2. Who are required to file BIR Form No. 2551Q.
3. How to compute for Quarterly Percentage Tax.
4. When and where to file Quarterly Percentage Tax.
5. How to pay Quarterly Percentage Tax.
6. Penalties imposed for failure of filing or non-compliance.

Taxation in the Philippines has undergone major transformations and new laws were implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year 2018. For those that use an online tax calculator in the Philippines, don’t be too alarmed. We’re sure companies will learn to adapt and change their algorithm appropriately.

That said, even if you do use online tax calculators or don’t handle your own taxes, you still have to remain informed. The TRAIN law changed a lot of things regarding tax computations and filing. One change in particular and the one we’ll be discussing today is the revised BIR Form No. 2551Q or the quarterly percentage tax return.

The BIR released this form last April 25, 2018 – the last day of filing a quarterly percentage tax return – and many were left confused. If you’re a freelancer or sole proprietor, then we can definitely help you out. Below is a simplified yet comprehensive version for freelancers and sole proprietors which simplifies the guidelines and instructions that the BIR released.

Hopefully, this helps you understand everything about BIR Form No. 2551Q. Read on!

What Is BIR Form No. 2551Q?

BIR Form 2551Q, also known as the Quarterly Percentage Tax return, is a business tax imposed on your business’s gross receipts or sales for an entire quarter.

Who are Required to File BIR Form No. 2551Q?

If you haven’t opted for the 8% Income Tax Rate, then your COR (Certificate of Registration) should indicate that you are required to file for percentage tax. With the manual process, BIR Form No. 2551Q should be filed in triplicate by:

• Non-VAT taxpayers with gross annual revenues not exceeding P3M ( most freelancers and sole proprietors who are just starting out fall under this category).
• Domestic and international carriers except those who use bancas and animal-drawn vehicles
• Franchisees of either of the following: gas or water utilities;  radio and/or TV broadcasting companies whose gross annual revenues do not exceed P10M; services that send overseas dispatch, messages, or conversations from the Philippines
• Proprietors, lessees, or operators of cockpits, cabarets, racetracks, night or day clubs, professional basketball games, etc.
• Banks, non-bank financial intermediaries, and finance companies
• Life insurance companies and agents of foreign insurance companies

CREATE Law and Percentage Tax

CREATE, or Comprehensive Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises, is a law that seeks to assist businesses as a response to the pandemic with retroactive provisions and lower tax rates.

One of the taxes that benefit from CREATE is the Percentage Tax which is submitted through Form 2551Q. From the usual 3% tax rate, taxpayers can now use the new 1% rate for their taxes. This tax rate is also retroactive meaning this can be applied to your previously filed taxes from July 2020.

However, this tax rate is only effective until June 30, 2023. After which, the percentage tax will default back again to 3%.

How to Compute Quarterly Percentage Tax?

Your quarterly percentage tax is calculated by multiplying 1% to your quarterly gross income receipts. By “Gross Receipts”, this would mean all the earnings or revenues you have actually received from your client/business.

Here’s how the formula would look like:

Quarterly Percentage Tax Due = Gross Receipts x 1%

Sample computation of Percentage Tax Due and Payable

Let’s say you’re running a consultancy business, earning less than 3M annually, and receive a quarterly income of P180,000. In that case, if you’ve opted for the quarterly percentage tax option (as reflected in your COR), then the calculation would be something like this:

Percentage Tax Due = ₱180,000 x 1%
Percentage Tax Due = ₱1,800

Hence, P1,800 would be your total quarterly percentage tax payable.

How to Compute Excess Percentage Tax

We’ve mentioned earlier that the new 1% tax rate is retroactive and can be applied to your 2020 Q3 and Q4 filings. This means that the excess amounts you’ve paid to the BIR can be used as tax credits to pay for your future percentage tax payments.

To compute, check your 2551Q filings for 2020 Q3 (due on October 2020) and 2020 Q4 (due on January 2021). Refer to the latest amendment if you’ve made amendments.

Look for the the values tagged against the Alphanumeric Tax Code PT010 in Page 2 of the form.

Multiply the amounts tagged as PT010 in your forms and multiply it by 1%. This is the amount you should have paid as per the retroactive rules of CREATE.

After this, deduct this amount (1%) from the Total Tax Dues tagged against PT010 in you forms.

Sample Computation

Say for example you have a total of ₱100,000 as your amounts tagged as PT010 in your Q3 and Q4 filings. This is how you’ll calculate how much you should have paid as per the CREATE Law.

Excess Percentage Tax = 3% Amount - 1% Amount
Excess Percentage Tax = ₱3,000 - ₱1,000
Excess Percentage Tax - ₱2,000

This means that you have ₱2,000 you can use as credits to pay for your future 2551Q payments.

When and Where to File Quarterly Percentage Tax?

You can file your BIR Form No. 2551Q with any Authorized Agent Banks (AAB) of the Revenue District Office (RDO) where you are registered or are conducting business. In case there are no AABs, then this form shall be filed with the Revenue Collection Officer (RCO) of your RDO.

If you’re the owner of a franchise, you can file a separate return for your head office and for each branch or you can file a consolidated return for the head office and included branches.

Note, that this is how you do it if you opt to do it the manual way. If you prefer to do it online, check out this local app that simplifies the whole filing process.

The Deadlines for Filing Form 2551Q are:

Period	Deadline
1st Quarter: January to March	On or before April 25
2nd Quarter: April to June	On or before July 25
3rd Quarter: July to September	On or before October 25
4th Quarter: October to December	On or before January 25

How to Pay Quarterly Percentage Tax?

Payment can be made manually or electronically. If you’re opting for manual payment, you can do what was mentioned above.  Head to the AAB located in your area that is within the jurisdiction of the RDO or file your return with the RCO.

Online payment, on the other hand, can be accomplished using GCash Mobile Payment, Landbank’s Linkbiz Portal or DBP’s Tax Online. Note that you would still have to manually calculate your corresponding tax dues, as these channels require you to already enter said tax due amount.

Penalties Imposed for Failure of Filing or Non-compliance

The taxpayer will incur an interest of 25% plus surcharge plus compromise fee in cases where he/she:

• Failure to file and pay their quarterly percentage tax return on or before the deadline
• Filed a return with the wrong BIR person or officer (wrong Revenue District Office)
• Failure to pay the full or part of the amount of tax due; or
• Failure to pay the deficiency tax

The taxpayer will incur a surcharge of  25% plus surcharge plus compromise fee in cases where he/she:

• Willful neglect to file the quarterly percentage tax within the prescribed period; or
• Willful made of a false and fraudulent return

Key Takeaway

Outside of the math and computations, that’s practically everything you need to know about BIR Form No. 2551Q. Whether or not you use an online tax calculator in the Philippines, it is important that you are aware of the changes made in how we file our taxes.

The BIR has yet to iron out other processes, so more changes are sure to come over the year. If you don’t stay on top of things, then you might find yourself struggling with the transition. And always remember that one misstep can land you in a lot of trouble, so stay informed and updated!