By the Boongon team
When a Philippine business is small, BIR compliance usually lives with one bookkeeper, a folder of receipts and a spreadsheet. That works until you have more suppliers who withhold from you, more employees, a second branch, or a client who keeps asking for their 2307s. Then the deadlines start to collide.
This guide lists the returns and attachments a typical VAT- or percentage-tax-registered corporation deals with, groups them by frequency, and explains what your accounting system should produce for each so that filing becomes a review, not a reconstruction.
Important: BIR rules change. The TRAIN law moved VAT to quarterly filing, and the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act changed invoicing and some filing rules. Always confirm current forms and due dates with your RDO, the BIR website or your accountant. This article is a planning aid, not tax advice.
Start with your registration: which taxes apply to you?
Your Certificate of Registration (Form 2303) lists the tax types you must file. Check it before building any calendar. The common combinations are:
- VAT-registered: quarterly VAT (2550Q), plus withholding returns if you have employees or pay suppliers subject to expanded withholding tax (EWT).
- Non-VAT (percentage tax): quarterly percentage tax (2551Q) instead of VAT.
- Withholding agent: almost every business with employees or regular suppliers. This brings 1601-C, 0619-E / 1601-EQ and possibly 0619-F / 1601-FQ, plus the annual information returns.
If a tax type is on your COR and you have nothing to report, you generally still file a "no operations" return. Missed zero returns are one of the most common sources of penalties for growing SMEs.
Monthly obligations
| Form | What it is | Typical due date | What your system should produce |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1601-C | Monthly remittance of tax withheld on compensation | 10th of the following month (eFPS filers are staggered; December is due 15 January) | Withholding totals per employee straight from payroll, reconciled to the payroll journal |
| 0619-E | Monthly remittance of expanded withholding tax (first two months of the quarter) | 10th of the following month | EWT withheld on supplier payments, by ATC code, tied to the bills it came from |
| 0619-F | Monthly remittance of final withholding tax (first two months of the quarter) | 10th of the following month | Final tax withheld (e.g. on certain rentals, dividends, interest to non-residents) |
| 2550M | Monthly VAT declaration | Optional since 2023 for most taxpayers; confirm with your RDO | Output and input VAT by month, even if you only file quarterly, so your quarter has no surprises |
Quarterly obligations
| Form | What it is | Typical due date | What your system should produce |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2550Q | Quarterly VAT return | 25th day after the quarter ends | Output VAT from sales invoices, input VAT from purchases, with the SLSP that supports them |
| 2551Q | Quarterly percentage tax (non-VAT) | 25th day after the quarter ends | Gross sales by quarter, at the correct rate |
| 1601-EQ | Quarterly EWT return | Last day of the month after the quarter ends | Quarter totals by ATC, with the QAP (Quarterly Alphalist of Payees) |
| 1601-FQ | Quarterly final withholding return | Last day of the month after the quarter ends | Quarter totals plus the payee alphalist |
| 2307 | Certificate of creditable tax withheld, issued to each supplier you withheld from | Within 20 days after the quarter ends (or on request) | One certificate per payee per quarter, generated from the same bills used for 1601-EQ |
| SLSP | Summary List of Sales and Purchases | With the quarterly VAT return | Sales and purchases by customer and supplier TIN |
| SAWT | Summary Alphalist of Withholding Taxes | Attached to returns where you claim credits | Every 2307 you received from customers, matched to the invoice it relates to |
| 1702Q | Quarterly income tax return (corporations) | 60 days after the quarter ends | Year-to-date profit and loss with tax adjustments |
The quarterly cycle is where most of the work concentrates. The VAT return, the EWT return, the 2307s you issue and the 2307s you collect all land within roughly five weeks of each other.
Annual obligations
| Form | What it is | Typical due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1604-C | Annual information return of income taxes withheld on compensation | 31 January |
| 2316 | Certificate of compensation and tax withheld, given to each employee | Issued by 31 January; copies submitted to the BIR by 28 February |
| 1604-E | Annual information return of creditable (expanded) withholding taxes | 1 March |
| 1604-F | Annual information return of final withholding taxes | 31 January |
| 2306 | Certificate of final tax withheld, issued to payees | With or after the relevant payment, as required |
| 1702-RT / 1702-EX / 1702-MX | Annual corporate income tax return | 15th day of the fourth month after year end (15 April for calendar years) |
| Books of Accounts | Registered journals and ledgers (manual, loose-leaf or computerised) | Kept throughout the year; loose-leaf and computerised books have year-end submission requirements |
The documents that cause the most trouble
2307s you receive. If a customer withholds 1% or 2% from your payment, that withholding only becomes a tax credit when you hold the 2307 and list it in your SAWT. Growing businesses routinely lose credits because nobody chases the certificates. Track each one against the invoice it relates to and the quarter it belongs to.
2307s you issue. Suppliers will ask for them, and late certificates damage relationships. If your EWT is recorded on the bill when you pay it, the 2307 should be a printout, not a project.
ATC codes. Each EWT line needs the right alphanumeric tax code (for example professional fees versus rentals versus goods). Set the code on the supplier or the expense account so it does not depend on the person encoding the bill.
TINs and branch codes. SLSP, QAP and SAWT are lists keyed by TIN. A missing or wrong TIN on a supplier record will follow you into every attachment.
What your accounting system should do for you
Use this as a checklist when you review your current setup, or when you evaluate a new one.
- [ ] Withholding is calculated on the bill or payment, not added afterwards in a spreadsheet
- [ ] Every supplier and customer record carries a TIN, branch code and default ATC
- [ ] 2307s can be generated per payee per quarter from posted transactions
- [ ] 2307s received can be recorded against specific invoices and feed the SAWT
- [ ] SLSP, QAP and SAWT export in the format the BIR expects
- [ ] VAT is tracked monthly even though you file quarterly
- [ ] Payroll withholding flows to 1601-C, 1604-C and the 2316s without re-keying
- [ ] Books of Accounts can be printed or exported in the layout your registration requires
- [ ] Every figure on a return can be traced back to the documents behind it
- [ ] You can tell, today, which returns are due in the next 30 days
If you tick fewer than half of these, the risk isn't just penalties. It's the time your team spends rebuilding the same numbers every month.
A simple monthly routine
- By the 5th: close the previous month's sales and purchases; chase missing supplier invoices.
- By the 8th: review EWT and compensation withholding; prepare 1601-C and 0619-E/F.
- By the 10th: file and pay.
- In the first three weeks after quarter end: issue 2307s, collect the 2307s owed to you, reconcile VAT, prepare SLSP.
- By the 25th after quarter end: file 2550Q or 2551Q.
- By month end after quarter end: file 1601-EQ/FQ with the alphalists.
Where Boongon fits
Boongon is a cloud ERP with a Philippine tax layer built in. It prepares the 2550M/Q, 2551Q, 1601-C, 1601-EQ, 1601-FQ, the 1604 series, 2307, 2306, 2316, SLSP, SAWT and the Books of Accounts from the same ledger your transactions post to. It doesn't e-file (you still file through eBIRForms or eFPS), the 0619 forms and the QAP are only partly prepared, and the 1702 income tax returns aren't built yet. If you want to see whether it would take the quarter-end scramble off your team, the 14-day trial needs no card, and it's for teams of five users or more. Start at boongon.com.
