BIR urges taxpayers to pay ITR ahead of April 15 deadline

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday urged taxpayers to file their income tax returns (ITR) for 2018 ahead of the April 15 deadline.

“Nag-aapela ang BIR sa ating mga taxpayers na mag-file at magbayad po ng kanilang 2018 Income Tax Return on or before April 15, 2019,” BIR Deputy Commissioner Marissa Cabreros said in a Palace briefing.

“This is a friendly reminder po para po hassle-free ang pagpa-file nila ng return at they don’t get entangled with the last-minute deadline glitches,” she added

Taxpayers who will fail to file their ITRs on or before April 15 will be slapped with a 25 percent surcharge and a 12 percent interest per annum.

Those earning purely from compensation need to download BIR form 1700 from the BIR website before filing and paying at the bank, the BIR official said.

All other types of taxpayers can file and pay through online channels, Cabreros added.

The BIR is targeting to raise P2.3 trillion this year including P79 billion in additional revenue from the implementation of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.  /muf