Income tax filing deadline extended anew to May 29
MANILA, Philippines — The deadline for income tax payments was extended anew until the end of May, while reporting for other levies was also pushed back as part of government reprieve to taxpayers amid the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.
The new rules, laid out under Revenue Regulations 10-2020, will benefit taxpayers and businesses whose movements have been restricted by the prevailing lockdown of Luzon and other localities meant to put the spread of COVID-19 under control. On the flip side, the government is bound to lose more revenues.
Under the regulations, the due date for income tax settlements of individuals and corporations paying directly to BIR was deferred to May 30, which falls on a Saturday. BIR rules stipulate that if the deadline falls on a weekend, the due date will be moved to Friday of the preceding week which in this case, May 29.
For employers handling their employees’ tax records under substituted filing, the deadline was set a little earlier on May 25. The same deadline applies to state agencies taking care of tax filings for their employees.
The extension means taxpayers may pay their dues without getting slapped 20% interest and 25% surcharges so long as settlements fall within the new schedule. Both paper and online submissions were extended.
This marked the second time the period for tax payments was lengthened. The original deadline, by law, was set on April 15 of each year, before BIR extended it by a month to May 15, following calls from legislators to do so after Luzon was placed on lockdown last March 17.
That said, BIR said taxpayers who will still pay by April 15 will get to amend their filings at a later date free of charge. “A taxpayer whose amended returns will result in overpayment of taxes paid can opt to carry over the overpaid tax as credit against tax due…,” the regulations stated.
Apart from income taxes, BIR also allowed delays in payments for other taxes. For instance, value-added taxes from company sales in March can be paid until May 25, so do excise levies charged on select goods like minerals.
Firms paying VAT quarterly may settle their first quarter dues until May 10 from the original due date of March 25 which already lapsed.
The extension is also applicable to tax benefits. BIR, under the same regulations, also pushed back the deadline for applying tax credits to May 31, while taxpayers availing a tax amnesty for delinquent records may do so until May 25.
Money for taxes spent already?
“Filing and paying taxes when movement is restricted is very difficult for most business owners and their staff,” Eleanor Roque, tax advisory head at P&A Grant Thorton, said in a Viber message.
Despite the filing extension, Roque said it is still uncertain if the government can collect taxes by next month. “Businesses have not been able to operate for a month and a half. At the same time, they had to pay their employees, their rent and similar expenses even if they were not operating,” she said.
“By the time it is time to pay the annual taxes on May 30, they may have spent the money on other things," she added.
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