THE Bureau of Internal Revenue 13 will be open until 5 p.m. today to accommodate last-minute filers of income tax returns.
Since the deadline for filing, April 15, falls on a Sunday, BIR moved the deadline to April 16, a Monday.
Yesterday, taxpayers flocked to BIR 13 to settle their 2017 tax obligations.
Fernando Matias, assistant revenue district officer of BIR-Cebu City North, said there have been improvements since they introduced digital filing and payment through accredited banks. He also noted progress in Filipinos’ attitude when it comes to meeting the deadlines.
With the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law early this year, BIR has already increased its information drive to let people know of the changes, particularly in the deadlines for filing.
Matias said one of the changes under the Train Law is the deadline for the filing of the first quarterly income tax return for self-employed individuals and professionals (BIR Form 1701Q), which now falls on May 15 for the first quarter; Aug. 15 for the second quarter; and Nov.15 for the third quarter.
For corporations (BIR Form 1702Q), the deadline falls on May 30 for the first quarter; Aug. 29 for the second quarter; and Nov. 29 for the third quarter.
What used to be a 12-page form has now been reduced to four pages, making transactions with the BIR more efficient.
However, new tax forms for the May 15 deadline have not arrived yet.
Deadline for tax filing for non-Vat taxpayers is now scheduled on the 25th of the month following each quarter.
Matias said the since the Train bill was signed into law, the BIR district offices have been conducting a series of information sessions about the Train Law.
He also assured the public that the BIR has a system in place to accommodate changes.
Call center employee Jan Estrada admitted he isn’t familiar with the changes brought about by the Train Law except the tax adjustments.
He was at the BIR office yesterday to personally file his income tax return for 2017. Estrada resigned from his job in January 2017 and moved to his next employer a month after.
“It should be my new employer who will file for me, but I failed to submit to them my income tax return,” he said.
Although, he isn’t aware of the other changes, Estrada added what is important to him is he pays the right taxes to the government and his employer remits the right dues to the BIR.
Estrada arrived at the BIR at past 9 a.m. but had yet to be served as of 11 a.m.