Sole proprietorship · Philippines · 2026
What the BIR needs from you.
What to issue, record, file and pay, and how often. Nothing here needs an accountant to start. Where afterhours helps, it says so.
Issue an invoice for every sale.
An invoice, for goods and for services.
Every sale of ₱500 or more. Any amount if the customer asks.
Since 27 April 2024 the invoice is the one document for a sale, services included. The old official receipt is now only proof of payment, if you choose to give one.
In afterhours: the sale you record is the same sale on the invoice. Use the invoice number in the note, and the two match.
Write every sale and expense in your books.
Registered books of accounts.
Every transaction. Under ₱3,000,000 in sales a year, the bound books stamped by the BIR are enough. No permit needed.
The registered books are the official copy. afterhours is the day-by-day record they get copied from.
In afterhours: download the journal. Whoever fills in the bound books copies from it.
File and pay, every quarter and once a year.
Quarterly income tax, then the annual return.
| Form | For | Due |
|---|---|---|
| 1701Q | January to March | 15 May |
| 1701Q | April to June | 17 Aug 2026 15 Aug is a Saturday |
| 1701Q | July to September | 16 Nov 2026 15 Nov is a Sunday |
| 1701A or 1701 | The whole year | 15 April the following year |
In afterhours: the income statement for the period is the number the form asks for.
Quarterly percentage tax, if you are not VAT-registered.
| Form | For | Due |
|---|---|---|
| 2551Q | January to March | 25 April |
| 2551Q | April to June | 25 July |
| 2551Q | July to September | 25 October |
| 2551Q | October to December | 25 January the following year |
A deadline on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday moves to the next working day.
In afterhours: net sales for the quarter, from the income statement.
Or the 8% option, if your sales are under ₱3,000,000.
Chosen in the first-quarter return, due 15 May. It holds for the whole year.
One tax of 8% on sales above ₱250,000, in place of the graduated income tax and the quarterly percentage tax. No expense deductions, so it suits a business with few expenses. Your accountant, or a BIR officer, can tell you which is lower for you.
In afterhours: the sales figure it is computed on is your net sales for the period.
No more annual registration fee.
Removed from 22 January 2024.
The ₱500 paid every January with Form 0605 is gone. If someone asks you for it, that is the old rule.
Have your statements ready at year end.
An income statement and a balance sheet for the year.
Audited by a CPA only if your sales pass ₱3,000,000. Below that, your own statements are accepted.
In afterhours: both statements download as files. Below ₱3,000,000, those are the statements. Above it, they are what the auditor starts from.
Sources
- Revenue Regulations No. 7-2024, invoicing under the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, effective 27 April 2024: invoice for goods and services; ₱500 threshold; invoice on request at any amount; official receipt as supplementary proof of payment. Read via Grant Thornton PH (14 May 2024) and Tax and Accounting Center.
- Books of accounts for micro taxpayers (gross sales under ₱3,000,000): manual bound books, BIR-stamped, no permit. Respicio & Co., 21 November 2025.
- 2026 filing dates for 1701Q, 1701A/1701 and 2551Q, and the next-working-day rule: Taxify BIR calendar 2026; Forvis Mazars PH tax calendar.
- Audited financial statements required above ₱3,000,000 in gross sales; unaudited statements accepted below: UNA Tax & Accounting (30 September 2025), citing RR 11-2018; CloudCfo.
- The 8% income tax option: gross sales not over ₱3,000,000; replaces graduated income tax and the 3% percentage tax; ₱250,000 deducted; elected in the first-quarter return due 15 May. Grant Thornton PH (17 April 2018), citing RR 8-2018.
- Annual registration fee of ₱500 removed by RA 11976, the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, effective 22 January 2024. SRMO Law (14 February 2024).