BIR: Annual ITR deadline still April 15, but Q1 returns for self-employed is on May 15.

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, Reporter

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Friday said the deadline of filing for annual tax returns is still on April 15, as the tax reform law only adjusted the schedule for the first quarter tax returns of self-employed individuals and professionals.

“The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is reminding all taxpayers that the deadline for the filing of the individual Annual Income Tax Return (ITR) and the payment of the tax due thereon, if any, is still April 15 following the close of each taxable year,” the bureau said in a statement.

“What was changed 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 of each taxable year,” it added, referring to Republic Act 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act that took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

The deadline for the succeeding quarters of the quarterly ITR “remained the same,” according to the BIR. “These said deadlines apply to succeeding taxable years.”

Under the previous 1997 tax code, the deadline for the first quarter ITR was likewise on April 15, coinciding with the deadline for the filing of the annual ITR.

The tax bureau said that “there will be no extension of the said deadlines and taxpayers are encouraged to file as early as now to avoid the usual issues and inconvenience experienced during the last day of filing.”

Returns that fail to meet the prescribed deadline would be slapped a 25% surcharge, a 20% interest per annum, and a compromise penalty.

“With the clarification, all individual taxpayers are expected to file their Annual Income Tax Returns for 2017 on or before April 15, 2018. For Self-employed individuals and professionals, they should be filing their 2018 First Quarter BIR Form 1701Q on May 15, 2018,” the BIR said.