Up and running › Common questions
The questions we get asked once you are trading
Thresholds crossed, addresses changed, staff hired, branches closed. These are the situations that come up in a working business — and what each one actually requires you to file.
The annual cycle
What comes round every year, per location
January
Permit renewals
Barangay clearance and business permit renewed for every location, usually by the 20th. New books of accounts registered where the old ones are full.
Within 30 days of year end
Annual inventory list
Stock on hand at every address, head office, branches and warehouses alike, filed with the BIR.
Quarterly and annually
Income tax returns
Quarterly returns through the year and the annual return after year end, consolidated across all branches, with audited statements where required.
Monthly and quarterly
VAT or percentage tax, and withholding
Sales tax returns on your registered basis, plus withholding on compensation and on payments to suppliers and landlords.
Every payroll
SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG
Contributions computed, remitted and reported per employee, with new hires and separations reported as they happen.
When it changes
Registration updates
Address, line of business, officers, capital, tax type or closure of a location — each one is a filing, not a note to file.
Asked most often
We crossed ₱3 million in sales. Do we have to register for VAT?+
Once your gross sales in a twelve-month period exceed the ₱3,000,000 threshold, VAT registration becomes mandatory. You update your registration, switch from percentage tax to VAT returns, and reissue invoices showing VAT and your VAT registration details. Doing it late means the VAT is still due — from the date you crossed — without having charged it to customers.
We are moving office. What has to change?+
More than people expect: a BIR update to transfer your registration to the RDO covering the new address, a new business permit at the new city, retirement of the permit at the old one, an amended address with the SEC or DTI, invoices reprinted with the new address, and your bank and contract records updated. Start it before the move, not after.
What happens if we miss the January permit renewal?+
Surcharge and interest accrue on the unpaid local tax, and the LGU can order the establishment closed until it is settled. Renew even when late — the exposure grows monthly, and an unrenewed permit blocks other filings and clearances you will need.
We are closing one branch but keeping the head office. What do we file?+
Retirement of the business at that LGU, which includes a final local tax assessment, and a BIR update to close the branch registration — surrendering its Certificate of Registration and its unused invoices. Simply stopping operations and letting the permit lapse leaves an open registration that keeps generating assessments.
Do we need a permit for loose-leaf or computerised books?+
Yes. Manual books only need to be registered, but loose-leaf books and a computerised accounting system each need a BIR permit before you start using them. Running accounting software without that permit and printing the ledgers later does not satisfy the requirement.
We just hired our first staff at the new branch. What now?+
Register as an employer with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG if you have not already, report each new hire, and start monthly remittances. On the tax side, withhold on compensation, file the withholding returns, and issue the annual certificates to employees. Health certificates from the city are also needed where the work involves food or personal services.
We rent the new space. Is there anything to withhold?+
Yes — expanded withholding tax on the rent, which you as lessee deduct, remit and report, giving the landlord the withholding certificate. Landlords often push back on this. It is your obligation, not theirs, and unremitted withholding is disallowed as an expense.
We want to add a second line of business at the same address.+
The new activity is added to the business permit — it may carry a different local tax rate and trigger a further inspection — and to your BIR registration. If the activity falls outside your registered primary purpose, the SEC articles may need amending first.
Our books are two years behind. Is it too late?+
No. It is the most common reason businesses come to us. We reconstruct the records from bank statements, invoices and supplier documents, file what is outstanding, settle the penalties at the assessed amount, and then keep the calendar current so it does not happen twice.
Hand us the calendar and stop watching deadlines
We take over the filings for every location you hold, work through any backlog, and tell you what is due before it is due — not after.
Deadlines, thresholds and local requirements change, and some vary by city. This page is a guide, not advice on your specific situation — confirm current requirements with us before you rely on it.