New Year’s list: Tax reminders at the start of the year

1. BIR Annual registration fee -- As a basic compliance requirement with the BIR, the annual registration fee should be paid on or before Jan. 31, 2015.

2. Renewal of LGU registration -- The annual renewal of business registration with the LGU consists of, but is not limited to, payment of local business tax (LBT), mayor’s permit fee, sanitary inspection fee, garbage fee, building inspection fee, electrical inspection fee, mechanical inspection fee, plumbing inspection fee, fire inspection fee, personnel fee, business plate registration fee, and other charges imposed by the different LGUs.

While LBT is due on or before Jan. 20, 2015, taxpayers may opt to pay this on installment basis within the first 20 days of each quarter. Establishments that fail to renew their business permit or license will not be allowed to operate within the territory of the LGU concerned. In Metro Manila, where LGUs strictly monitor establishments, businesses could be closed down for failure to secure new business permits.

3. Annual information return of income taxes withheld on compensation (BIR Form 1604-CF) -- The Annual information return and alphabetical list (alphalist) must be submitted on or before Jan. 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the compensation payment and other income payments subject to final withholding taxes were paid or accrued. The alphalist is required to be attached as an integral part of BIR Form 1604-CF under certain prescribed modes. The failure to submit the alphalist in the prescribed mode may be a reason for the disallowance of the related claimed expense.

4. Employees’ withholding statements (BIR Form 2316) -- Employees must be provided a copy of the corresponding BIR Form 2316 on or before Jan. 31 of the succeeding calendar year.

Additionally, the BIR now requires all employers to submit the duplicate copy of BIR Form 2316 to the BIR not later than Feb. 28 following the close of the calendar year. Please note that this is the second year that the said new requirement is in effect, and if an employer fails to comply with the submission of BIR Form 2316 for two consecutive years, there is a stiffer penalty as prescribed by the related BIR issuance.

5. Periodic filing of monthly and quarterly tax returns -- Monthly filing pertains to the regular filings of withholding taxes (on income payments subject to final tax, expanded withholding tax, and compensation tax) for the month of December. On the other hand, the quarterly filings refer to quarterly value-added tax (VAT) return and fringe benefits tax (FBT) return. The deadline for monthly submission is Jan. 15, 2015; however for EFPS-filers, dates for filing is based on your groupings. As for the quarterly VAT and FBT returns, the deadline for submission shall be Jan. 25 and Jan. 10 respectively. For EFPS-filers deadline for submission of FBT returns is on Jan. 15, 2015.

6. Submission of books of accounts -- This includes submission of computerized books of accounts and permanently bound computer-generated/loose-leaf books of accounts.

A. Loose-leaf books of accounts -- The deadline for submission of loose-leaf bound books of accounts for taxable year ending Dec. 31, 2014 is on Jan. 15, 2015.

B. Computerized books of accounts -- The deadline for submission of computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in CD-R, DVD-R, or other optical media for the year ending Dec. 31, 2014 is on Jan. 30, 2015.

7. Submission of inventory list -- Under existing tax regulations, taxpayers are required to file an inventory list of stock-in-trade, raw materials, goods in process, supplies, and other goods not later than 30 days after the close of the taxable year. Hence, taxpayers whose accounting period ends on Dec. 31, 2014 should file their annual inventory list on or before Jan. 30, 2015. It is important to ensure that the amount of ending inventory declared in the list can be reconciled with the amount reported in the annual income tax return.

The above list pertains to some of the more common requirements that a corporate taxpayer has to be aware of to avoid penalties, and in view of these numerous requirements, it is a prudent course of action to always check on a tax calendar for reminders. Taxpayers must also take note of holidays in January as this may affect compliance with set deadlines.

Jennylyn V. Reyes

Let’s Talk Tax

Punongbayan and Araullo