how to get an ITR para sa mga homebased ang work?

[scrapbookjunkie]

^  yan nga iniiwasan ko, yung mag hire pa ng accountant to do my taxes. Kung kaya ko naman icompute on my own, carry na.  sabi naman din ng friend ko , madali lang naman magcompute. ang problem ko is how to fill it out. well sana nga malaman ko na by monday.

[lhen_04]

^sis wala naman ako sinabi na may bayad eh:) Just to help others lang para next time alam na nila.. Mahirap kasi magtanong sa mga BIR employees minsan..

[freelancer_babe]

^ Hi sis @lhen_04,

May audit pa rin ba sa optional deduction?

[lhen_04]

ûsually sis hindi naman nila audit.. 

[freelancer_babe]

thanks sis,

eto pa questions ko:
- kailangan ko pa bang i-fillout yung blue book na "simplied bookeeping" kahit optional ako? sinasubmit rin ba yun sa annual ITR?
- pwede na akong gumawa ng annual ITR ngayon, right?

yung taxes na binabayaran ko are, percentage tax, quarterly income tax at annual income tax. Buti na lang pinayagan ako ng BIR na sa efps na lang magfile.

[mommytaf]

I will be hiring an accountant to do the taxes and filing of my online business.  Hope everything goes well.  Will post feedback soon.

[scrapbookjunkie]

^sis wala naman ako sinabi na may bayad eh:) Just to help others lang para next time alam na nila.. Mahirap kasi magtanong sa mga BIR employees minsan..

wow! salamat sis! oo nga naman, assuming ako.

[aspau]

Im also a homebased worker kasi yun dati company namin nagsara na hindi ko din nakuha yun copy ng form ko na nagbayad sila ng tax ko. Paano kaya gagawin kong filing since homebased na ko? [textspeak!] form ang dapat ko ifill out? I need ITR kasi for credit card at iba pang stuff.

[mommytaf]

Sis, sabi ng friend ko, [textspeak!] ITR daw next year pa yun makukuha for 2012.  di ko lang na elaborate ang sagot nya.  Kelangan ko din kasi yan. Itatanong ko din yan.  Post ako dito. 

Naghire na ako ng nagprocess ng lahat ng tax requirements filing ng new business ko.  Mas cheaper (time, transpo at abala) pa kesa ako ang magpunta sa BIR at DTI .  May advisor pa ako.  Next year daw yung ITR.  Sila na ang bahala, ibigay ko lang sa kanila ang requirements at details para sa bookkeeping and filing monthly. 

Nakakatuwa kasi my business has papers na. Importante kasi yung papers, parang wala ka pa ring proof na you are earning specially if you are a freelancer.  Hirap mag-apply kahit post paid phone kung wala ka papers.

[freelancer_babe]

Paano kaya gagawin kong filing since homebased na ko? [textspeak!] form ang dapat ko ifill out?

Punta ka ng BIR. Sabihin mo sa kanila ang situation mo - na homebased ka at per project ang kita mo. Sabihin mo na hindi fixed ang income mo each month. I-ga-guide ka naman ng BIR kung ano ang mga gagawin mo - like filling out forms and other stuff.

Most likely, pareho lang ang set of taxes na binabayaran ko rin:
1) monthly percentage tax [form 2551M]
2) quarterly income tax (1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters lang) [form 1701Q]
3) annual income tax (4th quarter, aalisin na doon ang nabayaran na sa quarterly income tax) [form 1701]

Kakailanganin mo rin ng PTR galing sa city hall.

Kung wala ka pang cedula, kumuha ka na rin.

Yung DTI hindi na kailangan kung pangalan mo rin lang ang gagamitin sa homebased business. Like sa case ko, pambawas gastusin rin yan. Kung mas gusto mong gumamit ng ibang pangalan sa business, then do this extra step.

Kailangan mo ring mag-issue ng receipts. Just write them, then keep the originals away (or scan a copy then send sa email ng client mo).

Lastly, request ka sa BIR to have an eFPS account para online filing at via online banking na lang ang gagawin mo at hindi ka na pupunta pa sa bank para magbayad. Saves a lot sa accountant fees doing this way din (malaki din ang charge nila), kasi yung eFPS simply does all the computations for you na. Do this when filing percentage tax and quarterly income tax.

The annual income tax could be challenging. But you can just approach a BIR officer-of-the-day to help you out dito (since this is only a once-a-year hassle) rather than hire an accountant. Libre yun.

Tip: If you don't also spend a lot sa business, then it's better to have it as optional deduction rather than itemized. Mas simple ang ganito and you avoid lots of audits from BIR (but not always).

[chicafabulosa]

I am homebased and what I did because I needed one for my bank loan. Just fill up BIR form 1701 and 1701 AIF. That's the form used for homebased jobs and freelancers. hope this helps

[freelancer_babe]

@mommytaf - how much did you pay for an advisor? accountant ba? Hindi tinanggap kahit bank statement lang sa post paid phone application?

@chicafabulosa - bakit dalawa lang forms mo? did you hire an accountant? hindi na dumaan sa business registration (form 1901)? wala kang yearly na binabayaran for renewal of registration?

[chicafabulosa]

@chicafabulosa - bakit dalawa lang forms mo? did you hire an accountant? hindi na dumaan sa business registration (form 1901)? wala kang yearly na binabayaran for renewal of registration?

its the standard forms you need to submit sa BIR if you're freelancer or homebased. i don't need a registration form because I have an existing TIN already so I don't need to do any registration. Plus I don't think business registration is applicable for homebased and freelance employees. and you don't need to pay renewal because technically I have already an existing TIN no.

[freelancer_babe]

^ I have existing TIN too, got it from my very first job. There's no payment there. I got you confused somehow.

But I still paid for registration - it's not for the TIN but it's for business registration here (BIR form 2303, and form 1901). Had to be renewed every year. I'm project-based.

Bakit iba-iba sa iyo kaya? Seems we have similar situation naman. Sa BIR ka mismo nagpunta?

When I did some google research I found more than 3 freelancer-bloggers who are paying the same set of taxes as I do, plus that certificate of registration that I had mentioned above.

It's not yours lang yung na-encounter ko iisa lang ang binabayaran each year. I have another homebased-friend na ganyan rin ang arrangement, pero dumaan sa accountant yung sa kanya.

[chicafabulosa]

^ I have existing TIN too, got it from my very first job. There's no payment there. I got you confused somehow.

It's not yours lang yung na-encounter ko iisa lang ang binabayaran each year. I have another homebased-friend na ganyan rin ang arrangement, pero dumaan sa accountant yung sa kanya.

You don't need to register that one. IT'S STRICTLY FOR BUSINESS. You're a freelancer so meaning you don't own that business. YOU ARE STILL WORKING UNDER OTHER PEOPLE'S COMPANY. That form you signed is for business owners. Since freelancer tayo, we have that option to pay as voluntary. BIR 1701 is for Annual Income Tax Return for Self-Employed, Professionals, Estates, and Trusts    I think this site will also help you... http://petixe.com/2009/08/23/tax-for-freelancers-in-philippines/

Sa akin i was taught by my kumare na accountant which form to use and how to fill it up since freelancer nga ako. And if ever sundan ko na lang daw ulit yung form na sinulat nya next time na magfile ako ng ITR.

[freelancer_babe]

@chicafabulosa,

We have two situations here. Mine comes from what the BIR officer-in-charge had assessed (there's no under the table arrangement there and I really took the sweet time to go into their process) and is pretty much consistent to what other freelancers had experienced and had written out online, while yours came from your accountant-kumare. I wouldn't want to mislead any freelancer/blogger/online businessman or -woman who will be reading this thread (I'm sure that's pretty much your intention too). You may be right anyway as your situation in filing just the annual tax return isn't the first time that I have heard. I also wouldn't want you to get into trouble if you are paying less taxes than you are supposed to (if it turns out to be that case later).

While it's true that banks only want the annual income tax return or form 1701 for the loans and credit application, there are also other procedures and other taxes that accompany with that.

I also saw that petixe's blog entry before. I just saw more detailed entries (complete with links and screenshots and step-by-step guides) from several other bloggers though so I was guided more with what they had written.
http://www.alsabado.com/freelancers-guide/let-s-pay-our-taxes/taxpayer-s-guide
http://thefreelancepinoy.com/freelancing-tips/3-kinds-of-taxes-for-pinoy-freelancers
http://businesstips.ph/what-taxes-should-i-pay-in-the-philippines-self-employed/ (too generalized, though, you just pay for what BIR has specified)

Furthermore, this PDF file from BIR itself confirms that there are three taxes that a self-employed professional should pay: ftp://ftp.bir.gov.ph/webadmin1/pdf/taxguide.pdf

FREELANCING IS BUSINESS - usually a one-man business. It's categorized as self-employed so I'm not working for anyone but myself. If I had to be working for anyone, then by law they are REQUIRED to pay for my SSS, PAGIBIG and Philhealth and they are also supposed to deduct withholding taxes before they pay my earnings; I am paying all those from my own freelance earnings therefore I should be SELF-EMPLOYED. We are also supposed to issue receipts - proof of the service that we had given to other people. Have you wondered why many legit offline Philippine businesses require receipts from outside services (freelancers)? Kasama yan sa proseso! You're providing these businesses your service, and yet this is not a boss-subordinate arrangement!

If you say freelancing is NOT a business in your case, then what is it? And how come your tax obligations becomes voluntary in your situation?

Mandated sa law natin that any Filipino resident citizens are required to pay taxes - so a freelancer's tax isn't supposed to be voluntary as you think. This is pretty much explained here:
http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/do-i-have-to-pay-taxes-on-my-online-income/

Who are required to file income tax returns

Resident citizens receiving income from sources within or outside the Philippines
- employees deriving purely compensation income from 2 or more employers, concurrently or successively at anytime during the taxable year
- employees deriving purely compensation income regardless of the amount, whether from a single or several employers during the calendar year, the income tax of which has not been withheld correctly (i.e. tax due is not equal to the tax withheld) resulting to collectible or refundable return
- self-employed individuals receiving income from the conduct of trade or business and/or practice of profession
- individuals deriving mixed income, i.e., compensation income and income from the conduct of trade or business and/or practice of profession
- individuals deriving other non-business, non-professional related income in addition to compensation income not otherwise subject to a final tax
- individuals receiving purely compensation income from a single employer, although the income of which has been correctly withheld, but whose spouse is not entitled to substituted filing
- marginal income earners

Furthermore, this CPA-blogger has clearly identified that freelancers and bloggers earning online are REQUIRED to pay taxes: http://businesstips.ph/should-bloggers-freelancers-and-online-workers-pay-taxes/

[chicafabulosa]

freelancer babe, i am not arguing or anything with you. I am clearly expressing to you what I filed okay and IT WAS ACCEPTED BY THE BIR. so thanks for clarifying that but its really up to them and i asked the bir officer if i am actually submitting the correct one and she said yes. so i am not claiming yours is wrong which i think you are trying to prove that mine is not right. remember when i said I HOPE IT HELPS? that means the thread starter has an option to consider mine or consider other opinion. i do appreciate you took that extra effort to write and post everything YOU RESEARCHED. salamat.

i wont say anything. honestly i feel bad that i feel. I AM JUST STATING FACTS BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE.

And yes pre-approved loans doesnt really care about ITR. According to the loan officer who released my housing loan IT IS JUST BSP REQUIREMENT and since it is PRE APPROVED. Ask BDO for their pre approved housing loans.

So guys just follow freelancer babe. Baka tama nga sya, magkaproblem kayo in the future. GOOD LUCK guys

[freelancer_babe]

^ WHOOAH!! Sis! Calm down! I hit the wrong button huh? You're taking it NEGATIVELY - aren't forums supposed to be areas of healthy discussion too (and not just sharing)? I didn't say or imply that I am right one - I just backed up everything I've said with references. I also explicitly mentioned that you MAY be right all along - basahin mo uli - there's no mention and implication that you are wrong and I am right (I am pretty much careful to disclose that all along, because I do not like you or anyone to think that I am right)!!!

I wanted to figure out why some freelancers aren't filing the same set of taxes. I have said already twice that it's NOT JUST YOU but I had some friends who are just filing 1701 form. I understand, that yours is also from experience and it worked! I always notice that this arrangement is true to those who leave everything to their accountants. Still, my question is remains unanswered, why are the set of taxes different?

[chicafabulosa]

by emphasizing the accountant-kumare yes you did hit the wrong button there. like i said i wont comment anything about it again.

 like what said and posted is more on sharing what form i filed.

[freelancer_babe]

^ Oh! Okay sorry about that but I didn't mean to offend for that particular one. Di ko na pala dinagdag yun. Or maybe, no matter how hard that I keep on thinking that some of your caps letters are simply for EMPHASIS, I might not shake of the fact that it's an online equivalent of shouting?

On those who simply file 1701 form, I couldn't find any who had written about that experience. I learned that through social networks like FB - it was a quite a healthy discussion like yours, but minus the "reaction". I was hoping I figure out why and how BIR accepts just the 1701 and 1701 AIF form that were coursed through accountants without needing to file other taxes. A lot of questions get on my mind, and I would always wonder if the forms really reach that gov office or if it can be made to satisfy the BSP requirements. Or "your way" was just an easier but acceptable alternative all along; or hiring an accountant is worth every peso all along - reduced tax payments! But we could just say - bahala na!

On the other hand, I also worry if we (me, and the other freelancers I've mentioned) are paying the wrong set of taxes all along. Or I ended up paying the wrong taxes because I told a "wrong" description of my freelance business?