BIR: No change in ITR deadline

The deadline for the filing and payment of annual income tax returns (ITR) remains on the 15th of April after each taxable year, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said yesterday.

The bureau issued the clarification after some reports surfaced saying the deadline is now May 15 following the implementation of Republic Act 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“What was changed under the TRAIN law is the deadline for the filing of the first quarterly ITR for self-employed individuals and professionals (BIR Form 1701Q) which now falls on May 15 of each taxable year. Under the old law, the deadline was April 15 which coincides with the deadline for the filing of the annual ITR (BIR Form 1700 and 1701),” the BIR said in a statement.

With the clarification, the BIR said all individual taxpayers are expected to file their annual ITR for 2017 on or before April 15, 2018.

Self-employed individuals and professionals, for their part, should file their 2018 first quarter ITR on May 15, 2018. But the BIR said the deadline for the second and third quarter ITRs remain the same.

“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,” the bureau said.