As an employer, you must withhold a portion of your employees’ compensation and remit it using BIR Form 1601C.
You need to do the filing monthly and remit the withheld portion if any. Failure to do so will result in penalties and surcharges.
This is going to be a long article so bear with me.
- In the first part, I will discuss what is BIR Form 1601C, who is required to pay it or remit income tax withheld, and when it should be remitted.
- In the second part, I will teach you how to file BIR Form 1601C using eBIRForms.
- In the third part, I will teach you how to pay the amount due in BIR Form 1601C using GCash and PayMaya.
- And lastly, I will answer some of the frequently asked questions about BIR Form 1601C and income taxes withheld.
If you are in a hurry and need to file a BIR Form 1601C, click this to jump to the actual procedures in filing this remittance return. You can also use the table of contents to navigate what you want to read in this article.
Table of Contents
- BIR Form 1601C Overview
-
How to File BIR Form 1601C Using eBIRForms?
- Step 1: Open eBIRForms
- Step 2: Input Your 9-digit TIN and 3-digit Branch Code
- Step 3: Choose BIR Form 0605 in the Dropdown List
- Step 4: Click Fill Up
-
Step 5: Fill Up the BIR Form 1601C
- 1. Choose the Appropriate Month
- 2. Select No for Amended Returns
- 3. Select Yes if You Withheld Any Taxes or No if Not.
- 4. Put Zero “0” on the No. of Sheets Attached Amended Returns
- 5. You Don’t Need to Put ATC.
- 6 – 10. eBIRForms Will Auto-Supply this Information Base on the Company File
- 11. Select Private
- 12. eBIRForms Will Auto-Supply this Information Base on the Company File
- 13. Select No
- Step 6: Validate the BIR Form 1601C
- Step 7: Submit the the BIR Form 1601C
- How to Pay BIR Form 1601C Using GCash and PayMaya?
- Frequently Asked Questions?
BIR Form 1601C Overview
Before filing the BIR Form 1601C, it’s better to understand first it beforehand.
What is BIR Form 1601C?
The BIR Form 1601C is also called Monthly Remittance Return of Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation. Take note of the phrase ‘remittance return‘. This means that BIR Form 1601C is not a tax return but a remittance return.
Just think of this as an example of a remittance form when you send money to your relatives far away. You, the taxpayer, will send the money to the BIR.
And what money will you send? Is it from your pocket or your business money?
No. The money you remit to the BIR is the money that will come from the salaries of your employees. Basically, from the beginning, it’s your money. But at the moment you use it to pay your employees, it will be part of the employees’ income.
Who Needs to File BIR Form 1601C?
If you have a BIR Form 1601 tax type on your Certificate of Registration (COR), you are called a withholding agent. As I already have an employee in my business and also have BIR Form 1601C in tax type, I am a withholding agent.
A withholding agent is a person (usually income payor) assigned by the BIR to withhold a certain portion from another person’s income (income payee). A withholding agent can be an individual (sole proprietorship, freelancer, professional) or non-individual (partnership, corporation, and cooperatives).
In other words, the BIR has given us the power to withhold money from our employees. And because of this we also have a corresponding responsibility added our workloads.
Peter Parker once said that “With great power comes great responsibility.”
BIR Form 1601C Deadlines
If you don’t use eFPS for filing your tax returns, this means you’re a small taxpayer like me. In this case, we’ll use the eBIRForms in filing the BIR Form 1601C monthly remittance.
| Month | Deadline |
| January to November | On or before the tenth (10th) day of the following month in which withholding was made |
| December | On or before January 15 of the following year |
Don’t think too much of the phrase that says “in which withholding was made.” It is safe to say that the deadline of BIR Form 1601C for January is February 10 of the same year, and so on. And the deadline for BIR Form 1601 for December is January 15 of the next year.
How to File BIR Form 1601C Using eBIRForms?
For filing the income taxes withheld on compensation, you need to download and install eBIRForms on your laptop or personal computer.
Maybe you want to ask me if you are required to file tax returns using eBIRForms. For complete answers, you may read the articles below.
Recommended Reading: Am I Required to File Tax Returns Using eBIRForms?
But to make the conversation easier, yes, you are probably required.
Now let’s dive into the actual filing.
Step 1: Open eBIRForms
You can open your eBIRForms using the desktop shortcut present (of course) on the desktop.) You can also open eBIRForms by locating it in the start menu and clicking eBIRForms.
Recommended Reading: How to Install eBIRForms and Setup Your Company File
Recommended Reading: How to Create eBIRForms Desktop Shortcut
Step 2: Input Your 9-digit TIN and 3-digit Branch Code
Click the first box under the TIN field and start typing your TIN. Press the TAB on your keyboard to jump to another box. After you’ve successfully inputted your TIN and branch code, the company file you’ve set up will populate the field required.
Step 3: Choose BIR Form 0605 in the Dropdown List
Under the List of BIR Forms >> select the BIR Form 1601Cv2018 – Monthly Remittance Return of Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation (NEW).
Do not select other versions of the 1601C. These are older versions and are no longer used and accepted by the BIR. This is important so you don’t get in trouble later on.
Step 4: Click Fill Up
After selecting the form, click the fill-up button beside the dropdown list.
A popup will show. Click OK to close it.
Wait for the application to load the BIR Form 1601C. It may take some time to load it. Sometimes, it will hang but don’t close the eBIRForms and wait for it.
Step 5: Fill Up the BIR Form 1601C
Using eBIRForms, you can easily fill up the BIR Form 1601C because some fields are already preloaded with your background information. This form has two pages but only the first page is relevant in most circumstances. Don’t worry as this is not going to be difficult. Follow the guidance below for your reference.
Example: Let’s say you’re filing for December 2021.
FOR PART 1
1. Choose the Appropriate Month
In this case, I am filing for December 2021 so I’ll put it.
Sometimes you’ll receive an error message saying “Invalid month. The month should not be later than the current month.”
To solve this, enter first the applicable year then select the applicable month next.
2. Select No for Amended Returns
3. Select Yes if You Withheld Any Taxes or No if Not.
Many filers ignore this item BIR Form 1601C. But this is important for the BIR. This can be the main reason for conducting an audit or tax mapping on your business premise. For example, if you choose NO you should have absolutely no taxes withheld from your employees. Select YES if there is at least Php1 (Piso) as long as it is more than zero.
If you pay each of your employees no more than Php20,333.33, it is SAFE to select NO. Trust me, if you are a small business owner, this is the case for you most of the time.
4. Put Zero “0” on the No. of Sheets Attached Amended Returns
5. You Don’t Need to Put ATC.
It is prefilled by the eBIRForms.
6 – 10. eBIRForms Will Auto-Supply this Information Base on the Company File
Recommended Reading:
11. Select Private
If you are not a government corporation or agency, select Private. You don’t even have to think about it. I also presumed that you (the one reading this article) are a private organization.
12. eBIRForms Will Auto-Supply this Information Base on the Company File
13. Select No
Since we are not availing of any tax relief, we select no. But you have to select yes and you are and specify it in No. 13A.
FOR PART 2
Before you fill up this part, the details you need to enter should be ready.
To further assist you in filling up this part, I have prepared a short article on how to calculate the amounts you must enter in PART 2 of BIR Form 1601C.
Of course, you won’t have any difficulty because all computation is automated. All you have to do is enter the necessary details.
You can read THIS GUIDE for your reference. (THIS IS VERY HELPFUL.)
Recommended Reading:
- How to Fill Up the PART II – Computation of Tax of the BIR Form 1601C (Free Excel Template Download)
Step 6: Validate the BIR Form 1601C
Once the information you must enter in PART 2 is complete, you can validate BIR Form 1601C.
But if you have adjustments that need to be made, you need to put them on Page 2. But usually, you don’t put anything here as long as all your previous filings and remittances are correct if any.
After you supplied all the necessary information, click the validate button. The eBIRForms will now validate if there is missing information.
If there is no error, the popup will appear saying validation successful. Click OK to close the popup.
Make sure that your BIR Form 1601C is properly filled up. Double-check the data and make sure they are correct and accurate to avoid issues in the future.
Validating the BIR Form 1601C does NOT mean all the data you inputted is correct and does match with the BIR database. It only means that the fields have values. But eBIRForms will not check whether those values are correct or not.
For example, you can input a fictional address, TIN, or even put a wrong date. With all of these, it will still say validation successful. But in reality, these are all wrong. So a final reminder is that you check the information you supplied and correct them if they are wrong. You can click the edit button to modify the form.
Step 7: Submit the the BIR Form 1601C
Before you submit the BIR Form 1601C, make sure you have a stable internet connection. Also, make sure that you have entered an active and valid email address. BIR will send you a notification to your email once they received your eBIRForms submission.
Now that you’re sure of the information you supplied. It’s time to click the Submit / Final Copy button to submit online.
A popup will appear. Click ok to proceed with the submission. On the next page, you need to agree to the terms and conditions of the eBIRForms. Click ok to continue.
Wait for the process to complete. You’ll receive a popup message saying Submission Successful just like below.
If you have received an error message while filing BIR Form 1601C in the eBIRForms, you’ll need to repeat the submission process. Make sure you have a stable internet connection for the transaction to push through.
Usually, you’ll receive the email confirmation from the BIR after a couple of minutes or hours. This is usually the case but I don’t know with the others. It will still depend on the situation.
This email confirmation will serve as proof that the BIR has received your online submission of BIR Form 1601C.
How to Pay BIR Form 1601C Using GCash and PayMaya?
Now that you have received the email confirmation, you need to remit the income tax withheld on compensation. In this guide, I will just teach you how to pay it using GCash and PayMaya.
Note that if you do not pay taxes or you select NO in eBIForms Item Number 3, you do not need to perform this step. This is because you do not have to remit money to the BIR because there are no taxes withheld.
Pay the BIR Form 1601C Income Taxes Withheld Using GCash
Step 1. Open the GCash App.
Step 2. Click Pay Bills.
Step 3. Click Government.
Step 4. Click BIR.
Step 5. Fill up the payment form.
For your reference, these are the exact data to be entered for the BIR Form 1601C monthly remittance return.
Please input your actual TIN. Note that if you have a branch, the branch will be 00001 or 00002, and so on.
Step 6. Click Next and Pay the Amount Due.
Step 7. Save and Download Your Receipt.
Pay the BIR Form 1601C Income Tax Withheld Using PayMaya
Step 1. Open the PayMaya App.
Step 2. Click Pay Bills.
Step 3. Click Government.
Step 4. Click Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Step 5. Fill up the payment form.
For your reference, these are the exact data to be entered for the BIR Form 1601C monthly remittance tax return.
Please input your actual TIN. Note that if you have a branch, the branch will be 00001 or 00002, and so on.
You should also input your RDO. You can find this in your COR. Just look at the header part.
Step 6. Click Continue and Pay the Amount Due.
Step 7. Save and Download Your Receipt.
Frequently Asked Questions?
What is the Return Period for BIR 1601C in GCash and PayMaya?
Do I still need to file BIR Form 1601C if I do not have an employee?
Can I claim salaries and wages expense deduction to lower my taxable income if I do not have BIR Form 1601C on tax types?
Do I need to Go to BIR to Have my BIR Form 1601C Remittance Return Stamped?
Do I still need to print BIR Form 1601C after filing using eBIRForms?
Other Related Articles:
- Install eBIRForms And Setup Your Company in 3 Easy Steps
- BIR Form 1601C Filing and Payment (A Complete Guide)
- BIR Form 2551Q Percentage Tax Filing and Payment (A Complete Guide)
Business Registration Guides:
MY COR does not have any notes RDO 57 percentage tax ako paano ko malalaman kung need ko mag file ng 1601C, may empleyado namn ako kamag anak ko din pero gusto ko kuhanan ng SSS kakka start lang namen ng business nitong january pero last Sep 2020 p naregister un company nag file lang ako ng 2551q na zero pero this coming 1st quarter mag file n ako ng sales dahil nag start n kami may problema kaya ako
Hello Elma. Before you can file BIR Form 1601C, you must update your BIR Form 2303 or COR. That’s the time you can file 1601C. As per SSS, PHIC, HDMF, you can register as an employer with those government agencies and add your employees. Thank you for reading our articles. Stay tuned for more.
I accidentally file a 1601c even it is not in the COR, what would happen after that? Thankyou
what will happen po if i forgot to change yung for the month of? i cannot edit it anymore since it was already submitted eh. may maaapektuhan po bang ibang forms or i can delete it nalang po sa portal?