1700, 1701, or 1701A: which BIR annual income tax return do you file?
Not sure which BIR annual income tax return form is yours? Here is the plain-language guide to 1700, 1701, and 1701A so you land in the right lane.
What the three forms are for
Every April, millions of Filipinos face the same question: which BIR income tax return form is actually mine? There are three main annual income tax return (ITR) forms for individual taxpayers, and picking the wrong one can mean refiling, penalties, or an unwanted trip to your Revenue District Office (RDO).
Think of the three forms as three lanes on a toll road. You belong in exactly one lane based on your income type and the tax choices you made during the year.
BIR Form 1700 is for pure compensation earners, meaning employees whose only income is a salary or wages. If you have two employers, or your employer did not perform the year-end tax adjustment, you cannot qualify for substituted filing and you use Form 1700. Most regular employees never touch this form because their employer handles the filing for them.
BIR Form 1701 is for mixed-income earners and for self-employed individuals or professionals who chose itemized deductions. If you earn both a salary and income from a business, freelance work, or any professional practice, you are a mixed-income earner and Form 1701 is your form. It is also available to purely self-employed taxpayers who opted for the graduated tax rate with itemized deductions.
BIR Form 1701A is for purely self-employed individuals or professionals who chose either the Optional Standard Deduction (OSD) or the 8% flat income tax rate at the start of the year. No salary at all, and a clear tax-type election: that is the 1701A profile.
Three questions that point you to the right form
Work through these in order.
Question 1: Is your only income a salary from one employer? If yes, check whether your employer is doing substituted filing on your behalf. If substituted filing applies, you do not need to file at all. If not, use Form 1700.
Question 2: Do you have income from both employment and a business or profession? If yes, you are a mixed-income earner. Use Form 1701, regardless of which deduction method you prefer.
Question 3: Is all your income from self-employment or a professional practice, with no salary? Then the form depends on your election. If you chose the 8% flat rate or the OSD, use Form 1701A. If you chose the graduated rate with itemized deductions, use Form 1701.
The most common mix-ups
Mix-up 1: A freelancer with a day job files Form 1701A. Mixed-income earners are not eligible for the 8% flat tax rate, so Form 1701A is not an option for them. The correct form is 1701.
Mix-up 2: An employee with two employers files Form 1701. Having two employers still means all income is compensation. Two employers means Form 1700, not 1701.
Mix-up 3: A purely self-employed taxpayer files Form 1701 when they already elected the 8% rate. If you locked in the 8% option at registration or at the start of the year, the simplified Form 1701A is the right form and produces a simpler computation.
What happens if you filed the wrong form
You can correct it by filing an amended return. Mark the form as "amended," attach or reference the original filing, and submit before the BIR issues a formal assessment. The sooner you fix it, the smoother the process.
Deadline and where to file
All three forms share the same annual filing deadline: April 15 of the year following the taxable year. You can file through the BIR's electronic filing system or at your registered RDO. If you owe tax, the payment is due on or before that same deadline.
Not sure which form fits your situation or which deduction to choose? Ask AskOnward. The chat is grounded in the official BIR rules and can walk you through the decision based on your specific income sources and elections.
This article is for general information and is not affiliated with the government. For official forms and the latest rules, see the Bureau of Internal Revenue at bir.gov.ph.