Online sellers: the ₱500,000 sworn declaration and the 1% withholding
If you sell on Shopee, Lazada or TikTok Shop, or get paid through GCash or Maya, the platform may be withholding tax from what it remits to you. This guide explains the rule, the one document that keeps the platform from withholding while you are under the threshold, and what to do with what was already withheld.
The rule in one paragraph
Under Revenue Regulations No. 16-2023, e-marketplace operators and digital financial services providers withhold 1% on one-half of the gross remittances they pay a seller. A seller whose total remittances from all platforms will not exceed ₱500,000 in the year is not withheld on, but only if they give each platform a BIR-received sworn declaration (RMC 8-2024). Without that declaration, the platform withholds automatically, whatever you actually earn.
Your situation · What the platform does; You gave a BIR-received sworn declaration that you will not exceed ₱500,000 · No withholding — until a platform sees your remittances pass ₱500,000; Your remittances on a platform pass ₱500,000 during the year · Withholding starts on the remittance that crosses the line and every one after; You gave no sworn declaration · Withholding from the start, regardless of actual income
All three rows are in RMC 8-2024, which answers the questions BIR received about RR 16-2023.
Who needs the sworn declaration
You need it if all of these are true:
- You are registered with BIR. Platforms ask for your BIR Certificate of Registration before you can use them (RMC 8-2024). Not registered yet? Start with the start a business on your own pack. - You expect your gross remittances from all platforms combined to stay at or below ₱500,000 for the year.
The ₱500,000 counts everything remitted to you by every e-marketplace and e-wallet together, not per platform.
When to give it
When · What; When you apply with a platform · Give the BIR-received declaration with your application; Every year after · On or before the 20th day of the first month of the taxable year (January 20 for a calendar year); If you pass ₱500,000 during the year · Submit a BIR-received declaration saying you exceed ₱500,000 to the platforms immediately
Source for all three: RMC 8-2024.
How to make it
The declaration must be in the form BIR prescribed, Annex "A" of RMC 8-2024 (BIR's copy of Annex A). It states your name, business address and TIN, which platforms pay you, whether your remittances for the period do or do not exceed ₱500,000, and that you understand the platforms will withhold if you pass the threshold. It is sworn before a notary public.
1. Fill it here: Sworn Declaration of Gross Remittances. List every platform that pays you, one per line. 2. Sign it in front of a notary public (it ends with a jurat — "subscribed and sworn to"). 3. Have it received by BIR. The circular requires a BIR-received copy; ask your RDO how it receives these. 4. Submit the received copy to each platform through its seller centre.
Your account name matters
Platforms may pay only into an account under your BIR-registered trade name, not a personal account (RMC 8-2024). If your payout account is in your personal name, fix that before the platform does it for you.
What was already withheld is not lost
Tax the platform withheld is a credit against your income tax. The platform gives you a BIR Form 2307 for it, and you claim it on your quarterly 1701Q and annual 1701A. The BIR Form 2307 guide explains where it goes on the return. If you are not on the 8% rate, you also file the quarterly 2551Q for percentage tax — see 8% vs graduated rates.
Mistakes that cost sellers money
- Missing the January 20 deadline. The declaration is yearly. Sellers who gave one last year and forgot this year get withheld on from January. - Giving an unreceived copy. The platform needs the copy received by BIR, not just notarized. - Counting per platform. ₱300,000 on Shopee plus ₱300,000 on Lazada is ₱600,000 — over the threshold. - Throwing away the 2307. Without it you cannot claim the 1% as a credit.
Questions
Bakit may bawas ang remittance ko sa Shopee?
Because the platform withholds 1% on one-half of your gross remittances under RR 16-2023 when it has no BIR-received sworn declaration from you, or once your remittances pass ₱500,000 for the year.
Is the ₱500,000 per platform?
No. RMC 8-2024 counts the total remitted to you by all e-marketplace operators and digital financial services providers together.
When do I submit the sworn declaration?
When you apply with the platform, then on or before the 20th day of the first month of each taxable year. If you pass ₱500,000 during the year, you submit a declaration saying so immediately.
What do I do with the 2307 from the platform?
Claim the tax withheld as a credit on your quarterly 1701Q and annual 1701A. Keep every 2307 the platforms give you.
Does it need a notary?
Yes. It is a sworn declaration — it ends with a jurat — and it must also be received by BIR before you give it to the platform.
Last checked 2026-10-12. Not affiliated with BIR, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG or any government agency.