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Tax Notes

BIR redefines criteria for Top Withholding Agents

TO SIMPLIFY tax rules, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) redefined the criteria for top withholding agents (TWAs) when it released Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 7-2019 on June 13, 2019.

TWAs shall now refer to taxpayers whose gross sales/receipts, gross purchases, or claimed deductible itemized expenses amounted to P12 million during the preceding taxable year. 

Prior to the issuance of RR No. 7-2019, TWAs were considered or defined as taxpayers whose gross sales is at least P10 million, gross purchase is at least P5 million, income tax payable is at least P200,000, or value-added tax/percentage tax/excise tax is at least P100,000 during the preceding taxable year. Later on, TWAs were expanded to include large taxpayers, top 20,000 private corporations, top 5,000 individuals and medium taxpayers under the Taxpayer Account Management Program.

Existing TWAs before the effectivity of RR No. 7-2019 will remain as such until they fail to satisfy the P12 million criteria and have been duly published as delisted from the list of TWAs.

An updated list of TWAs will be published through official notice from the BIR in the newspapers of general circulation and on the BIR website. Newly qualified TWAs are required to start withholding tax at one percent for every purchase of goods and two percent for every purchase of services for regular suppliers and one-time purchases of at least P10,000 on the first day of the month following the month of the BIR’s notice.

RR No. 07-2019 shall take effect on June 29, 2019.

Please be guided accordingly.

Source: P&A Grant Thornton

Certified Public Accountants

 

As published in SunStar Cebu, dated 26 June 2019