Friday, March 29, 2024

BIR adds PayMaya as cashless option for paying taxes

With the tax-filing season just around the corner, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has tapped digital payments firm PayMaya as a new payment channel for individual taxpayers and small businesses.

Present during the launch were BIR commissioner Caesar Dulay (6th from left) and PayMaya founder and CEO Orlando Vea (5th from right), as well as BIR deputy commissioners Celia King (3rd from left), Lanee David (4th from Left), Marissa Cabreros (5th from left), and Arnel Guballa (rightmost). Also present during the launch were DBP vice president for cash management and transaction banking Jun Bandal (2nd from left), USAID relationship manager Jackie dela Fuente, PayMaya head of enterprise Mar Lazaro (2nd from right), PayMaya head of consumer wallets Chikky Reyes (3rd from left), and PayMaya enterprise head for government Marvin Santos (4th from right)

At the launch held at the BIR main office in Quezon City, PayMaya officials said individuals and SMEs can now their taxes using the PayMaya app and soon also using the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) website.

Officials emphasized, however, that taxpayers would still need to file the appropriate tax forms with the BIR and that only the payment part can be done via PayMaya.

PayMaya said it will also be soon enabling the BIR with a capability to accept payments from PayMaya users using only their mobile numbers through the BIR website, as well as a facility to allow Filipinos to pay taxes using any credit, debit, or prepaid card.

With the addition of PayMaya, BIR’s collections paid through electronic channels are seen to further rise from about 84 percent in 2019.

In an interview after the launch, BIR deputy commissioner for information systems group Lanee David said PayMaya is their seventh e-payment channel. She said the volume of digital payments is big because large taxpayers are mandated to pay electronically.

David noted that small and medium-sized businesses and individual taxpayers would now be more encouraged to pay electronically, given the number of banks and financial services firms that offer this service for BIR-related collections.

The other electronic channels for BIR-related payments are the electronic filing and payment system (EFPS), Land Bank of the Philippines bizlink portal, Development Bank of the Philippines’ pay tax online, Union Bank of the Philippines’ online payment, Globe G-Cash, and PesoNet.

PesoNet is a real-time electronic payment system and is one of two automated clearing houses under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ National Retail Payment System.

The Department of Finance said revenues collected by the BIR through electronic channels reached P1.2 billion in 2019, up by 92 percent compared to the P626.35 million in the previous year.

David said taxpayers who submitted their income tax returns reached 60 percent of the total as of last year and this is targeted to increase in the coming years since the agency aims to be fully digital by 2030.

The BIR-PayMaya partnership also enables taxpayers to earn a cashback when they pay their taxes with PayMaya.

Account holders who will pay their BIR taxes via PayMaya on February 15, 16, 22, 23, and 29 are entitled to a one-time P100 cashback if their BIR payment is among the first three unique biller payments made during the promo period. They have to pay at least P1,000 for their tax payment to qualify for the bills payment promo for February.

To pay your taxes via PayMaya, simply follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your PayMaya account and click on the “Pay Bills” option.
  2. Look for the BIR logo or type BIR in the search box
  3. Enter all pertinent details for your tax payment, including your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), Branch Code, Amount, Revenue District Office (RDO) Code, Form Series, Form Type, Tax Type, and Return Period.
  4. Finally, enter the email address where you want to receive the receipt for your payment.
  5. Verify the information you entered and click “Pay”.

A notification will be sent via the app, via SMS, as well as via the email address you entered as proof of your payment. – with Joann Villanueva (PNA)

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