BIR stopped collecting the ₱500 Annual Registration Fee (ARF) on 22 January 2024, under RA 11976, the Ease of Paying Taxes Act. RMC 14-2024 says business taxpayers no longer file Form 0605 or pay the ₱500, for a new business or a yearly renewal. Your old Certificate of Registration stays valid even if it shows the fee.[1,2]
Outdated advice
Pay the ₱500 BIR Annual Registration Fee using Form 0605 every January, and when registering a new business.
Now: BIR stopped collecting the ARF on 22 January 2024 under RA 11976. No Form 0605 is filed for it, for a new business or for renewal.[2,1]
What changed and when
BIR's Primary Registration FAQ states plainly that it ceased to collect the Annual Registration Fee effective 22 January 2024. RMC 14-2024, issued on 24 January 2024, explains that business taxpayers are exempt from filing BIR Form 0605 and paying the ₱500 ARF, both for new businesses and for annual renewal.[2,1]
The Philippine Information Agency reported the waiver on 15 January 2024, a week before it took effect, noting that taxpayers would no longer need to file Form 0605 for the fee.[3]
Why so many guides still mention it
For years, every January checklist included "pay ₱500 ARF using Form 0605 on or before January 31". Blogs, YouTube videos and printed handouts from before 2024 still repeat it, and some fixers still ask for it. If someone asks you for ₱500 for BIR registration renewal, ask for the legal basis and an official BIR receipt; there is no such fee now.
Example: a bigasan owner in Nueva Ecija who paid ₱500 every January until 2023 does nothing with BIR in January 2027 except the 2551Q due on 25 January if she pays percentage tax. There is no registration payment.
What you still pay BIR to register
BIR registration is done once, before you start your business. The only registration charge is the ₱30 loose documentary stamp tax affixed to the Certificate of Registration.[2]
That ₱30 is a one-time stamp, not a yearly fee. After that, what you owe BIR is tax on your sales or income, filed on the regular quarterly and annual returns. See the 2027 tax calendar.
Do you need a new Certificate of Registration?
No. RR 11-2024 says a COR keeps its validity even though the Registration Fee is printed on it, and taxpayers are no longer required to pay the ARF. You do not need to visit the RDO to replace it just because of the old fee line.[4]
Keep displaying the original COR as before. If an inspector or customer points to the ₱500 line, show them this rule or the BIR FAQ. Update your COR only when other details change, such as a new address, a new branch or a different tax type.[4]
Before and after 22 January 2024
Questions people ask
- Do I still pay ₱500 to BIR every January?
- No. BIR ceased to collect the Annual Registration Fee effective 22 January 2024.
- Do I still file Form 0605 for registration?
- Not for the ARF. RMC 14-2024 says business taxpayers are exempt from filing Form 0605 and paying the ₱500 ARF.
- My COR still shows the registration fee. Is it still valid?
- Yes. RR 11-2024 says the COR keeps its validity even though the Registration Fee is shown on it.
- Does this change my mayor's permit renewal?
- No. The mayor's permit is a city requirement with its own fees and January deadline set by each city. Only the BIR registration fee was removed. See the renewal checklist for the city side.
- Is BIR registration now completely free?
- Registration has no fee, but BIR still requires a ₱30 documentary stamp tax on the Certificate of Registration.
What to do now
- Remove the January ₱500 BIR payment from your calendar
- Keep your old COR on display; it is still valid
- Refuse requests to pay an ARF, and ask for the legal basis
- Budget ₱30 only when you register a new business or branch
- Keep filing your quarterly and annual returns on time
Sources
Checked 13 November 2026. We link the agency's own page for every requirement. Rules change; confirm with the office before you pay.
- Digest of Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 14-2024 · Bureau of Internal Revenue · 24 January 2024
- Primary Registration · Bureau of Internal Revenue
- BIR waives annual registration fee for business taxpayers · Philippine Information Agency · 15 January 2024
- Digest of Revenue Regulations No. 11-2024 · Bureau of Internal Revenue · 13 June 2024