How to register your business with BIR

When you must register: the 30-day rule

BIR says self-employed individuals and corporations register on or before the commencement of business. Commencement is the day of your first sale, or 30 calendar days after the city issues your mayor's permit, DTI issues your business name certificate or the SEC issues your certificate of registration, whichever comes first. A person who does not register within those 30 days, or by the first sale, has violated the rule.^[7]

For a sole proprietor, the DTI certificate usually comes first, so the 30 days usually start there. Example: DTI issues your certificate on 1 March. BIR is due by 31 March, or earlier if you make your first sale before then, even if your mayor's permit only comes out in April.^[7]

You do not need to wait for the city. BIR removed the mayor's permit as one of the mandatory requirements for registering a new business. Kaya pagkatanggap mo ng DTI certificate, puwede ka nang mag-BIR.^[6]

Which BIR form do you use: 1901 or 1903?

BIR splits applicants by who owns the business. Self-employed and mixed-income individuals, which covers sole proprietors and freelancers, register with BIR Form 1901. Corporations, partnerships, cooperatives and associations register with BIR Form 1903. If you file on paper at the RDO, bring two originals of the form.^[1]

A sari-sari store, carinderia or online shop owned by one person is a 1901 case even if it has a DTI business name. A One Person Corporation is registered with the SEC, so it is a 1903 case. See Form 1901 and Form 1903 for field-by-field notes.

What to prepare before you apply

For an individual, BIR asks for any government-issued ID that shows your name, address and birthdate, such as a PhilID or ePhilID, passport or driver's license. If you use a business name, add a photocopy of your DTI certificate. The mayor's permit is no longer a mandatory requirement. A registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprise adds its Certificate of Authority.^[1,6]

BIR also asks how you will issue invoices. You can buy BIR Printed Invoices at the New Business Registrant Counter, or submit a final, clear sample of your own invoices printed by an accredited printer. Before a printer can print invoices for you, you need an Authority to Print, and BIR charges no fee for it.^[1,3]

• Valid government ID (photocopy, or a selfie holding it if you apply online)
• DTI certificate, if you use a business name
• Your business address and the RDO that covers it
• Invoice plan: BIR Printed Invoices or a sample from an accredited printer
• ₱30 for the documentary stamp tax

How to register online through ORUS

BIR states that businesses registered online can generate and print the electronic Certificate of Registration after paying the ₱30 loose DST online. Books of accounts can be registered in ORUS, which generates a QR Stamp for the first page, and BIR lists no fee for registering books.^[1,3]

When you register, BIR classifies you as a micro, small, medium or large taxpayer based on what you declare in the registration form. Self-employed individuals can elect the 8% income tax rate at registration on Form 1901.^[4,5]

1. Create your ORUS accountGo to orus.bir.gov.ph, sign up with an email address you check often, and confirm the account.
2. Fill in the registrationChoose the registration for your taxpayer type (individual or non-individual), enter your business address and the line of business, and upload your ID and supporting documents.
3. Choose your tax typesState whether you expect sales above or below ₱3,000,000 and whether you want the 8% income tax option. Your answers set your tax types and your size classification.
4. Pay the ₱30 stampPay the documentary stamp tax online. This is the only charge for registration.
5. Print your Certificate of RegistrationAfter payment, generate and print your electronic Certificate of Registration (Form 2303) and display it at your store.
6. Register your booksRegister your books of accounts in ORUS. The system gives you a QR Stamp to paste on the first page of each book.

Where to register if you go in person

All taxpayers register with the RDO that has jurisdiction over the head office, branch, place of production or storage place. If you open a second branch later, the branch registers too and gets its own Certificate of Registration.^[1]

Example: a milk tea kiosk owner who lives in Cainta but runs the kiosk in a Pasig mall registers with the RDO that covers the Pasig address, because that is where the business operates. Ask the RDO's officer of the day which counter handles new business registrants before you queue.

What happens after you register

You register only once, on or before the start of business. There is no yearly BIR registration to renew. Your obligations from here are filing returns on time, issuing invoices for every sale and keeping your books up to date.^[1]

Most first-year owners with small sales file a quarterly percentage tax return and quarterly income tax returns, or pay 8% income tax instead of both. Read percentage tax, the 8% option and the 2027 tax calendar next.

What BIR registration costs

Questions people ask

Do I need to renew my BIR registration every year?

No. BIR says taxpayers register only once, before starting the business. What you renew yearly is your mayor's permit with the city, not your BIR registration.

How much does BIR registration cost?

The registration itself is free. You pay a ₱30 documentary stamp tax that goes on your Certificate of Registration.

How long does BIR registration take?

BIR says the Certificate of Registration is issued within the period in its Citizen's Charter, together with your Authority to Print and registered books. It does not give a number of days on its registration page, so ask your RDO.

Can I register with BIR before getting my mayor's permit?

Yes. BIR removed the mayor's permit as one of the mandatory requirements for a new business. Register once you have your DTI certificate. Waiting for the city can make you late, because BIR's 30 days can start on the day your DTI certificate is issued.