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The field guide

BIR Form 1701Q

Quarterly income tax return

Three times a year you tell the BIR what you earned that quarter and pay income tax as you go.

The official form

BIR Form 1701Q

Quarterly Income Tax Return

January 2018 (ENCS)

Download

Mirrored from bir.gov.ph so you can look at a blank copy without hunting the BIR site. File the real thing through eBIRForms, eFPS, or ORUS, not this copy.

Why this exists, and why it covers you

Section 74 of the Tax Code requires individuals earning income that no employer withholds to declare and pay it quarterly. It is the self-employed version of what happens to employees invisibly: their tax is prepaid out of every payslip, yours is prepaid through three quarterly returns.

The design protects both sides. The government gets revenue through the year instead of one April spike, and you never face twelve months of tax as a single bill. The annual return then becomes a small true-up instead of a cliff.

Who this is for

  • All registered self-employed people and professionals, whether on 8% or graduated rates
  • Mixed-income earners, employed plus freelance, for their business income

When

Q1 (Jan to Mar)
File and pay by May 15.
Q2 (Apr to Jun)
File and pay by August 15.
Q3 (Jul to Sep)
File and pay by November 15.
Q4
There is no Q4 quarterly return. The annual return (1701 or 1701A) covers it, due April 15.

How to do it

  1. 01File through eBIRForms or eFPS. Since EOPT you can file and pay anywhere: any accredited bank, GCash, Maya, MyEG, or the BIR portals.
  2. 02On the 8% option: gross receipts for the quarter, less the 250,000-peso annual allowance, times 8%.
  3. 03On graduated rates: gross less deductions (the 40% Optional Standard Deduction or itemized expenses), then the 0 to 35% bracket table, cumulative across quarters.
  4. 04Subtract creditable withholding tax from your 2307s. Keep the certificates.
  5. 05Save the confirmation email and payment reference in Documents.

What bites beginners

  • Zero income for the quarter? File anyway, marked no payment. Penalties come from not filing, never from not earning.
  • The quarters are cumulative. Each 1701Q carries year-to-date figures, not just the quarter's.
  • Late filing costs a 25% surcharge plus 12% annual interest. Filing on time with no cash to pay is still far cheaper than not filing.

Sources

Statute first, explainers second. When a link and the law disagree, the law wins.

Checked against BIR rules on

Related

BIR Form 1701ABIR Form 1701BIR Form 2551QBIR Form 2307

TAXKAYA tracks this deadline and computes the numbers this form asks for, from records you were keeping anyway.

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Practical guidance, not legal or tax advice. Written against the rules in force as of July 2026. Verify current dates on bir.gov.ph before filing.