All You Need to Know About the Form 2316 in 2023

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issues several forms that employers and sometimes employees should submit when filing for income taxes, withholding taxes, or similar payments. These forms include the BIR Form 2316, an important document you should learn about as an employee.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll take you through the basics of this form—what it is, who can file the document, and more.

Form 2316, or the Certificate of Compensation Payment or Tax Withheld, shows your gross income and the corresponding taxes withheld by your employer throughout the year. The document looks like this:

Your employer must fill out Form 2316 for each employee receiving salaries, wages, and other types of compensation. When accomplishing the form, they should provide the total compensation you received and taxes withheld for the calendar year.

If you meet the following requirements, your employer will file your Form 2316 on your behalf (known as substituted filing).

1. You get purely compensation income for your work, regardless of how much it is.
2. You worked for only one employer during the calendar year.
3. Your employer has withheld your taxes properly.

Your company must submit a duplicate Form 2316 and a certified list of qualified employees with their names, Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs), compensation incomes, taxes due, and taxes withheld to the BIR. It may ask your HR department or an outsourced payroll service provider to file your Form 2316.

Most importantly, your employer should prepare three copies of the form: one for you, one for the BIR, and one for them. They must keep the employer’s copy for 10 years.

The BIR requires your employer to file this document to monitor their compliance. Once your organization submits everyone’s Form 2316, the agency collects and examines employee information to ensure it taxes the company properly.

Also, your employer should provide you with this form if you change employers within the year. Your new company can then calculate your tax withheld for the rest of the year.

If you’re applying for credit cards, loans, visas, or something similar, Form 2316 shows authorities your financial capacity. Some government agencies and private organizations may also require this document for specific applications.

You can download this document from the BIR website. Click the “Certificates” link under the BIR Forms section on the BIR Forms page, then scroll down to the fourth row. You should see download links to the form’s Excel and PDF versions in this section.

If you can’t download Form 2316, your employer may give you a printed copy to accomplish. The companies you’ve worked for should issue you the form every year.

You can ask your previous employer to give you a copy of Form 2316 on the day of your last compensation or final pay. But if they reject your request, discuss this rule with them. Otherwise, contact the BIR for your next steps.

First, your employer must specify the correct year and period. They’ll find these sections at the top of the form after its title.

For the “FROM” part, the date can be January 1 if you already work for your employer. It can also be your hire date if you’ve just joined the company.

Meanwhile, December 31 is the date for Form 2316’s “TO” section. It applies if you’re a current or former employee.

After completing the section above, your employer must fill up the form’s five main sections. Let’s look at each section in more detail.

As the title suggests, Part I requires your personal information. The required fields for this section include:

• Item 3 – Your TIN
• Item 4 – Your full name (first, middle, and last name)
• Item 5 – Your Revenue District Office’s code number
• Items 6 & 6A – Your registered address and ZIP code
• Item 7 – Your birth date in the MM/DD/YY (month/day/year) format
• Item 8 – Your contact number

Your employer should only accomplish items 6B, 6C, and 6D if applicable. Items 9 to 11 apply if you’re a minimum wage earner.

Your present employer provides their details in this section. Items 12 to 15 require your company’s TIN, name, registered address, ZIP code, and type of employer, which your employer can get from BIR Form 2303.

For item 15, your employer indicates whether they’re your main or secondary employer. They should choose “Main Employer” if you’re a full-time employee or “Secondary Employer” if you’re a part-time worker.

This section includes your previous employer’s TIN, name, registered address, and ZIP code. Your employer should accomplish these items if you provided them with your Form 2316 from your previous company.

More importantly, your employer should ensure correct information for this section.

Part IV-A shows your financial summary. Here are the fields your employer must complete for this section.

• Items 19 to 21 specify where your employer should get the figures from.
• Item 22 indicates how much taxable compensation income your previous employer gave you. Your current employer can fill this item out if they have a copy of your previous Form 2316.
• Item 23 is the sum of items 21 and 22.
• Item 24 specifies your tax due based on your taxable income.
• Item 25 contains two fields:
  • Item 25A indicates the taxes withheld by your present employer.
  • Item 25B indicates the taxes withheld by your previous employer.
• Item 26 should show the sum of items 25A and 25B. It serves as your total taxes withheld as adjusted.
• Item 27 indicates the 5% tax credit. Contributors to the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) are entitled to this benefit.
• Finally, item 28 specifies your total taxes withheld. Your employer gets the amount by adding items 26 and 27.

Part IV-B is divided into three sections: non-taxable or exempt compensation income, taxable income compensation (regular), and supplementary.

Items 29 to 33 only apply if you receive the minimum wage for your work. Otherwise, your employer must fill out items 34 to 38, which include your 13th-month pay, mandatory contributions, and total non-taxable or exempt compensation income.

The taxable compensation income sections contain items 39 to 44B. Here, your employer specifies everything from your basic salary to other types of taxable compensation income.

As for the supplementary section, it should show the corresponding amounts for commissions, profit-sharing, and other types of applicable income. Your employer should also indicate the sum of items 39 to 51B or your total taxable compensation income.

After accomplishing all main sections, you and your employer must sign the form. Your employer signs on item 53, while you sign on item 54.

Moreover, remember to indicate the date signed, your Community Tax Certificate (CTC) or ID number, place of issue, and date issued.

Lastly, items 55 and 56 apply if you qualify for substituted filing.

Your employer gives you this document on or before January 31 of the following year. But if you resign, you should receive a copy when your employer pays you your last amount of compensation.

After signing your Form 2316, your employer will collect and file it with the BIR before February 28 every year. The agency encourages taxpaying companies to submit scanned copies of the form on a USB flash drive or similar device instead of a DVD-R disc.

BIR Form 2316 shows your annual taxable income and the correct taxes withheld by your employer. Yet, manual processes and disorganized files make tax computations challenging.

Sprout’s digital HR and payroll management system helps you ensure correct calculations and streamline employee data management. Contact us today for more details about the comprehensive Sprout Ecosystem, or get more legal updates from our blog.