Bureau of Internal Revenue(BIR)

Hi. I would like to request a copy of at least one of my ITR forms or Cert of Tax Withheld from a previous employer (based in Sto Tomas Batangas) from 2015-2018. My RDO is in Lipa. I am unsure if I had claim a copy of it in the past or had lost it. I have reached out to my previous employer and it has been almost a month now yet to no avail. This is in compliance of my visa application.

Hope you can respond ASAP as I am already in a tight deadline. Thank you.

February 21, 2023

Dear Ms. Arbolado:

Greetings!

Thank you for your request dated Feb 20, 2023 under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch.

Your request

You asked for Urgent: Copy of Income Tax Return and/or BIR Form 2316 (Certificate of Tax Withheld).

Response to your request

In connection with your request through eFOI Portal pertaining to the request for a copy of BIR Form 2316 as a Substitute Income Tax Return for Taxable Year/s 2015 to 2018.

Please be informed that such request cannot be granted by the Revenue District Office (RDO) since the aforesaid BIR Withholding Tax Certificates were issued in 2015 to 2018 and records of the RDO on those periods are already unavailable since we follow strictly the four (4) year retention period based on existing revenue issuances of the BIR (Revenue Memorandum Circular 73-2008).

Hence, you may ask your previous employer/s for the copy/ies of your Certificate of Compensation Payment/ Tax Withheld (BIR Form 2316) because all taxpayers are required to preserve their accounting records for the period of 10 years in accordance with the Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 29-2019.

Thank you.

Respectfully yours,

FOI Receiving Officer
Public Information and Education Division