BIR Form 1701 Attachments: What to Submit With Your Annual Income Tax Return

Filing BIR Form 1701 is only half the job — what you attach to it determines whether the return holds up under review. A self-employed individual or mixed-income earner claiming creditable withholding tax (CWT) attaches a SAWT built from BIR Form 2307 certificates; depending on gross sales or receipts for the year, either full audited financial statements or the simpler Account Information Form; and records tying the year’s BIR Form 1701Q payments to the annual computation.

This guide is a practical checklist for BIR Form 1701 attachments specifically — not which ITR form to file (see BIR Form 1700 vs 1701A vs 1701 vs 1702) or how CWT crediting works generally (see How to Claim CWT Credit With BIR Form 2307), but what a filer actually needs in hand before submitting the return.

What must you attach to BIR Form 1701? #

Four categories of attachment cover nearly every BIR Form 1701 filer: a SAWT and supporting BIR Form 2307 certificates for any CWT claimed, either audited financial statements or the Account Information Form depending on gross sales, and proof of the year’s quarterly BIR Form 1701Q payments. Which of these actually apply depends on your income, deduction method, and gross receipts — not every filer needs all four.

When do you need audited financial statements versus the Account Information Form? #

The dividing line is ₱3,000,000 in gross sales, receipts, earnings, or output for the taxable year. Under Section 232 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended by the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963), a taxpayer whose gross sales, earnings, receipts, or output exceeds that figure must have its books examined and its financial statements certified by an independent, BIR-accredited certified public accountant. This raised threshold replaced the older, much lower figures under the pre-TRAIN NIRC, so a filer relying on an outdated rule of thumb should confirm ₱3,000,000 is still the operative number for the year being filed.

Below ₱3,000,000, a self-employed individual or professional filing BIR Form 1701 generally completes the Account Information Form (AIF) — a condensed balance sheet and income statement summary built into the return itself — instead of commissioning a full CPA audit. A taxpayer above the threshold attaches the CPA-certified AFS together with a signed Statement of Management’s Responsibility. For the mechanics of electronically submitting either package, see What Is the BIR eAFS System?, which covers the eAFS portal, file-naming rules, and the RMCs behind it in full.

Is SAWT required with BIR Form 1701? #

Yes — whenever creditable withholding tax is claimed as a credit on BIR Form 1701, a SAWT must accompany the return, listing every payor, ATC, income payment, and tax withheld that ties back to a BIR Form 2307 certificate on file. This requirement comes from Revenue Regulations No. 2-2006, which made SAWT mandatory precisely so the BIR can see the certificate summary behind a claimed credit rather than taking the claimed total on faith.

A filer with no BIR Form 2307 certificates for the year — for instance, an estate with only rental income not subject to withholding — has no CWT credit to support and therefore no SAWT to attach. But for the far more common case of a self-employed professional or mixed-income earner who received certificates during the year, skipping the SAWT (or filing one that doesn’t tie to the certificates) is one of the most common reasons a claimed credit gets questioned. See SAWT Reconciliation: Matching Your SAWT to Your BIR Form 2307 Certificates for the row-by-row reconciliation steps before you file.

How do your BIR Form 1701Q payments carry over to the annual return? #

BIR Form 1701 is a true-up, not a fresh computation: full-year tax due is netted against tax already paid with the first three quarters’ BIR Form 1701Q filings, plus any BIR Form 2307 credits already applied in those quarterly returns. The annual return’s tax-credit section exists specifically to absorb these prior payments and credits — the pattern is the same one BIR Form 1701Q itself uses internally to carry a taxpayer’s earlier-quarter payments and BIR Form 2307 credits into each later quarter, so nothing gets counted twice and nothing gets missed.

In practice, this means keeping the filed copy (or eFPS/eBIRForms confirmation) and proof of payment for every BIR Form 1701Q covering Q1 through Q3, alongside the BIR Form 2307 certificates already used as credits in those returns. Without that record, an annual return risks either overstating tax already paid — inviting a BIR inquiry — or double-counting a BIR Form 2307 certificate that was already credited in an earlier quarter. See How to File BIR Form 1701Q for how those quarterly credits are computed in the first place.

How are BIR Form 1701 attachments actually submitted? #

Attachments generally move electronically, not on paper handed across an RDO counter. Audited financial statements, the Account Information Form, the Statement of Management’s Responsibility, and BIR Form 1709 (where required) are submitted through the BIR’s eAFS (Electronic Audited Financial Statements) portal as PDF files, within the window the BIR sets each filing season — the standing rule is 15 calendar days from the statutory ITR deadline, or 15 days from the actual filing date if the return itself was filed late. For the 2025 tax year, Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 20-2026 set the annual ITR filing rules, and Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 46-2026 (May 18, 2026) prescribed the corresponding eAFS submission window and briefly extended it for taxpayers who hit system issues near the deadline — a reminder that filers should confirm the current year’s exact eAFS dates rather than assuming a prior year’s schedule repeats.

SAWT follows a separate but parallel path: the DAT file built from your BIR Form 2307 certificates is submitted through the BIR’s SAWT/eSubmission facility rather than delivered manually, a mechanic Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 82-2020 extended to quarterly and annual income tax return attachments alike. Manual, in-person submission at the RDO is generally reserved for cases where the BIR has officially announced an electronic channel is unavailable, not as a routine alternative for filers who simply prefer paper.

Worked example: an architect assembling her BIR Form 1701 attachments #

A self-employed architect who elects itemized deductions files BIR Form 1701 rather than 1701A — even with no compensation income, choosing itemized deductions over the Optional Standard Deduction takes her out of 1701A’s narrower scope, as covered in BIR Form 1700 vs 1701A vs 1701 vs 1702.

Say Reyna, a self-employed architect, reports ₱2,500,000 in gross receipts for the year. That figure sits below the ₱3,000,000 threshold, so she completes the Account Information Form built into BIR Form 1701 rather than commissioning a full CPA audit. During the year she received three BIR Form 2307 certificates from clients who withheld tax on her professional fees:

Before filing, Reyna builds a SAWT with three rows that reproduce these payor TINs, ATCs, income amounts, and withheld amounts — reconciling it against the certificates the same way described in SAWT Reconciliation — and claims ₱90,000 as CWT on her BIR Form 1701. She also pulls her three filed BIR Form 1701Q copies and payment confirmations for Q1–Q3, confirming the tax and BIR Form 2307 credits already applied in those quarters so her annual computation nets correctly rather than double-counting. She e-files BIR Form 1701 through eBIRForms, then submits her SAWT DAT file through the SAWT/eSubmission facility and her Account Information Form package through eAFS within the prescribed window — no in-person RDO visit required.

Frequently asked questions #

What has to be attached to BIR Form 1701? #

A complete BIR Form 1701 filing typically includes a Summary Alphalist of Withholding Taxes (SAWT) and the underlying BIR Form 2307 certificates if creditable withholding tax is claimed, either audited financial statements or the Account Information Form depending on gross sales or receipts for the year, and records of BIR Form 1701Q payments made during the first three quarters.

Do I need audited financial statements to file BIR Form 1701? #

Only if your gross sales, receipts, earnings, or output for the taxable year exceeded ₱3,000,000, per Section 232 of the National Internal Revenue Code as amended by the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963). Below that threshold, the Account Information Form built into the return generally takes the place of a full independent CPA audit.

Is SAWT required with BIR Form 1701? #

SAWT is required whenever a taxpayer claims creditable withholding tax as a credit on BIR Form 1701, under Revenue Regulations No. 2-2006. If you have no BIR Form 2307 certificates to claim for the year, there is no CWT credit to support and no SAWT to attach.

How do I prove my BIR Form 1701Q payments when filing the annual return? #

Keep the filed copies (or eFPS/eBIRForms confirmation) and proof of payment for each BIR Form 1701Q covering the first three quarters of the year, since the annual BIR Form 1701 nets full-year tax due against tax already paid and BIR Form 2307 credits already used in those quarterly returns.

How do I submit BIR Form 1701 attachments if I e-filed? #

Attachments such as audited financial statements, the Account Information Form, and SAWT are generally submitted electronically — audited financial statements and related schedules through the BIR’s eAFS portal, and SAWT through the SAWT/eSubmission facility — rather than delivered in person to the Revenue District Office, within the window the BIR prescribes each filing season.

Summary #

Assembling BIR Form 1701 attachments comes down to three questions: did you claim CWT (then SAWT and your BIR Form 2307 certificates go with it, per RR No. 2-2006); did your gross sales or receipts cross ₱3,000,000 for the year (then audited financial statements replace the simpler Account Information Form, per NIRC Sec. 232 as amended by the TRAIN Law); and can you show what you already paid through BIR Form 1701Q during the first three quarters. Submit electronically — eAFS for financial-statement attachments, the SAWT/eSubmission facility for your SAWT — within the window the BIR sets each filing season, since dates shift year to year. For the broader CWT-crediting mechanics behind the SAWT attachment, see How to Claim CWT Credit With BIR Form 2307.