BIR Form 1702-RT vs 1702-EX vs 1702-MX: Which Corporate Income Tax Return Applies to Your Company?

A corporation’s Annual Income Tax Return comes in three BIR Form 1702 variants, and which one applies depends on how the corporation’s income is taxed: BIR Form 1702-RT for income taxed at the regular corporate rate, BIR Form 1702-EX for corporations exempt from income tax with no other taxable income, and BIR Form 1702-MX for corporations with mixed income taxed at more than one rate in the same year. Picking the wrong variant is a common, avoidable filing mistake for corporations with incentive-registered activities or exempt status alongside ordinary income.

BIR Form 1700 vs 1701 vs 1701A vs 1702 explains how 1702 fits alongside the individual income tax returns at a high level. This guide drills into the three corporate sub-variants specifically — the distinction that actually determines which form a corporation, partnership, or other non-individual taxpayer files.

Which 1702 variant matches your company’s income type? #

The three 1702 variants are distinguished by tax treatment, not by company size or industry — a large corporation and a small one can both file 1702-RT if all their income is taxed at the regular rate. The table below summarizes the split.

When do you file BIR Form 1702-RT? #

BIR Form 1702-RT is the standard corporate return for a company whose income is subject only to the regular corporate income tax rate under the Tax Code, with no income taxed at a special or preferential rate. This is the most commonly used of the three variants because most ordinary domestic corporations — a trading company, a service provider, a manufacturer with no incentive registration — fall squarely into it. If every peso of taxable income a corporation earns is subject to the same regular rate, 1702-RT is the correct return; there is no mixed-rate computation to segregate.

When do you file BIR Form 1702-EX? #

BIR Form 1702-EX is filed by corporations, partnerships, and other non-individual taxpayers that are exempt from income tax under Section 30 of the Tax Code or under a special law, and that have no other taxable income. Typical filers include certain non-stock, non-profit organizations, some cooperatives, and other entities whose exempt status under the Tax Code or a special law covers the entirety of their activity. Many exempt entities still file 1702-EX even though no tax is due — it functions as a compliance and record-keeping filing that documents the exempt income for the BIR, not merely an optional formality.

An exempt entity that also earns income outside its exempt purpose — say, incidental income taxed at the regular rate — no longer fits 1702-EX’s “no other taxable income” scope and moves into 1702-MX instead, since it now has income under two different tax treatments.

When do you file BIR Form 1702-MX? #

BIR Form 1702-MX is filed by corporations earning income subject to multiple tax rates or tax treatments within the same taxable year — most commonly companies with both regular-rate income and income registered for a special or preferential rate, such as an incentive-registered enterprise that also has non-registered activity. Because the return has to segregate income streams taxed differently, 1702-MX includes additional schedules that 1702-RT and 1702-EX don’t need, letting the corporation compute regular-rate tax on one portion of income and the special/preferential rate on another within a single annual return.

Common 1702-MX scenarios:

• A PEZA-registered enterprise with both PEZA-registered income (taxed at a special/preferential rate, such as the 5% tax on gross income earned in lieu of other national and local taxes) and non-registered income (taxed at the regular corporate rate)
• A corporation receiving both regular-rate income and income subject to a special rate under another special law or incentive scheme
• An otherwise-exempt entity that also earns regular-rate income outside its exempt activity

Worked example: a PEZA-registered enterprise with mixed income #

A PEZA-registered electronics exporter earns ₱80,000,000 in gross income from its registered export activity — taxed at the special 5% rate on gross income in lieu of national and local taxes under its PEZA incentive — and separately earns ₱6,000,000 from a domestic consulting engagement that falls outside its registered activity and is taxed at the regular corporate income tax rate.

Because this enterprise has income taxed under two different regimes in the same year, it cannot use 1702-RT (which assumes all income is regular-rate) or 1702-EX (which assumes no other taxable income beyond an exempt activity). BIR Form 1702-MX is built specifically to let it report both income streams, and the taxes computed on each, within one return.

Frequently asked questions #

What is the difference between BIR Form 1702-RT, 1702-EX, and 1702-MX? #

BIR Form 1702-RT is filed by corporations whose income is taxed at the regular corporate income tax rate. BIR Form 1702-EX is filed by corporations exempt from income tax under the Tax Code or a special law, with no other taxable income. BIR Form 1702-MX is filed by corporations with mixed income subject to multiple tax rates in the same taxable year, such as both regular-rate and special/preferential-rate income.

Who files BIR Form 1702-RT? #

BIR Form 1702-RT is filed by corporations, partnerships, and other non-individual taxpayers whose income is subject only to the regular corporate income tax rate under the Tax Code, without any income taxed at a special or preferential rate.

Who files BIR Form 1702-EX? #

BIR Form 1702-EX is filed by corporations, partnerships, and other non-individual taxpayers that are exempt from income tax under Section 30 of the Tax Code or under a special law, and that have no other income subject to income tax, such as certain non-stock non-profit organizations and cooperatives with no other taxable income.

Who files BIR Form 1702-MX? #

BIR Form 1702-MX is filed by corporations earning mixed income subject to multiple tax rates or tax treatments in the same taxable year, such as a PEZA-registered enterprise with both PEZA-registered income taxed at a special or preferential rate and non-registered income taxed at the regular corporate rate.

Does a PEZA-registered company always file BIR Form 1702-MX? #

Not always. A PEZA-registered enterprise with only PEZA-registered activities and no other taxable income generally falls under a different variant depending on its incentive; it is specifically when a PEZA-registered enterprise also earns income outside its registered activity — taxed at the regular corporate rate alongside its incentive-rate income — that BIR Form 1702-MX applies.

What happens if a corporation files the wrong 1702 variant? #

Filing the wrong 1702 variant for your corporation’s actual income mix can result in the return being treated as improperly filed for that income category, which risks late-filing exposure once the mismatch is identified and the correct variant is filed, so confirming the right form before filing is worth the extra check.

Summary #

Choosing between BIR Form 1702-RT, 1702-EX, and 1702-MX comes down to how your corporation’s income is actually taxed: 1702-RT for regular-rate income only, 1702-EX for exempt corporations with no other taxable income, and 1702-MX for corporations juggling multiple tax rates — most commonly incentive-registered enterprises like PEZA locators with both registered and non-registered income streams. For the broader picture of how 1702 fits alongside the individual ITR forms, see BIR Form 1700 vs 1701 vs 1701A vs 1702, and if your corporation is subject to the regular rate, check whether the Minimum Corporate Income Tax applies to your computation as well.