What Is BIR Form 1800? Donor's Tax Return Rates, Deadlines, and Filing Requirements

BIR Form 1800 is the Donor’s Tax Return — the form a donor files to report and pay tax on gifts of cash, real property, shares, or other property given during the calendar year. Under NIRC Section 99, as amended by the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963) and implemented by Revenue Regulations No. 12-2018, donor’s tax is a flat 6% on total net gifts exceeding ₱250,000 per donor per calendar year, and the return is due within 30 days of the donation — a much tighter window than an annual income tax return.

This guide covers who must file BIR Form 1800, how the 6% tax is computed, the ₱250,000 annual exemption, and a worked example for a cash gift between family members. For the related one-time-transaction filings, see How to File BIR Form 1801: Estate Tax Return Requirements and Deadlines and BIR Form 1706: How to File Capital Gains Tax on Sale of Real Property.

Who must file BIR Form 1800, and what counts as a taxable gift? #

Any individual, corporation, or other entity that gives property — cash, real property, shares of stock, or any other asset — without adequate consideration must file BIR Form 1800 once total gifts for the calendar year exceed the ₱250,000 exemption. A “gift” for donor’s tax purposes is broader than a birthday present: it includes an outright cash transfer to a family member, a piece of land conveyed for less than its fair market value (the shortfall is itself a taxable gift under NIRC Section 100), and a waiver of an inheritance share in favor of a co-heir under specific conditions described in RMC No. 94-2021.

Donor’s tax applies regardless of the relationship between donor and recipient. Unlike the pre-TRAIN schedule, which taxed “strangers” (non-relatives) at a flat 30% and relatives on a graduated bracket, the current flat 6% rate applies uniformly once the exemption is exceeded — there is no lower rate for gifts to a spouse, child, or parent.

How is the 6% donor’s tax computed? #

The tax due is 6% of the total net gifts made during the calendar year that exceed ₱250,000 — the exemption is an annual threshold per donor, not per gift or per recipient. If a donor makes several separate gifts within the same calendar year, all of them are added together for purposes of the ₱250,000 exemption and the 6% computation; only the excess over ₱250,000 is taxed.

Worked example: A parent gives their adult child ₱1,000,000 in cash in March 2026 to help with a home down payment. No other gifts were made earlier in the year.

If that same parent had already given ₱200,000 earlier in the year to a different child, the two gifts would be combined (₱1,200,000 total), the ₱250,000 exemption applied once against the combined total, and the 6% computed on the remaining ₱950,000 — filed as an amended or supplemental return covering the full-year picture, since the exemption resets only at the start of the next calendar year.

When is BIR Form 1800 due, and where do you file it? #

BIR Form 1800 and the donor’s tax payment are due within 30 days after the date the gift is made — for cash, that is generally the date of transfer; for real property, the date of the notarized Deed of Donation. Missing this window triggers the same late-filing penalty stack as other BIR returns: a 25% surcharge under NIRC Section 248 (50% for willful neglect or fraud) plus 12% annual interest under NIRC Section 249.

A donor who does not yet have a TIN — for example, a retiree who has never registered a business — must first secure one using BIR Form 1904: How to Register as a One-Time Taxpayer before BIR Form 1800 can be filed. Donor’s tax also feeds into an eCAR requirement whenever the gift includes real property: the Registry of Deeds will not transfer title to the recipient until the BIR issues the Electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration, which requires a filed and paid BIR Form 1800.

Donor’s tax vs. estate tax: why the distinction matters #

Donor’s tax applies to a gift made while the donor is alive; estate tax applies to property transferred at death — the two are separate tax events with separate returns, and a lifetime gift does not reduce a later estate’s tax base under current law. A common point of confusion is assuming a gift made shortly before death should instead be reported as part of the estate; it should not, unless it falls within a specific rule the BIR treats as a transfer in contemplation of death under NIRC Section 85. For the death-triggered counterpart to this return, see How to File BIR Form 1801: Estate Tax Return Requirements and Deadlines.

Frequently asked questions #

What is BIR Form 1800? #

BIR Form 1800 is the Donor’s Tax Return, filed by a person who gives property, cash, or any other item of value as a gift during the calendar year, whenever the total net gifts for that year exceed the ₱250,000 exemption under NIRC Section 99, as amended by the TRAIN Law.

What is the donor’s tax rate in the Philippines? #

Donor’s tax is a flat 6% on the total net gifts made during a calendar year that exceed ₱250,000, regardless of the donor’s relationship to the recipient. This replaced the old graduated schedule, which taxed strangers at a flat 30% and relatives on a bracket running up to 15%, effective for donations made on or after January 1, 2018 under the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963) and Revenue Regulations No. 12-2018.

When is BIR Form 1800 due? #

BIR Form 1800 and the donor’s tax due must be filed within 30 days after the date the gift is made — not at year-end and not on the same schedule as income tax returns. Each separate donation date starts its own 30-day filing window.

Is a gift between spouses or to a child exempt from donor’s tax? #

No blanket exemption exists for gifts to relatives under the TRAIN Law’s flat-rate system — the P250,000 annual exemption applies per donor per calendar year regardless of who receives the gift. Certain gifts remain exempt on other grounds, such as donations to accredited nonstock, nonprofit institutions where administrative expenses do not exceed 30% of the gift, under NIRC Section 101.

Do I need a TIN before I can file BIR Form 1800? #

Yes. A donor who does not already have a Tax Identification Number registers first using BIR Form 1904, Application for Registration for One-Time Taxpayer and Persons Registering under E.O. 98, at the Revenue District Office with jurisdiction over the donor’s residence, before BIR Form 1800 can be filed.

Summary #

BIR Form 1800 reports a flat 6% donor’s tax on total net gifts exceeding ₱250,000 per calendar year, due within 30 days of each gift under NIRC Section 99 as amended by the TRAIN Law and implemented by RR No. 12-2018. The exemption is annual and per-donor, not per-gift, so multiple gifts in the same year must be combined when computing the tax. See BIR Form 1904 for the registration step a first-time donor needs before filing, and BIR Form 1801 for the separate return that applies to property transferred at death instead of during life. For how a special law’s tax exemption can survive the general transfer-tax rules, see CIR v. Estate of Romig in the Day in Court series.