BIR Form 2307 for Corporate Training Providers, Facilitators, and Conference Speakers

A company or organization that pays a freelance corporate trainer, facilitator, or conference speaker a fee for conducting an in-house seminar, workshop, or event session is the withholding agent on that fee and must withhold 5% or 10% expanded withholding tax (EWT) — or 10%/15% if the payee is a training corporation — under Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2018, then issue BIR Form 2307. The rule follows the same professional and talent fee bracket used for consultants; there is no separate “speaker fee” category.

This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. For the underlying rate table this rule draws from, see BIR Form 2307 for Professional Fees; for the closely related but distinct scenario of an individual tutor teaching students rather than a company sending staff to training, see BIR Form 2307 for Tutors and Review Center Instructors; for how a trainer or speaker locks in the lower rate, see BIR Sworn Declaration for Lower Withholding.

Who is the withholding agent when a company hires a corporate trainer or speaker? #

The paying company or organization — not the employees who attend the session — is the withholding agent, because it is the party that engages and pays the outside trainer, facilitator, or speaker for a service. This is a B2B professional-development arrangement, distinct from an individual tutor being paid to teach a student: the audience here is a company’s own workforce or conference attendees, and the payor is the business budgeting for the engagement, not a parent or individual learner.

Common corporate training and speaking arrangements that trigger withholding:

• A company hires a freelance HR or leadership consultant to run a one-day in-house seminar for its managers.
• An association or event organizer pays an outside keynote speaker a fee for a conference session.
• A business engages a certified trainer to deliver a technical workshop (e.g., safety, compliance, or software training) to its staff.
• A company contracts a training and development corporation, rather than an individual, to run a multi-session program.

In every case, the company or organizing entity is the payor of a professional or talent fee and is required to withhold, remit, and issue BIR Form 2307 to the trainer, facilitator, or speaker.

Individual freelance trainer or speaker vs. training corporation: which rate applies? #

The withholding rate turns on whether the payee is an individual or a corporation, and on that payee’s income level for the year — the same test used for any other professional fee under RR No. 11-2018. A freelance trainer or speaker operating as a sole proprietor or self-employed individual falls under the individual bracket; a training and development company, consultancy firm, or event-speaking agency organized as a corporation falls under the corporate bracket.

These are the same ATC codes and thresholds covered in BIR Form 2307 for Professional Fees; a corporate trainer’s or speaker’s fee does not get its own separate ATC. Most training corporations that regularly run multi-client programs exceed the ₱720,000 threshold well within the year, so 15% is the common case once a training vendor has been in the market a full quarter or two.

Does a sworn declaration change the rate for a freelance trainer? #

An individual freelance trainer, facilitator, or speaker who wants the company to withhold 5% instead of the 10% default files the same Annex B-1 sworn declaration used by any other individual professional under RR No. 11-2018. Without a valid declaration on file confirming non-VAT status and gross income at or below ₱3,000,000, the paying company should default to withholding at 10% for that engagement rather than assume the lower rate applies. See BIR Sworn Declaration for Lower Withholding for the annex, the January 15 filing window, and what happens if it is missed.

Worked example: a freelance leadership trainer’s one-day in-house seminar #

A mid-sized company engages an independent HR and leadership trainer to run a one-day in-house seminar for its department heads, agreeing on a flat fee of ₱50,000. The trainer operates as a self-employed individual, is non-VAT registered, and has submitted Annex B-1 confirming gross income for the year is well under ₱3,000,000.

• Gross training fee: ₱50,000
• Sworn declaration (Annex B-1) on file: yes
• Applicable rate: 5%
• ATC code: WI010
• EWT withheld: ₱2,500
• Net amount paid to the trainer: ₱47,500

The company pays the trainer ₱47,500 in cash, remits the ₱2,500 withheld through BIR Form 0619-E monthly and BIR Form 1601-EQ quarterly, and issues BIR Form 2307 showing ₱50,000 in income payments, ATC WI010, and ₱2,500 in tax withheld. The trainer credits that amount against income tax due when filing BIR Form 1701 or reports it through SAWT.

If the company had instead engaged a training and development corporation to run the same seminar, and that corporation’s gross income for the year already exceeded ₱720,000, ATC WC011 at 15% would apply instead — ₱7,500 withheld on the same ₱50,000 fee, leaving the corporation ₱42,500 net, purely because the payee type and income tier changed the applicable ATC.

Frequently asked questions #

Does a company have to withhold tax when paying a corporate trainer or conference speaker? #

Yes. A company or organization that pays a freelance trainer, facilitator, or speaker a fee for conducting an in-house seminar, workshop, or conference session is a withholding agent on that professional fee and must withhold expanded withholding tax under Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018, then issue BIR Form 2307.

What withholding rate applies to a freelance corporate trainer’s fee? #

An individual freelance trainer, facilitator, or speaker is withheld at 5% if cumulative gross income from that payor for the current year does not exceed P3,000,000 and the trainer is non-VAT registered, or 10% otherwise, under the same professional and talent fee bracket in RR No. 11-2018 that applies to consultants.

What rate applies if the training is provided by a corporation instead of an individual? #

If the payee is a training company, consultancy firm, or other corporation rather than an individual freelancer, the corporate professional-fee rate applies instead: 10% if the corporation’s gross income for the year does not exceed P720,000, or 15% if it exceeds that amount.

Does a sworn declaration matter for a trainer’s or speaker’s fee? #

Yes. An individual trainer or speaker who wants the lower 5% rate instead of the 10% default generally files Annex B-1 with the paying company, the same sworn declaration mechanism used for other professional and talent fees under RR No. 11-2018.

Is an employee sent to represent the company at a conference covered by BIR Form 2307? #

No. BIR Form 2307 covers fees paid to an outside individual or entity engaged to provide training or speaking services. An employee’s own salary, and any per diem or allowance processed through payroll, is covered by withholding tax on compensation and BIR Form 2316, not Form 2307.

Summary #

A company or organization paying a freelance corporate trainer, facilitator, or conference speaker withholds under the same 5%/10% individual professional-fee bracket used for any other consultant under RR No. 11-2018 — or the 10%/15% corporate bracket when the payee is a training company rather than an individual — and issues BIR Form 2307 as proof. The distinguishing fact is who the audience is: a business paying for its own staff’s professional development or a conference audience, not a student or a parent, which is what separates this scenario from BIR Form 2307 for Tutors and Review Center Instructors. Getting the sworn declaration on file and matching the ATC code to the payee type keeps the certificate correct on both sides of the engagement.