BIR Form 2307 for Freelance Transcriptionists and Audio/Video Captioning Services
A Philippine business, law firm, or production company that pays a freelance transcriptionist or captioning provider for converting audio or video recordings into text generally withholds creditable tax and issues BIR Form 2307, the same professional/talent-fee treatment already covered for freelance writers and editors in this series. The applicable rate depends on the transcriptionist’s cumulative gross income from that client and whether a sworn declaration is on file — not on whether the output is a plain transcript, translated subtitles, or closed captions.
This guide covers the withholding rate that applies to transcription and captioning fees, the ₱3,000,000 threshold that decides between 5% and 10%, and a worked example for a law firm paying a freelance legal transcriptionist.
Generate a Transcriptionist's BIR Form 2307 FREE →Why transcription and captioning work falls under the professional-fee bracket #
Transcribing a recorded interview, court proceeding, podcast episode, or video into written text, subtitles, or closed captions is a professional/talent service for withholding purposes — the same category covered for writers, editors, and translators elsewhere in this series — rather than a sale of goods or an equipment rental. What the client actually pays for is the transcriptionist’s skill and labor in converting spoken audio into accurate written output, not a physical product or the use of equipment. That places it squarely within the individual professional/talent-fee item of Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2018, alongside freelance writers, translators and interpreters, and video editors already covered in this series.
This classification matters because a client that mistakenly treats a transcriptionist as a goods supplier (1% rate) or skips withholding entirely because the service feels “clerical” rather than “professional” risks under-withholding and issuing an incorrect BIR Form 2307, or no certificate at all.
What withholding rate applies to a freelance transcriptionist’s fee? #
An individual freelance transcriptionist or captioner is withheld under the same 5%/10% structure RR No. 11-2018 sets for professional, talent, and commission fees paid to individuals, with the rate decided by a sworn declaration the payee files with each client.
| Payee | Rate | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Individual freelance transcriptionist/captioner | 5% | Cumulative gross income from that payor for the year ≤ ₱3,000,000, with a valid sworn declaration and COR copy on file |
| Individual freelance transcriptionist/captioner | 10% | Cumulative gross income from that payor exceeds ₱3,000,000, the payee is VAT-registered, or no valid sworn declaration is on file |
| Transcription/captioning agency (corporate) | 2% | General corporate service-supplier rate (ATC WC160) |
The sworn declaration requirement is the mechanism that actually decides which individual rate applies, and it is a standing BIR form, not a one-off waiver. A Philippine university’s payroll office memo reproducing the BIR’s own Annex “B-1” sworn-declaration template for individual payees under RR No. 11-2018 quotes the declarant’s own certification this way:
“…my gross receipts will not exceed Three Million Pesos (P3,000,000.00) for the current year…”
A transcriptionist who signs and submits this declaration — along with a copy of their BIR Certificate of Registration — to each client, on or before the client’s first payment for the year (or by January 15, whichever is earlier), qualifies that client to withhold at 5% instead of the default 10%.
Worked example: a law firm paying a freelance legal transcriptionist #
A Philippine law firm regularly hires a freelance transcriptionist to convert deposition and hearing recordings into written transcripts, paying ₱18,000 for a batch of recordings transcribed in a given month. The transcriptionist has submitted a valid sworn declaration and COR copy, and her cumulative gross income from the firm for the year has not exceeded ₱3,000,000.
- Gross transcription fee: ₱18,000
- Creditable withholding tax withheld (5%): ₱900
- Net amount paid to the transcriptionist: ₱17,100
The law firm issues BIR Form 2307 for ₱900, which the transcriptionist later claims as a tax credit against her income tax due, typically through her SAWT when filing her quarterly or annual return.
Does the output format change anything? #
No — whether the freelancer delivers a verbatim transcript, translated subtitles, or SRT-format closed captions, the withholding treatment stays the same, because all of these are different output formats of the same underlying professional/talent service. A client should not apply a different rate or skip withholding simply because the deliverable is labeled “captioning” rather than “transcription,” or because the output file looks more technical than a plain Word document transcript. The test is the nature of the service performed — converting spoken content into accurate written text — not the file extension of what gets delivered.
Frequently asked questions #
Does a freelance transcriptionist get a BIR Form 2307? #
Yes, when the client is a Philippine business, agency, or government office required to withhold creditable tax. Transcription and captioning work is treated as a professional/talent service under Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018, so a Philippine payor withholds 5% or 10% and issues BIR Form 2307.
What withholding rate applies to a freelance transcriptionist’s fee? #
An individual freelance transcriptionist is withheld at 5% if their cumulative gross income from that payor for the year does not exceed ₱3,000,000 and a valid sworn declaration is on file, or 10% if it exceeds ₱3,000,000, the payee is VAT-registered, or no sworn declaration is on file, under Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018 as amended by Revenue Regulations No. 14-2018.
Does a transcription or captioning agency get withheld differently from an individual freelancer? #
Yes. A corporate transcription or captioning service provider falls under the general 2% expanded withholding tax rate for corporate suppliers of services, using ATC WC160, rather than the individual professional-fee brackets (WI010/WI011) that apply to a sole freelancer.
Does it matter whether the work is transcription, translation, or subtitling? #
Not for withholding purposes. Converting audio or video into text — whether as a verbatim transcript, translated subtitles, or closed captions — is a professional/talent service either way, so the same 5%/10% individual bracket or 2% corporate bracket applies regardless of which specific output format the client receives.
Summary #
A freelance transcriptionist or captioning provider sits in the same 5%/10% professional-fee bracket as writers, editors, and translators under RR No. 11-2018, with the sworn declaration and the ₱3,000,000 threshold deciding which individual rate applies. For related withholding scenarios, see BIR Form 2307 for Freelance Writers and Editors, BIR Form 2307 for Freelance Video Editors and Motion Graphics Artists, and the BIR Form 2307 hub.