BIR Form 2307 for Gyms, Fitness Studios, and Personal Trainers: Which Rate Applies

A company sponsoring a corporate wellness program pays two very different kinds of suppliers, and BIR withholding treats them differently: a gym or fitness studio’s corporate membership fee is withheld at 2% under RR No. 2-98 Section 2.57.2(E), while an individually engaged freelance personal trainer’s fee is withheld at 5%/10% under RR No. 11-2018, the same professional and talent-fee bracket used for tutors and consultants. Which rate applies turns on exactly who is being paid — the facility, or the individual instructor.

This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It covers the gym-vs-trainer rate split, who counts as a withholding agent for a corporate wellness program, the ATC codes involved, and a worked example.

Who withholds on a corporate wellness payment? #

The obligation follows the payor’s status: a company sponsoring employee fitness benefits is a withholding agent, while an individual paying for their own personal membership generally is not. RR No. 2-98 defines the withholding-agent test this way:

“(A) In general, any juridical person, whether or not engaged in trade or business; (B) An individual, with respect to payments made in connection with his trade or business…”

— RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.3(A)–(B)

• A corporation that pays a gym directly for bulk employee memberships, an on-site fitness program, or a wellness-day fitness activity is a withholding agent under clause (A).
• A company that engages a freelance personal trainer to run corporate wellness sessions is likewise a withholding agent under clause (A), on that separate payment to the trainer.
• An individual employee who signs up and pays for their own gym membership personally — even if the company later reimburses part of the cost as a benefit — is not, in that direct payment, a withholding agent; membership dues paid by an individual out of pocket for personal use fall outside clause (B).

Gym or fitness studio: the 2% facility-services rate #

A corporate membership fee or facility-access payment made to a gym or fitness studio generally falls under the flat 2% general contractor/business-services bracket under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E), as amended by RR No. 11-2018 — the same bracket this series covers for event planners and other business-service suppliers in BIR Form 2307 for Contractors and Subcontractors. A gym membership is access to a shared facility and its group classes and equipment, not the lease of a defined, exclusive space, so it’s treated as a service payment rather than rent — the same reasoning this series applies to shared-facility access in BIR Form 2307 for Co-Working Space and Virtual Office Providers.

Freelance personal trainer: the 5%/10% individual professional-fee rate #

A company that pays an individual freelance personal trainer directly — rather than routing the payment through a gym — withholds under the same 5%/10% professional and talent-fee bracket used for individual consultants, tutors, and instructors under RR No. 11-2018, not the gym’s flat 2% rate. A trainer engaged to run recurring corporate wellness sessions is functioning as an individually contracted service professional in the same way a review-center tutor or corporate trainer does, as this series covers in BIR Form 2307 for Tutors and Review Center Instructors.

A trainer who is an employee of the gym itself — receiving a salary with withholding tax on compensation already deducted — is covered by BIR Form 2316, not Form 2307. The 2307 treatment applies only when the trainer bills as an independent contractor, whether to the gym or directly to a corporate client.

Worked example: a corporate wellness program #

A BPO company sponsors a quarterly wellness program for its 200-person office: a corporate group membership at FitCore Studio Corp., plus a separately engaged freelance trainer, Coach Liza Ramos, who runs two on-site sessions a week.

The company withholds ₱2,400 on the FitCore Studio payment and ₱3,000 on Coach Ramos’s fee — two separate BIR Form 2307 certificates, using two different ATC codes and rates, even though both payments fund the same wellness program. It remits both amounts through BIR Form 0619-E monthly and BIR Form 1601-EQ quarterly, and lists both payees on its Quarterly Alphalist of Payees.

When gym payments aren’t withheld at all #

An individual employee who personally pays a gym for their own membership — even one the company later partially reimburses as a fringe benefit — is not, in that direct transaction, a withholding agent. No BIR Form 2307 changes hands between the employee and the gym. Withholding only enters the picture once the company itself becomes the actual payor on record for the facility or the trainer, which is why many companies choose to pay the gym or trainer directly rather than reimburse employees, in order to keep the withholding trail clean.

Frequently asked questions #

Does a company have to withhold tax when paying for employee gym memberships? #

Yes, if the company pays the gym or fitness studio directly for a corporate wellness program or bulk employee memberships. Under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.3(A), any juridical person paying for services in the course of business is a withholding agent, so the company withholds and issues BIR Form 2307 to the gym.

What withholding tax rate applies to a gym or fitness studio’s fee? #

A corporate membership or facility-access fee paid to a gym or fitness studio generally falls under the 2% general contractor/business-services bracket under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E), as amended by RR No. 11-2018 — ATC WI120 for an individually owned gym or WC120 for one organized as a corporation.

Is a freelance personal trainer withheld the same way as a gym? #

No. A company that engages and pays an individual freelance personal trainer directly — rather than paying a gym or studio — generally withholds under the same 5%/10% professional and talent-fee bracket used for individual consultants, tutors, and trainers under RR No. 11-2018, using ATC WI010/WI011, not the gym’s flat 2% rate.

Does an individual member pay withholding tax on their own gym membership? #

No. Withholding under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.3(B) applies only where the payor is engaged in trade or business. A person paying for their own personal gym membership out of pocket is not a withholding agent and the gym does not receive a BIR Form 2307 for that payment.

Does a personal trainer employed by the gym itself get a BIR Form 2307? #

No. A trainer who is an employee of the gym, with income tax withheld on compensation, is covered by BIR Form 2316, not Form 2307. Form 2307 applies only when the trainer is engaged as an independent contractor billing directly, either the gym or a corporate client, for training services.

Summary #

A gym or fitness studio’s corporate membership fee sits in the flat 2% general business-services bracket (ATC WI120/WC120) under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E), while an individually engaged freelance personal trainer is withheld like any other individual consultant or tutor at 5%/10% (ATC WI010/WI011) under RR No. 11-2018 — the same payee, corporation, or individual, that decides the rate everywhere else in this series decides it here too. Only a company or business-connected payor triggers withholding at all; an employee’s personal membership dues do not. See BIR Form 2307 for Tutors and Review Center Instructors for the individual-service-provider rate this trainer treatment mirrors, and BIR Form 2307 for Co-Working Space and Virtual Office Providers for the shared-facility-access reasoning behind the gym’s own rate.