BIR Form 2307 for Notarial and Stenographic/Court Reporting Fees: Two Different Rates

A notarial fee paid to a lawyer falls under the 5%/10% individual professional-fee bracket under RR No. 11-2018, because every notary public in the Philippines must be a member of the Philippine Bar — while a stenographic transcription or court reporting service, which is not a named profession under the same regulation, is withheld instead at the flat 2% general business-services rate. The two often arrive on the same litigation-support invoice, but they sit in different withholding brackets.

This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It covers which rate applies to a notarial fee versus a stenographic or transcription service, the ATC codes for each, and a worked law-firm invoice example.

Who withholds on a notarial or stenographic services payment? #

The same payor-status test this series applies to every service payment decides the outcome: a corporation or business-connected individual withholds, a private individual generally does not. RR No. 2-98 sets the 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 paying its retained counsel for notarial work on a contract, or a law firm paying an independent stenographic service for a deposition transcript, is a withholding agent under clause (A) or (B) of this rule.

Notarial fee: a lawyer’s professional fee, not a separate category #

A notarial fee is a lawyer’s professional fee for withholding purposes, because the notary performing the act must be a lawyer under Philippine law. RR No. 11-2018 places individuals “engaged in the practice of professions or callings” — an enumerated list that includes lawyers alongside certified public accountants, doctors of medicine, architects, and several named engineering disciplines — in the 5%/10% professional-fee bracket, the same bracket already covered in BIR Form 2307 for Professional Fees. A notarial act doesn’t create its own separate withholding category; it’s simply one form of legal service a lawyer performs, so the fee follows the same lawyer’s-fee treatment as drafting a contract or rendering a legal opinion.

Stenographic and court reporting services: the general 2% bracket #

A stenographic transcription or court reporting service is a general business service, not a named profession, so it falls under the flat 2% contractor/business-services bracket instead. RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E) covers the general catch-all of contractors and other business-service providers not otherwise enumerated as a named profession — the same bracket this series applies to translators in BIR Form 2307 for Translators and Interpreters, a closely comparable litigation-support service.

Worked example: a law firm’s litigation-support invoice #

Batas Legal Group hires an independent notary lawyer for ₱5,000 to notarize a batch of corporate documents, and separately engages Verbatim Transcription Services for ₱25,000 to produce a certified deposition transcript for the same case.

Batas Legal Group withholds ₱250 on the notarial fee under the individual professional-fee bracket and ₱500 on the transcription fee under the general 2% services bracket, issuing two separate BIR Form 2307 certificates — one to the notary lawyer, one to Verbatim Transcription Services — even though both invoices support the same case file.

Frequently asked questions #

Does a company have to withhold tax on a notarial fee paid to a lawyer? #

Yes, if the company paying the fee is a corporation or a business-registered individual. Under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.3(A)-(B), any juridical person or business-connected individual that pays a lawyer, including for notarial work, is a withholding agent and must withhold expanded withholding tax and issue BIR Form 2307.

What withholding rate applies to a notarial fee? #

A notarial fee is a lawyer’s professional fee, since the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice require every notary public in the Philippines to be a member of the Philippine Bar. It falls under the same 5%/10% individual professional-fee bracket under RR No. 11-2018 that applies to any other legal fee, ATC WI010/WI011, or 10%/15% if billed through a law firm partnership.

What withholding rate applies to a stenographic or court reporting service? #

Stenographic transcription and court reporting services are not named professions under RR No. 2-98’s enumerated professional-fee list, so a business paying a stenographic or transcription service provider generally withholds at the flat 2% general contractor/business-services rate under Section 2.57.2(E), ATC WI120/WC120.

Why do a lawyer’s notarial fee and a stenographer’s transcription fee get different rates for what feels like the same litigation-support engagement? #

Because the withholding rate follows the payee’s professional classification, not the general purpose of the engagement. A lawyer performing a notarial act is a named professional under RR No. 11-2018, regardless of how routine the act itself is, while a stenographic or transcription service provider — even one supporting the same case — is a general business-service provider rather than a named profession, so the two invoices sit in different brackets even when they arrive together.

Does a law firm withhold on the notarial fee it pays an associate or partner internally? #

No. Withholding under BIR Form 2307 applies to payments a client makes to an independent payee, not to a firm’s own internal allocation of fees among its associates or partners, which is handled through payroll (compensation withholding and BIR Form 2316) or partner profit-sharing instead.

Summary #

A notarial fee follows a lawyer’s professional-fee treatment at 5%/10% (ATC WI010/WI011) under RR No. 11-2018, because a Philippine notary public must be a lawyer, while a stenographic or transcription service — not a named profession — is withheld instead at the flat 2% general business-services rate (ATC WI120/WC120) under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E). See BIR Form 2307 for Professional Fees for the individual professional-fee bracket and BIR Form 2307 for Translators and Interpreters for a comparable litigation-support service in the general 2% bracket.