BIR Form 2307 for Optometrists and Optical Clinics

A business that pays an individually licensed optometrist for professional services must withhold expanded withholding tax (EWT) and issue BIR Form 2307, because optometry is a government-licensed profession regulated by the Board of Optometry under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) pursuant to Republic Act No. 8050, the Revised Optometry Law of 1995 — placing it in the same named-professional class covered by Section 2.57.2(A) of RR No. 2-98, as amended by RR No. 11-2018. The rate and ATC code depend on whether the payee is the individual optometrist (5%/10%) or an optical clinic chain organized as a corporation (10%/15%).

This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It covers why optometry’s PRC licensure places it in the named-professional withholding bracket, the individual-vs-clinic rate distinction, the ATC codes, and a worked example for a corporate vision-screening engagement.

Is an optometrist a named professional for withholding tax purposes? #

Optometry is a PRC-licensed profession under RA 8050, and that licensure is the same test this series has already applied to other government-licensed professions — a licensure examination and a regulatory board place a profession inside the named-professional withholding bracket, while the absence of one does not. This site has already worked through both sides of that line: BIR Form 2307 for Architects and Engineers and BIR Form 2307 for Real Estate Brokers and Real Estate Service Practitioners cover PRC-licensed professions that fall inside the bracket, while BIR Form 2307 for Chiropractors and Alternative Medicine Practitioners covers an occupation that currently has no PRC board and falls into the flat 2% general-services bracket instead.

RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(A), as amended by RR No. 11-2018, enumerates covered professionals discipline by discipline rather than as one generic “professional” category:

“…the following individuals shall be subjected to expanded withholding tax: …architects[,] civil, electrical, chemical, mechanical, structural, industrial, mining, sanitary, metallurgical, geodetic engineers…”

— Section 2.57.2(A) of Revenue Regulations No. 2-98, as amended, listing individually engaged professionals subject to expanded withholding tax

That fragment doesn’t itself name optometrists — it illustrates the enumeration’s style: a list of PRC-licensed, board-regulated professions subject to a government licensure exam. Optometry fits the same class the enumeration targets. Optometrists are registered and regulated by the Board of Optometry created under RA 8050, which requires a licensure examination administered by the PRC, the same regulatory structure that places architects, engineers, and other named professions inside this bracket.

Individual optometrist or optical clinic chain — why the payee type changes the rate #

The withholding rate and ATC code turn on who the actual payee is: an individually licensed optometrist is withheld under the individual professional-fee rate, while an optical clinic or chain organized as a corporation is withheld under the corporate professional-fee rate — even though both are billing for the same kind of vision-care service. This is the same individual-vs-entity distinction this series applies to architects and engineers, and to associate dentists in BIR Form 2307 for Dental Clinics.

A company engaging “Dr. Liza Fontanilla, O.D.” directly — billing under her own name and TIN for a vision-screening engagement — withholds using WI010/WI011. The same company paying an invoice from “ClearView Optical Centers, Inc.” for identical services withholds using WC010/WC011 instead, because the payee on that invoice is a corporation.

Who has to withhold on an optometrist’s professional fee? #

Any business or individual engaged in business — a corporate wellness program, a school, a manufacturing plant, or a self-employed professional — that pays an optometrist for services in the course of that business is a withholding agent and must withhold EWT before releasing payment. Common payors include:

• A corporate HR or wellness program paying an optometrist to conduct on-site employee vision screening
• A school or university engaging an optometrist for a student eye-care program
• A manufacturing company retaining an optometrist for occupational vision testing required under workplace safety rules
• An HMO or company-sponsored vision benefit plan paying an optical clinic or optometrist on behalf of enrolled members

An individual patient paying an optometrist directly for a personal eye exam is not a withholding agent. Withholding under RR No. 11-2018 applies only where the payor is itself in business or in the practice of a profession — an ordinary out-of-pocket eye exam does not trigger the obligation, even though the same optometrist would be withheld from when working for a corporate client.

Worked example: a corporate vision-screening engagement #

Northfield Corporate Wellness Program engages Dr. Liza Fontanilla, O.D., an individually licensed optometrist, for a fixed engagement fee of ₱80,000 to conduct on-site vision screening for employees. Dr. Fontanilla bills Northfield directly under her own name and TIN and has an Income Payee’s Sworn Declaration of Gross Receipts/Sales (Annex B-1) on file confirming her gross income for the year has not exceeded ₱3,000,000, so ATC WI010 at 5% applies.

Northfield remits the ₱4,000 withheld through BIR Form 0619-E monthly and BIR Form 1601-EQ quarterly, and issues Dr. Fontanilla a BIR Form 2307 each quarter showing the cumulative professional fees paid, ATC WI010, and the total tax withheld, which she then credits against her income tax due when filing BIR Form 1701Q/1701. Had Northfield instead engaged “ClearView Optical Centers, Inc.,” a corporation, for the identical vision-screening engagement, it would withhold using ATC WC010 at 10% (assuming the clinic’s gross income for the year does not exceed ₱720,000) — ₱8,000 withheld on the same ₱80,000 fee, under a corporate ATC rather than the individual one, with no sworn-declaration requirement involved.

Frequently asked questions #

Is an optometrist’s professional fee subject to expanded withholding tax? #

Yes. Optometry is a government-licensed profession in the Philippines, regulated by the Board of Optometry under the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) pursuant to Republic Act No. 8050, the Revised Optometry Law of 1995. That PRC licensure places an individually practicing optometrist in the same named-professional class that Section 2.57.2(A) of RR No. 2-98, as amended by RR No. 11-2018, subjects to expanded withholding tax, so a business paying an optometrist for professional services must withhold EWT and issue BIR Form 2307.

What withholding tax rate applies when a business pays an individually licensed optometrist directly? #

An individually licensed optometrist is withheld at 5% (ATC WI010) if their gross income for the current year does not exceed ₱3,000,000 and a sworn declaration is on file, or 10% (ATC WI011) if it exceeds ₱3,000,000, the optometrist is VAT-registered, or no valid declaration has been submitted — the same individual professional-fee rate structure that applies to architects and engineers.

Does the rate change if the payment goes to an optical clinic chain instead of the individual optometrist? #

Yes. If the payee is an optical clinic or chain organized as a corporation rather than the individual optometrist, the payment is a professional fee to a corporate payee, subject to 10% (ATC WC010) if the clinic’s gross income for the current year does not exceed ₱720,000, or 15% (ATC WC011) if it exceeds ₱720,000.

What documents does an optometrist need to submit to get the lower 5% rate? #

An individual optometrist claims the lower 5% rate by submitting an Income Payee’s Sworn Declaration of Gross Receipts/Sales (Annex B-1 for a single payor or Annex B-2 when income is split across multiple payors), together with a copy of their BIR Certificate of Registration, to each business that pays them, before the first payment of the year or at the start of the engagement.

Does a patient paying an optometrist directly for an eye exam need to withhold tax? #

No. Expanded withholding tax applies only when the payor is itself engaged in business or the practice of a profession. An individual patient paying an optometrist out of pocket for a personal eye exam or vision screening is not a withholding agent and does not withhold or issue BIR Form 2307.

Summary #

Optometry’s PRC licensure under Republic Act No. 8050, the Revised Optometry Law of 1995, places an individually practicing optometrist in the named-professional EWT bracket under Section 2.57.2(A) of RR No. 2-98, as amended by RR No. 11-2018 — withheld at 5%/10% (ATC WI010/WI011) once a sworn declaration is on file. An optical clinic or chain organized as a corporation is withheld instead at 10%/15% (ATC WC010/WC011) based on its own gross income threshold. Only a business or professional payor triggers the obligation — an individual patient’s out-of-pocket eye exam does not. See BIR Form 2307 for Architects and Engineers and BIR Form 2307 for Real Estate Brokers and Real Estate Service Practitioners for how this series applies the same PRC-licensure test to other professions, and BIR Form 2307 for Dental Clinics for the closely parallel individual-vs-clinic structure in another healthcare profession.