BIR Form 2307 for Remittance and Bills-Payment Sub-Agents: Pawnshops, Sari-Sari Stores, and Convenience Stores
A pawnshop, sari-sari store, or convenience outlet that signs up as a sub-agent for a remittance or bills-payment network — Western Union, Palawan Express, Cebuana Lhuillier, Bayad Center, and similar networks — earns commission income on every transaction it processes, and that commission is withheld at the standard 5%/10% individual broker/agent rate under Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2018. The network or master agent that pays the commission is the withholding agent and should issue BIR Form 2307 for the amount withheld — a sub-agent that only gets a plain acknowledgment slip or a running ledger balance is missing a certificate it’s entitled to.
This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It separates the sub-agent’s commission income from the pass-through funds it handles, applies the same commission bracket used for other agents and brokers, and walks through a worked monthly example.
Generate the Sub-Agent's BIR Form 2307 FREE →Why is only the sub-agent’s commission withheld, not the money it disburses or collects? #
The cash a sub-agent pays out to a remittance claimant, or collects from a customer settling a utility bill, never becomes the sub-agent’s own income — it’s the principal network’s money passing through the outlet. Only the commission or service fee the network pays the sub-agent in exchange for processing that transaction is income to the sub-agent, and that’s the only amount subject to withholding. This is the same pass-through logic that separates a security agency’s fee from the guards’ salaries it bills through, or a travel agency’s service fee from the airfare it collects on an airline’s behalf.
| Amount | Whose income is it? | Withheld? |
|---|---|---|
| Remittance payout handed to the claimant | The sender’s/beneficiary’s money, passing through | No |
| Bills-payment amount collected from the customer | The utility’s/biller’s money, passing through | No |
| Sub-agent’s per-transaction commission | The sub-agent’s own service income | Yes — 5%/10% individual broker/agent rate |
What withholding rate and ATC apply to the sub-agent’s commission? #
A remittance or bills-payment sub-agent’s commission falls under the same broker-and-agent commission bracket in RR No. 11-2018 that covers any other individual sales agent — 5% if gross income for the year doesn’t exceed ₱3,000,000 with a valid sworn declaration and Certificate of Registration on file, or 10% otherwise. Individual sub-agents typically use ATC WI010 (5%) or WI011 (10%); a sub-agent organized as a corporation instead of a sole proprietorship uses the parallel non-individual tiers. See BIR Form 2307 for Commissions and Brokers for the full rate structure and sworn-declaration mechanics shared across every commission-agent category.
Worked example: Aling Nena’s Sari-Sari Store’s monthly remittance commissions #
Aling Nena’s Sari-Sari Store is a sub-agent for a national remittance network, processing both cash remittance payouts and bills-payment transactions. The figures are fictional.
| Transaction type | Volume this month | Commission earned | Withheld (5%, sworn declaration on file) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remittance payouts (claimant receives cash) | 140 transactions | ₱18,200 total commission | ₱910 |
| Bills-payment collections (electric, water, telco) | 95 transactions | ₱6,650 total commission | ₱332.50 |
The remittance network withholds a combined ₱1,242.50 on Aling Nena’s ₱24,850 total commission for the month and issues one BIR Form 2307 reflecting that amount — never on the much larger sums the store physically handled in payouts and bill collections, which were never the store’s own income.
Pre-filing checklist for a remittance or bills-payment sub-agent #
- Confirm who actually pays your commission — the network directly, or a master agent one layer up — since that party is the one responsible for withholding and issuing BIR Form 2307.
- Keep a sworn declaration of gross receipts and your Certificate of Registration on file with the paying network to lock in the 5% rate instead of 10%.
- Reconcile each BIR Form 2307 against your own commission ledger, not against the payout/collection volumes you processed.
- Don’t confuse a transaction summary or settlement report from the network with a withholding certificate — they serve different purposes, and only BIR Form 2307 substantiates a creditable withholding tax claim.
How does this fit with the rest of the BIR Form 2307 series? #
A remittance or bills-payment sub-agent’s commission follows the identical rate structure covered in BIR Form 2307 for Commissions and Brokers and the same pass-through logic explored in BIR Form 2307 for Security and Janitorial Agency Fee Withholding — only the fee or margin a service provider actually earns is withheld on, never the funds that merely move through it. For the full ATC reference, see What Is an ATC and How to Find the Right One for BIR Form 2307.
Summary #
A remittance or bills-payment sub-agent is withheld on its commission alone, at the same 5%/10% individual broker/agent rate under RR No. 11-2018 that applies to any other sales agent — never on the remittance payouts or bill collections it physically handles. The network or master agent paying that commission is the withholding agent and owes the sub-agent a BIR Form 2307, not just a settlement report.