BIR Form 2307 for Trade Show and Exhibition Booth Contractors
A company that pays a contractor to design, build, and install its trade show or exhibition booth withholds 2% expanded withholding tax (EWT) under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E), and issues BIR Form 2307 — a construction and fabrication service distinct from the separate rules that govern advertising media placement.
This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It covers who withholds on a booth contractor payment, how it differs from advertising media-buying rules, how booth floor-space rental is tracked separately, and a worked trade fair exhibit example.
Generate Your Booth Contractor's BIR Form 2307 FREE →Who withholds on a trade show booth contractor payment? #
The obligation follows the same payor-status test this series applies to every business-service supplier: 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 consumer electronics company paying a booth contractor to build and install its display at an industry trade fair, or an exporter paying for a custom exhibit at an international convention, is a withholding agent under clause (A) or (B).
Construction service (2%), not advertising media-buying #
Booth design, fabrication, and installation is construction and contracting work, which falls under the same flat 2% general contractor/business-services catch-all covered in BIR Form 2307 for Contractors and Subcontractors. This is distinct from the separate rules that apply to advertising media placement, which this series covers in BIR Form 2307 for Advertising Agencies and Media Placements under RMC No. 63-2012 — a booth contractor building a physical exhibit isn’t buying or placing media, so those media-buying rules don’t apply to its fee.
| Payment | ATC | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Booth design-and-build fee, individually owned contractor | WI120 | 2% |
| Booth design-and-build fee, contractor organized as a corporation | WC120 | 2% |
| Booth floor-space fee paid directly to the event organizer | Tracked separately as a rental payment | Confirm applicable rental ATC |
A booth contractor’s bundled invoice covering fabrication, on-site signage, and freight-in of materials is generally withheld in full at 2% as one service payment, the same treatment this series applies to a bundled parts-and-labor invoice in BIR Form 2307 for Printing and Signage Shops, unless a component such as a separate equipment rental is itemized and documented as its own distinct transaction.
Worked example: an international trade fair exhibit #
Pacific Foods Export Corp. contracts DisplayCraft Exhibits Inc. to design, build, and install its booth for a three-day international food trade fair, paying booth floor-space rental directly to the fair organizer as a separate invoice.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Booth design, fabrication, and installation fee (VAT-exclusive) | ₱420,000.00 |
| EWT withheld on the contractor’s fee (2%, ATC WC120) | ₱8,400.00 |
| Booth floor-space rental paid directly to the fair organizer | ₱150,000.00 |
| VAT (12% on the contractor’s fee) | ₱50,400.00 |
Pacific Foods withholds ₱8,400 on DisplayCraft’s design-and-build fee and issues DisplayCraft a BIR Form 2307, ATC WC120, for the quarter. The separate floor-space rental paid to the fair organizer is tracked and withheld under its own rental ATC rather than folded into the contractor’s 2% figure.
Frequently asked questions #
Does a business have to withhold tax when paying a trade show booth contractor? #
Yes, if the payor is a corporation or a business-registered individual. A company paying a contractor to design, build, and install its trade show or exhibition booth is a withholding agent under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.3(A)-(B), and must withhold expanded withholding tax and issue BIR Form 2307.
What withholding tax rate applies to a booth contractor’s fee? #
Trade show and exhibition booth design-and-build services generally fall 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 run contractor or WC120 for one organized as a corporation.
Is a booth contractor withheld under the same rules as an advertising media-buying agency? #
No. Media placement and ad-buying services follow the separate rules this series covers under RMC No. 63-2012. A booth contractor building and installing a physical exhibit is providing construction and fabrication services, which falls under the general 2% contractor bracket rather than the media-buying-specific treatment.
Does booth rental space paid to the event organizer get withheld the same way as the booth contractor’s fee? #
Not necessarily. A fee paid directly to an event organizer or exhibition hall for booth floor space can be treated as a rental payment under a different ATC than the 2% contractor rate that applies to the separate design-and-build fee paid to the booth contractor. The two payments — space rental to the organizer and fabrication services to the contractor — are generally tracked and withheld separately.
How is a bundled invoice covering booth fabrication, signage, and freight-in of materials withheld? #
A single bundled invoice covering booth fabrication, on-site signage, and freight-in of exhibit materials is generally withheld in full at 2% as one service payment, the same treatment this series applies to a bundled parts-and-labor repair invoice, unless a component is separately itemized and documented as a distinct transaction such as a straight equipment rental.
Summary #
A trade show or exhibition booth contractor’s design-and-build fee sits in the flat 2% general business-services bracket (ATC WI120/WC120) under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E) — distinct from both the advertising media-buying rules under RMC No. 63-2012 and the separate rental treatment for booth floor space paid to an event organizer. See BIR Form 2307 for Advertising Agencies and Media Placements for the media-buying contrast, and BIR Form 2307 for Contractors and Subcontractors for the general 2% bracket this rate draws from.