BIR Form 2307 for Tutors and Review Center Instructors: Which Withholding Rate Applies?
A review center, tutorial center, or online tutoring platform that pays an individual tutor or instructor a fee for teaching — rather than a salary as an employee — is generally required to withhold expanded withholding tax on that fee and issue BIR Form 2307. The applicable bracket is the same 5%/10% professional and talent fee rate under Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2018 that applies to consultants, trainers, and other individual service providers, not a special “tutor” rate.
Generate a Tutor's BIR Form 2307 FREE →This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. For the general rate table this rule draws from, see BIR Form 2307 for Professional Fees: Withholding Rates, ATC Codes, and a Worked Example; for the mechanics of qualifying for the lower rate, see BIR Sworn Declaration for Lower Withholding: How Payees Qualify for 5% Instead of 10%.
Why does a review center have to withhold on a tutor’s fee? #
A review center or tutoring platform withholds because it is paying for services rendered by an individual, not because tutoring is singled out in the law. The obligation flows from the National Internal Revenue Code’s general creditable withholding tax authority:
“Every person required to deduct and withhold any tax under this Chapter shall furnish to the payee… a written statement showing the income or other payments made… and the amount of the tax deducted and withheld therefrom.”
— NIRC, Section 58(B)
RR No. 11-2018 puts that statutory authority into a rate schedule, and a fee paid to an individual tutor for instructional services — whether a one-on-one home tutor, a licensure board-exam reviewer, or an instructor contracted by an online tutoring platform — falls under the same professional/talent fee category as a consultant’s or trainer’s fee. The center or platform is the payor, so it is the party required to withhold, remit, and issue the certificate.
Who is the withholding agent in common tutoring arrangements:
- Review center paying a board-exam reviewer per session or per batch — the review center withholds.
- Online tutoring platform paying independent tutors matched to students — the platform withholds, if it is the party actually paying the tutor (rather than merely facilitating a direct parent-to-tutor payment).
- A parent paying a private home tutor directly, with no business of their own — generally outside CWT, since an individual not engaged in trade or business and not otherwise a designated withholding agent typically has no withholding obligation for this kind of personal-service payment.
Which withholding rate applies — 5% or 10%? #
The rate depends on the tutor’s cumulative gross income from that same payor for the current year, not on the subject being taught or the number of hours worked. Under RR No. 11-2018, professional and talent fees paid to an individual are subject to:
| Tutor’s cumulative gross income from the payor this year | Withholding rate |
|---|---|
| P3,000,000 or below | 5% |
| Above P3,000,000 | 10% |
For most individual tutors and part-time reviewers, annual fees from a single review center or platform stay well under the P3,000,000 mark, so the 5% rate is the common case in practice — but that rate isn’t automatic. To lock in 5% instead of the 10% default, the tutor generally files a sworn declaration (Annex B-1) with the payor, as covered in BIR Sworn Declaration for Lower Withholding. Without it, a payor may default to withholding at the higher 10% rate.
A worked example: a part-time CPA board reviewer #
A licensed accountant works part-time as a lecturer for a CPA board review center, paid P8,000 per review session. Across the review cycle, the reviewer teaches 6 sessions for that center, totaling P48,000 for the year from that payor — well under the P3,000,000 threshold.
- Gross fee for the review cycle: P48,000
- Sworn declaration (Annex B-1) on file with the review center: yes
- Applicable rate: 5%
- Tax withheld: P2,400
- Net paid to the reviewer: P45,600
- The review center issues BIR Form 2307 showing P48,000 in income payments and P2,400 in tax withheld, which the reviewer uses as a creditable tax credit when filing their own quarterly and annual income tax returns.
If the same reviewer had not filed the sworn declaration, the center would default to the 10% rate — P4,800 withheld instead of P2,400 — even though the reviewer’s actual income level would still have qualified for 5% had the declaration been on file.
Frequently asked questions #
Do review centers withhold tax on payments to tutors and instructors? #
Yes. A review center, tutorial center, or online tutoring platform paying an individual tutor or instructor a fee for teaching services is generally required to withhold expanded withholding tax under Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018 and issue BIR Form 2307.
What withholding rate applies to a tutor’s fee? #
Tutors and instructors paid as individual professionals generally fall under the 5%/10% professional and talent fee bracket in RR No. 11-2018 — 5% if the tutor’s cumulative gross income from the payor for the current year does not exceed P3,000,000, and 10% if it does.
Does a tutor need to submit a sworn declaration to get the lower rate? #
Yes. To have 5% withheld instead of 10%, an individual tutor generally submits Annex B-1 (a sworn declaration of gross receipts, along with any registration documents) to each payor at the start of the engagement or taxable year, following the same sworn-declaration mechanics that apply to other professional fees.
Is a tutor employed by a review center still subject to BIR Form 2307? #
No — an employed tutor whose compensation is subject to withholding tax on compensation is covered by BIR Form 2316, not Form 2307. Form 2307 applies to tutors engaged as independent contractors or professionals, not as employees.
Does an online tutoring platform withhold the same way as a physical review center? #
Yes, if the platform is a Philippine-registered payor engaging Philippine-based tutors as independent contractors. The obligation follows from being the payor of a professional fee to an individual, not from whether the teaching happens in a classroom or online.
Summary #
A review center, tutorial center, or online tutoring platform paying an individual tutor as an independent contractor withholds under the same 5%/10% professional and talent fee bracket that applies to consultants and trainers under RR No. 11-2018 — 5% with a sworn declaration on file and cumulative annual fees at or below P3,000,000, 10% otherwise — and issues BIR Form 2307 as proof. The rule turns on the payment being for professional services to an individual, not on the specific label “tutor,” so the same logic applies whether the arrangement is a physical review center, an online tutoring platform, or a one-off exam-prep engagement. See Common BIR Form 2307 Mistakes and How to Correct Them if a certificate already issued to a tutor needs a correction.