BIR Form 2307 for Veterinary Clinics and Animal Health Service Providers: Withholding Rates and ATC Codes

A business that pays a licensed veterinarian for professional services must withhold expanded withholding tax (EWT) and issue BIR Form 2307, because a veterinarian is a Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)-licensed professional under Republic Act (RA) No. 9268, and Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2018 expressly includes doctors of veterinary science among the medical practitioners covered by its professional-fee withholding rules. The rate and ATC code depend on whether the payee is the individual veterinarian (5%/10%) or a veterinary clinic organized as a corporation (10%/15%).

This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It covers who counts as a withholding agent when paying for veterinary services, the individual-vs-clinic rate distinction, the ATC codes, the sworn declaration a vet needs for the lower rate, and a worked example for a corporate farm’s monthly retainer to its consulting veterinarian.

Are veterinarians PRC-licensed professionals for withholding tax purposes? #

Yes — a veterinarian in the Philippines is a natural person registered and licensed by the Professional Regulatory Board of Veterinary Medicine under RA No. 9268, the Philippine Veterinary Medicine Act of 2004, the law that repealed the older RA No. 382 and now governs licensure, registration, and practice standards for the profession. That licensure status is what pulls veterinary professional fees into the same EWT framework that applies to doctors, dentists, lawyers, and other PRC- or government-licensed professionals.

“Veterinarian” is a natural person who has been registered and issued a valid Certificate of Registration and Professional Identification Card by the Professional Regulatory Board of Veterinary Medicine in accordance with this Act.

— Section 4, Republic Act No. 9268, the Philippine Veterinary Medicine Act of 2004

RR No. 11-2018, which restructured expanded withholding tax rates to implement the TRAIN Law (RA No. 10963), carries this licensing status directly into the tax code: its enumeration of “medical practitioners” whose professional fees are subject to EWT under Section 2.57.2(A) of RR No. 2-98 lists doctors of medicine, dentists, and doctors of veterinary science together, the same grouping the BIR uses for the hospital-withholding mechanic covered in BIR Form 2307 for Medical Practitioners. A veterinarian’s professional fee is not a special or exempt category — it sits inside the same individual-professional-fee bracket as any other PRC-licensed practitioner.

Individual veterinarian or veterinary clinic — why the payee type changes the rate #

The withholding rate and ATC code turn on who the actual payee is: an individual licensed veterinarian is withheld under the individual professional-fee rate, while a veterinary clinic, animal hospital, or pet-care corporation is withheld under the corporate professional-fee rate — even though both are paying for the same kind of veterinary service. This is the same individual-vs-entity distinction covered for physicians in the medical-practitioners post, and it applies identically here.

A company that retains “Dr. Santos, DVM” directly — say, for on-site farm visits or a monthly wellness contract billed under her own name and TIN — withholds using WI010/WI011. The same company paying an invoice issued by “Paws & Claws Veterinary Clinic, Inc.” for the identical scope of work withholds using WC010/WC011 instead, because the payee on that invoice is a corporation, not the individual practitioner. The service performed is irrelevant to which bracket applies — what matters is whose name and TIN appear on the official receipt and who is legally the income recipient. See BIR Form 2307 for Professional Fees for how this individual-vs-corporate split works across professional fees generally.

Who has to withhold on a veterinary service payment? #

Any business or individual engaged in business — a corporation, sole proprietorship, cooperative, or self-employed professional — that pays a veterinarian or veterinary clinic for services in the course of that business is a withholding agent and must withhold EWT before releasing payment. Common payors in this category include:

• A hog, poultry, or livestock farm retaining a veterinarian for herd health, vaccination programs, or biosecurity compliance
• An animal shelter, boarding kennel, or breeding operation paying for routine veterinary care
• A pet food or animal pharmaceutical company retaining a veterinarian as a technical consultant or product-safety reviewer
• A corporate-owned pet hospital chain paying an affiliated or visiting veterinarian’s professional fee
• Any registered corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship that budgets for a company-owned or company-insured animal (e.g., security dogs, working animals, or livestock as a business asset)

An individual pet owner paying a private veterinary clinic for a personal pet’s checkup 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 household expense, even a recurring one, does not trigger the obligation. The distinction matters because many veterinary clinics serve both walk-in pet owners (no withholding) and corporate or institutional clients (withholding required), so a clinic should expect to receive BIR Form 2307 only from its business clients.

The sworn declaration: how an individual veterinarian gets the 5% rate #

An individual veterinarian secures the lower 5% rate the same way any other individual professional does under RR No. 11-2018 — by filing an Income Payee’s Sworn Declaration of Gross Receipts/Sales with each business that pays her, together with a copy of her BIR Certificate of Registration (BIR Form 2303). Without that declaration on file, the paying business should default to the higher 10% rate rather than assume eligibility.

• Annex “B-1” applies when the veterinarian earns professional income from a single payor for the year, or when she is filing directly with the payor as her sole income source.
• Annex “B-2” applies when the veterinarian earns from multiple business clients in the same year — for example, a vet who consults for both a farm and a pet hospital chain — and must be submitted to each payor listing all of them, consistent with how the BIR Sworn Declaration for Lower Withholding guide explains the multi-payor version of this form.

The declaration is due before the first payment of the engagement, or by January 15 of the taxable year for an ongoing arrangement. A veterinary clinic organized as a corporation does not use this individual declaration mechanism at all — its ATC (WC010/WC011) turns only on its own gross income threshold, not on a sworn declaration.

Worked example: a corporate farm’s monthly retainer to its consulting veterinarian #

Suppose Golden Fields Poultry Corporation, a registered livestock business, retains Dr. Mariano Cruz, an individually licensed veterinarian, for a fixed monthly consulting fee of ₱30,000 covering herd health monitoring and vaccination oversight across its farms. Dr. Cruz bills the corporation directly under his own name and TIN — not through a clinic — and has an Income Payee’s Sworn Declaration of Gross Receipts/Sales (Annex B-1) on file confirming his gross income for the year has not exceeded ₱3,000,000, so ATC WI010 at 5% applies.

Golden Fields Poultry Corporation remits the ₱1,500 withheld through BIR Form 0619-E monthly and BIR Form 1601-EQ quarterly, and issues Dr. Cruz a BIR Form 2307 each quarter showing the cumulative professional fees paid, ATC WI010, and the total tax withheld — Dr. Cruz then credits that amount against his income tax due when filing BIR Form 1701. Had Dr. Cruz not filed a sworn declaration, or had his cumulative gross income for the year already crossed ₱3,000,000, the corporation would instead withhold 10% (ATC WI011) — ₱3,000 on the same ₱30,000 monthly fee, releasing only ₱27,000.

A separate scenario: if Golden Fields instead engaged “Cruz & Associates Veterinary Services, Inc.,” a corporation, for the identical monthly retainer, the corporation would withhold using ATC WC010 at 10% (assuming the clinic’s gross income for the year does not exceed ₱720,000) — ₱3,000 withheld on the same ₱30,000 fee, but under a corporate ATC rather than the individual one, and with no sworn-declaration requirement involved. The service and the amount are unchanged; only the payee’s legal form determines which withholding bracket and certificate detail apply.

Frequently asked questions #

Is a veterinarian’s professional fee subject to expanded withholding tax? #

Yes. A licensed veterinarian is a professional regulated by the Professional Regulation Commission under Republic Act No. 9268, the Philippine Veterinary Medicine Act of 2004, and RR No. 11-2018 expressly lists doctors of veterinary science among the medical practitioners whose professional fees are subject to expanded withholding tax. A business that pays an individual licensed veterinarian for professional services must withhold EWT and issue BIR Form 2307.

What withholding tax rate applies when a company pays a veterinarian directly? #

An individual licensed veterinarian is withheld at the same 5%/10% individual professional-fee rate as any other individual professional under RR No. 11-2018: 5% (ATC WI010) if the veterinarian’s 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 veterinarian is VAT-registered, or no valid declaration has been submitted.

Does the rate change if the payment goes to a veterinary clinic instead of the individual vet? #

Yes. If the payee is a veterinary clinic, animal hospital, or corporation rather than the individual veterinarian, the payment is a professional fee to a corporate or non-individual 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 a veterinarian need to submit to get the lower 5% withholding rate? #

An individual veterinarian 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 pet owner paying a veterinary clinic directly need to withhold tax? #

No. Expanded withholding tax applies only when the payor is itself engaged in business or the practice of a profession — a company, corporation, sole proprietorship, or self-employed individual paying in the course of business. An individual pet owner paying a veterinary clinic for a personal pet’s checkup is not a withholding agent and does not withhold or issue BIR Form 2307.

Summary #

A veterinarian’s status as a PRC-licensed professional under RA No. 9268 places veterinary professional fees squarely inside the RR No. 11-2018 professional-fee withholding framework — the same framework covering doctors, dentists, and other licensed practitioners. The payee’s legal form, not the nature of the service, decides which bracket applies: an individual licensed veterinarian is withheld at 5%/10% (ATC WI010/WI011) once a sworn declaration is on file, while a veterinary clinic or animal hospital organized as a corporation is withheld at 10%/15% (ATC WC010/WC011) based on its own gross income threshold. Only a business or professional payor triggers the obligation — an individual pet owner paying for a personal pet’s care does not. For the general professional-fee mechanics this scenario builds on, see BIR Form 2307 for Professional Fees, and for the closely parallel hospital-and-doctor withholding structure, see BIR Form 2307 for Medical Practitioners.