BIR Form 2307 for Freelance Video Editors and Motion Graphics Artists: Which Withholding Rate Applies

A Philippine business that pays an individual freelance video editor or motion graphics artist for post-production, animated explainers, or visual-effects work is generally required to withhold creditable tax and issue BIR Form 2307, the same as it would for a graphic designer or IT consultant. Which rate applies depends on whether the payee is an individual editor or a production/post-production studio organized as a corporation — and whether the client paying the fee is even a withholding agent to begin with.

This guide is part of the BIR Form 2307 series. It covers the individual 5%/10% rate for a freelance editor or motion graphics artist, the corporate 10%/15% rate for a studio, when a non-business individual client owes no withholding at all, how editing differs from on-location videography for ATC purposes, and a worked example.

Why a video editor’s or motion graphics artist’s fee is withheld like a professional fee #

An individual video editor, motion graphics artist, or animator engaged directly by a Philippine business is rendering a personal technical/creative service — cutting footage, color grading, building animated sequences, compositing visual effects — for a fee, which places the payment in the same professional/technical-consultant bracket already covered in this series for graphic designers (see BIR Form 2307 for Freelance Graphic Designers and Illustrators) and IT consultants (see BIR Form 2307 for Software Developers and IT Consultants). Video editing and motion graphics work is not a PRC-licensed profession, so RR No. 2-98’s enumeration of individually engaged professionals doesn’t name it directly — but the same reasoning this series has applied to designers, developers, and consultants extends here: an individually engaged service provider is fitted into the closest matching category the enumeration already provides, rather than treated as falling outside withholding entirely.

“…the following individuals shall be subjected to expanded withholding tax: …management and technical consultants…”

— Section 2.57.2(A) of Revenue Regulations No. 2-98, as amended by RR No. 11-2018, as reproduced across BIR compliance references summarizing the provision.

A freelance editor building a branded animated explainer or a motion graphics package for a corporate reel is functionally providing a specialized technical service to that client, the same substance as a management or technical consultant — the video-editing software and animation skillset are simply the tools of that particular technical trade.

As with any individual professional payee, the editor secures the lower 5% rate by submitting an Income Payee’s Sworn Declaration of Gross Receipts/Sales, together with a copy of their BIR Certificate of Registration, to each business that pays them — see BIR Sworn Declaration for Lower Withholding for how that declaration and its January 15 deadline work. Without it on file, the paying business should default to the higher 10% rate.

Editing versus videography: they aren’t always taxed the same way #

When the same freelancer handles both the on-location filming and the later editing under one fee, the whole engagement is generally characterized by its dominant service — but a video editor engaged purely for post-production sits in a different EWT bracket from a videographer engaged to film. This series already covers filming: a corporate client paying a photographer or videographer for a shoot generally withholds 2% under RR No. 2-98, Section 2.57.2(E) (ATC WI120/WC120), as explained in BIR Form 2307 for Photographers and Videographers. Post-production work billed separately — an editor hired only to cut footage someone else shot, a motion graphics artist building title cards and animated sequences, a colorist grading a finished film — is not a production-service fee; it’s a technical/creative service fee, and falls under the individual professional bracket (WI010/WI011) instead.

A business engaging one freelancer for a single bundled fee covering both filming and editing should apply the bracket that matches the primary service described in the contract or invoice — most such bundled engagements are billed as videography/production and fall under the 2% bracket, while a fee described specifically as an editing or animation engagement, with no filming component, falls under the professional bracket above.

Does the client even have to withhold? #

Withholding tax only applies when the payor is itself a withholding agent — a corporation, or an individual paying in connection with a trade or business — not any individual who happens to hire a freelance editor. Under Section 2.57.3 of RR No. 2-98, an individual payor is a withholding agent only for payments connected to a trade or business they conduct; a private individual paying a freelance editor out of personal funds, with no business behind the payment, owes no EWT and issues no BIR Form 2307 — the same rule already covered for a couple paying their own wedding photographer.

Worked example: a branded animated explainer versus a personal wedding recap #

A digital marketing agency (a registered corporation) engages Mr. Santos, a freelance motion graphics artist, to build a 90-second animated explainer video for a client campaign, for a fee of ₱45,000. He has an Income Payee’s Sworn Declaration of Gross Receipts/Sales on file with the agency, and his cumulative gross income from this client for the year is ₱1,800,000 — under the ₱3,000,000 threshold — so ATC WI010 at 5% applies.

The agency remits the ₱2,250 withheld through BIR Form 0619-E monthly and BIR Form 1601-EQ quarterly, and issues Mr. Santos a BIR Form 2307 showing ₱45,000 as the income payment, ATC WI010, and ₱2,250 as tax withheld. He later credits that ₱2,250 against his income tax due when filing BIR Form 1701.

Contrast: the same Mr. Santos is separately paid ₱10,000 by a private individual — a friend, not acting through any business — to edit and color-grade a personal wedding recap video. Because the payor has no trade or business behind the payment, no tax is withheld and no BIR Form 2307 is issued. Mr. Santos still owes Philippine income tax on the full ₱10,000 as part of his gross business income for the year; it simply isn’t backed by a withholding certificate, since there was no withholding agent on the other side of the transaction.

Frequently asked questions #

Does a company need to issue BIR Form 2307 to a freelance video editor or motion graphics artist? #

Yes, if the company is a withholding agent — meaning it is engaged in trade or business. A fee paid to an individual freelance video editor, motion graphics artist, or animator for post-production, animated explainers, or visual effects work is a payment for a technical/creative service and is subject to creditable withholding tax and BIR Form 2307, the same as a consultant’s or graphic designer’s fee.

What withholding rate applies to a freelance video editor or motion graphics artist? #

An individual freelance video editor or motion graphics artist generally falls under the 5%/10% professional/technical-consultant bracket under Revenue Regulations No. 11-2018: 5% (ATC WI010) if cumulative gross income from that payor for the year is ₱3,000,000 or less and a sworn declaration is on file, or 10% (ATC WI011) above that threshold or without a declaration.

What rate applies when the payment goes to a post-production studio or production house instead of an individual? #

A post-production studio, animation house, or production company organized as a corporation is withheld under the corporate professional-fee bracket instead: 10% (ATC WC010) if gross income for the year is ₱720,000 or less, or 15% (ATC WC011) above that threshold — not the individual 5%/10% rate.

Does an individual paying a freelance editor out of personal funds have to withhold tax? #

Generally no. Under Section 2.57.3 of RR No. 2-98, an individual is a withholding agent only for payments connected to a trade or business. Someone paying a freelance editor to cut a personal wedding highlight video or a family vlog out of personal funds has no trade or business behind the payment, so no EWT applies and no BIR Form 2307 is issued — the same rule that applies to a couple paying their own wedding photographer.

Is editing withheld the same way as videography (filming)? #

Not necessarily. On-location videography — the actual filming or production service — generally falls under the 2% general contractor/business-services bracket (ATC WI120/WC120) covered in BIR Form 2307 for Photographers and Videographers. Post-production work performed separately by an individual — editing, color grading, motion graphics, animation, visual effects — is a technical/creative service in the same professional-fee category as graphic design, closer to a consultant’s fee than a production-service fee.

Summary #

An individual freelance video editor or motion graphics artist paid by a Philippine business for post-production or animation work is generally withheld like any other individual technical/creative professional — 5%/10% under ATC WI010/WI011 per RR No. 11-2018, moving to the corporate 10%/15% bracket (WC010/WC011) if the payee is instead a post-production studio organized as a corporation. On-location filming stays in the separate 2% videography bracket already covered elsewhere in this series, and a private individual paying out of personal funds — not a business — owes no withholding at all. For related content, see BIR Form 2307 for Photographers and Videographers, BIR Form 2307 for Freelance Graphic Designers and Illustrators, and the BIR Form 2307 hub.