Documentary Stamp Tax on Insurance Policies: BIR Form 2000 Rates Under NIRC Sections 183–186

Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) on an insurance policy is governed by NIRC Sections 183 to 186, and the rate depends on the type of policy. Life insurance under Section 183 uses a flat peso scale tied to the face amount insured; property and fidelity policies under Sections 184 and 185 are taxed at 12.5% of premium; annuities and pre-need plans under Section 186 carry smaller premium-based rates — all declared on BIR Form 2000.

Why does one insurance policy have four possible DST rules? #

The NIRC treats DST on insurance as a document tax, so the applicable rate turns on the class of risk the policy insures rather than on which company issues it or who the policyholder is — four separate provisions, four separate computations. Sections 183 through 186 sit together in Title VII, each written for a different line of business: life insurance (183), property insurance such as fire and marine risks (184), fidelity bonds and other casualty-type policies (185), and annuities together with pre-need plans (186). A group selling life, non-life, and pre-need products can file DST under three different sections in the same month.

Section 183: DST on life insurance policies #

Section 183 taxes any policy that insures a life or lives, using a graduated flat-peso scale keyed to the face amount of insurance stated in the policy rather than to a percentage of the premium collected — unlike almost every other DST provision in the NIRC. This bracket structure traces to Republic Act No. 10001, which reduced life insurance DST from an earlier, steeper schedule. The current brackets are:

Because each bracket is a flat amount, a ₱1,000,000 policy and a ₱50,000,000 policy both carry the same ₱200.00 DST once the face amount passes ₱1,000,000 — the top bracket is uncapped.

Section 184: DST on property (non-life) insurance #

Section 184 taxes policies insuring property — the general non-life category that includes fire, marine, and inland transit risks — at ₱0.50 for every ₱4.00, or fraction, of the premium charged, equivalent to 12.5% of premium. Unlike Section 183, the base here is the premium collected, not the sum insured. Revenue Regulations No. 4-2018, which implemented the TRAIN Law’s 2018 DST adjustments, left the Section 184 rate unchanged rather than doubling it as it did with many other DST provisions.

Section 185: DST on fidelity bonds and other insurance #

Section 185 covers casualty-type policies outside the life, marine, inland, and fire categories already taxed under Section 184 — fidelity bonds, accident, employer’s liability, plate glass, steam boiler, burglar, elevator, and sprinkler coverage — taxed at the same 12.5% of premium rate as Section 184. The statute lists the covered lines by name:

On all policies of insurance or bonds or obligations of the nature of indemnity for loss, damage or liability made or renewed by any person, association, company or corporation transacting the business of accident, fidelity, employer’s liability, plate, glass, steam boiler, burglar, elevator, automatic sprinkler, or other branch of insurance (except life, marine, inland, and fire insurance), there shall be collected a documentary stamp tax of Fifty centavos (₱0.50) on each Four pesos (₱4.00), or fractional part thereof, of the amount of premium charged.

That parenthetical exclusion is what separates Section 185 from Section 184 — the two sections share a rate but tax different classes of risk.

Section 186: DST on annuities and pre-need plans #

Section 186 is the only one of the four provisions covering two distinct products in a single section — annuities and pre-need plans — each with its own rate, both based on premium or contribution collected rather than face amount. An annuity carries DST of ₱1.00 for every ₱200 (0.5%) of premium or contribution collected; a pre-need plan — education, pension, or memorial — carries the lower rate of ₱0.40 for every ₱200 (0.2%). Pre-need companies remain subject to this DST even though day-to-day product regulation sits with the Insurance Commission under the Pre-Need Code.

Has CMEPA changed any of these rates? #

No — the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA, Republic Act No. 12214), effective July 1, 2025, left Sections 183 through 186 completely untouched, even though it rewrote several neighboring DST provisions in the same Title VII of the NIRC. CMEPA amended only NIRC Sections 174, 176, 179, and 199, cutting the rate on share issuances and on debt instruments such as loan agreements and promissory notes — see Documentary Stamp Tax on Loan Agreements and Promissory Notes: The New CMEPA Rate. Insurance DST was outside that package, so the Section 183–186 rates here remain current.

Worked example: DST on a ₱650,000 life insurance policy #

A life insurance policy with a ₱650,000 face amount falls in the “over ₱500,000 up to ₱750,000” bracket of Section 183, so the insurer owes a flat ₱100.00 in DST regardless of the premium charged for that coverage.

Compare a ₱650,000 fire insurance policy with a ₱9,000 annual premium: since Section 184 taxes premium, not sum insured, the DST is ₱0.50 × (₱9,000 ÷ ₱4.00) = ₱1,125.00 — over eleven times the life-policy figure, despite an identical sum insured.

Filing DST on insurance policies: BIR Form 2000 #

Insurers file DST on insurance policies using BIR Form 2000, the same Documentary Stamp Tax Declaration/Return used for loan agreements, leases, and share issuances, generally within five days after the close of the month the policy was issued. As the party issuing the policy, the insurer typically completes and remits the return; DST liability attaches on issuance and, under longstanding BIR administrative guidance, is not reversed simply because the policy is later cancelled. For the broader mechanics of BIR Form 2000 versus BIR Form 2000-OT, see the companion guide Documentary Stamp Tax (DST): What It Is and When BIR Form 2000 Applies.

Frequently asked questions #

What is the Documentary Stamp Tax rate on a life insurance policy? #

Under NIRC Section 183, DST on a life insurance policy is exempt up to ₱100,000, then ₱20.00 up to ₱300,000, ₱50.00 up to ₱500,000, ₱100.00 up to ₱750,000, ₱150.00 up to ₱1,000,000, and ₱200.00 above ₱1,000,000. The tax is a flat peso amount tied to the face amount of insurance, not the premium.

Did CMEPA (RA 12214) change the DST rate on insurance policies? #

No. CMEPA (Republic Act No. 12214), effective July 1, 2025, amended NIRC Sections 174, 176, 179, and 199 — covering shares of stock, debt instruments, and DST-exempt documents. It did not amend Sections 183, 184, 185, or 186, so the insurance DST rates in this article are unaffected by CMEPA.

Is DST on property and fire insurance based on the sum insured or the premium? #

Property insurance under Section 184 and fidelity bonds under Section 185 are both taxed at ₱0.50 for every ₱4.00 of the premium charged — 12.5% of premium. This differs from life insurance under Section 183, which is based on the face amount of insurance rather than the premium.

Who is responsible for paying DST on an insurance policy — the insurer or the policyholder? #

The insurer, as the party issuing the policy, generally completes BIR Form 2000 and remits the DST, since NIRC Section 173 makes any party that makes, signs, issues, or accepts a taxable document liable. DST liability accrues on issuance and is not reversed if the policy is later cancelled.

Does DST apply to pre-need plans as well as insurance? #

Yes. NIRC Section 186 covers both annuities and pre-need plans in a single provision. Annuities carry DST of ₱1.00 for every ₱200 of premium or contribution collected (0.5%), while pre-need plans carry a lower ₱0.40 for every ₱200 (0.2%).

Summary #

DST on an insurance policy depends on which NIRC section the product falls under: Section 183 applies a flat-peso scale to life insurance based on the face amount insured, topping out at ₱200 above ₱1,000,000; Sections 184 and 185 apply the same 12.5%-of-premium rate to property insurance and fidelity bonds, respectively; and Section 186 splits annuities (0.5% of premium) from pre-need plans (0.2% of premium) in one provision. None of these four sections was touched by CMEPA. Insurers filing BIR Form 2000 should confirm the correct section — and therefore the correct base, face amount versus premium — before computing DST on any new policy; see the DST / BIR Form 2000 overview for how insurance DST fits alongside loan, lease, and share-issuance DST.