How to File BIR Form 1701: Annual Income Tax Return for Mixed Income Earners and Professionals Not Electing 8%

BIR Form 1701 is the Annual Income Tax Return filed by mixed income earners — individuals with both compensation from an employer and income from business or a profession — as well as by self-employed individuals and professionals who claim itemized deductions instead of the Optional Standard Deduction, and by estates and trusts. It is due every April 15 for the preceding taxable year and, unlike the simplified BIR Form 1701A, carries a fuller set of schedules and, depending on gross sales or receipts, additional attachments.

This guide walks through the actual filing procedure — completing BIR Form 1701 in the eBIRForms Offline Package or eFPS, computing tax due, getting your Filing Reference Number, paying, and submitting attachments. For which ITR form applies to your income type, see BIR Form 1700 vs 1701A vs 1701 vs 1702; for the full attachment checklist, see BIR Form 1701 Attachments.

Who must file BIR Form 1701? #

BIR Form 1701 covers three groups that don’t fit BIR Form 1701A’s narrower scope: mixed income earners, itemized-deduction filers, and estates or trusts. A mixed income earner is someone who receives compensation income from an employer (documented on a BIR Form 2316) and separately earns income from a trade, business, or profession in the same taxable year — the compensation side alone would ordinarily qualify for substituted filing, but the presence of business or professional income pulls the whole return into BIR Form 1701.

A self-employed individual or professional with no compensation income still files BIR Form 1701 rather than the simpler BIR Form 1701A if they elected itemized deductions under the graduated income tax rates instead of the Optional Standard Deduction (OSD). Itemized deductions require substantiating actual, ordinary, and necessary business expenses one by one, which is why the return that carries them is the longer form.

When is BIR Form 1701 due? #

BIR Form 1701 is due on or before April 15 of the year following the taxable year being reported, under Section 51(C)(1) of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended by the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963). The statute is direct on the deadline itself:

“The return of any individual specified above shall be filed on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of April of each year covering income for the preceding taxable year.” — National Internal Revenue Code, Section 51(C)(1)

There is no automatic extension built into the regulations. A taxpayer who isn’t ready by April 15 still must file and pay by that date — even an estimated or incomplete return filed on time is generally treated better than a late one — to avoid the surcharge, interest, and compromise penalty framework under NIRC Sections 248 and 249. See BIR Late Filing Penalties for how those are computed.

What do you need before you start filing? #

Gather your documents before opening eBIRForms — BIR Form 1701 pulls numbers from several sources at once, and having them on hand avoids a half-finished return:

• Every BIR Form 2316 received from an employer during the year (mixed income earners only), showing compensation income and tax already withheld.
• Every BIR Form 2307 received from clients or payors during the year, showing gross income payments and creditable withholding tax (CWT) on business or professional income.
• The three BIR Form 1701Q quarterly returns already filed for the year, and proof of payment for each.
• Your books of account or accounting records, to compute gross sales/receipts, cost of sales/services, and itemized expenses (or gross receipts alone, if using OSD).
• If gross sales/receipts, earnings, or output exceeded ₱3,000,000 for the year: audited financial statements from a BIR-accredited independent CPA and a signed Statement of Management’s Responsibility. Below that threshold, the Account Information Form built into the return generally applies instead. See BIR Form 1701 Attachments for the full breakdown of when each applies.

How do you file BIR Form 1701 step by step? #

Filing BIR Form 1701 follows the same electronic-first pattern as other annual returns: complete the form in eBIRForms or eFPS, validate, submit, get a filing reference, pay, then submit attachments separately.

1. Download and open the current Offline eBIRForms Package (or log in to eFPS if your business is eFPS-enrolled), and select BIR Form 1701 from the form list — not 1701A, since mixed income and itemized deductions fall outside 1701A’s scope.
2. Complete the background information — TIN, RDO code, registered name, and line of business, matching your Certificate of Registration (BIR Form 2303).
3. Fill in the compensation income schedule (mixed income earners only) using the gross compensation and tax withheld shown on each BIR Form 2316 received during the year.
4. Fill in the business/professional income schedule — gross sales or receipts, cost of sales or services, and either itemized operating expenses or the OSD computation, depending on your deduction election for the year.
5. Let the form combine both income streams into total taxable income and compute the tax due under the graduated income tax rates — this is the step that distinguishes BIR Form 1701 from a purely compensation or purely business return.
6. Enter tax credits — withholding tax already reflected on your BIR Form 2316 (compensation) and BIR Form 2307 certificates (business/professional income, summarized on a SAWT), plus the three BIR Form 1701Q payments already made during the year — to arrive at the balance still due or any overpayment.
7. Validate the form inside eBIRForms to catch missing fields or computation errors, then eFile. eBIRForms returns a Tax Return Receipt Confirmation (TRRC) by email; eFPS returns a Filing Reference Number (FRN) on submission. Keep either as proof of filing.
8. Pay any balance due through an ePayment channel (GCash, Maya, PayMaya, or a bank’s online facility) or over the counter at an Authorized Agent Bank (AAB) — see BIR Online Payment Options for the full list of accredited channels.
9. Submit required attachments — audited financial statements and the Statement of Management’s Responsibility (if above the ₱3,000,000 threshold), or the Account Information Form (if below it), plus your SAWT — through the BIR’s eAFS portal and the SAWT/eSubmission facility, within the window the BIR sets each filing season. See What Is the BIR eAFS System? for the eAFS mechanics, and BIR Form 1701 Attachments for the complete attachment checklist.

Manual, in-person filing at a Revenue District Office or AAB is generally reserved for cases where the BIR has officially announced its electronic channels are unavailable, not as a routine alternative for filers who simply prefer paper.

Worked example: a graphic designer with a day job and a side practice #

Mia works full-time as an in-house graphic designer, earning a fixed salary. Her employer withholds tax on her salary each payday and issues her a BIR Form 2316 at year-end. On weekends, she also takes freelance design clients directly, invoicing them under her own registered business name; several of those clients withhold tax on her fees and issue her BIR Form 2307 certificates.

Because Mia has both compensation income and business income in the same year, she is a mixed income earner and files BIR Form 1701 — not BIR Form 1701A, regardless of how small her freelance income is relative to her salary. Her return combines both streams:

On BIR Form 1701, Mia enters her BIR Form 2316 figures in the compensation schedule and her freelance gross receipts and allowable deductions (she elected OSD on her business income, so no itemized-expense substantiation is required for that side) in the business/professional schedule. The form combines both into total taxable income and computes tax due under the graduated rates, then nets that against the ₱84,500 already withheld across her 2316 and her three 2307 certificates, plus whatever she already paid through her BIR Form 1701Q filings for Q1–Q3. If her combined tax due exceeds what was already withheld and paid, she settles the balance by April 15; if it doesn’t, the excess carries forward or is claimed as a refund, depending on the option she selects on the return.

Because her freelance gross receipts for the year (₱450,000) fall well below the ₱3,000,000 audit threshold, Mia completes the Account Information Form built into BIR Form 1701 rather than commissioning a CPA audit — see BIR Form 1701 Attachments for how that threshold works and what changes above it.

Frequently asked questions #

Who must file BIR Form 1701? #

BIR Form 1701 is filed by mixed income earners — individuals with both compensation income from an employer and income from business or a profession — as well as by self-employed individuals and professionals who use itemized deductions instead of the Optional Standard Deduction, and by estates and trusts. Anyone who doesn’t fit BIR Form 1701A’s narrower purely-business, 8%-or-OSD scope files BIR Form 1701 instead.

When is BIR Form 1701 due? #

BIR Form 1701 is due on or before April 15 of the year following the taxable year being reported, under Section 51(C)(1) of the National Internal Revenue Code as amended by the TRAIN Law (Republic Act No. 10963). There is no built-in extension; a taxpayer who needs more time still must file and pay by April 15 to avoid surcharge and interest.

How do I file BIR Form 1701 online? #

Download the current Offline eBIRForms Package (or use eFPS if enrolled), select BIR Form 1701, fill in your background information and the applicable income and deduction schedules, validate the form, then eFile it. eBIRForms returns a Tax Return Receipt Confirmation email; eFPS returns a Filing Reference Number (FRN). Pay any balance due through an ePayment channel or Authorized Agent Bank, then submit required attachments such as audited financial statements through eAFS within the prescribed window.

Can a mixed income earner use their BIR Form 2316 when filing BIR Form 1701? #

Yes. A mixed income earner enters the compensation income and the tax already withheld as shown on their employer-issued BIR Form 2316 into BIR Form 1701’s compensation income schedule, then combines that with net business or professional income. The tax already withheld on compensation is credited against the combined tax due, so it is not taxed twice.

What happens if I file BIR Form 1701 without the required attachments? #

Filing the return itself and submitting attachments are treated as separate compliance steps — the return can be e-filed on time even if attachments like audited financial statements are assembled afterward, but the attachments still carry their own submission window (commonly 15 calendar days from the statutory deadline or from actual filing, whichever applies) and missing that window can expose the filer to related penalties, so treat the return and its attachments as one filing task, not two.

Summary #

Filing BIR Form 1701 comes down to recognizing that you’re a mixed income earner or an itemized-deduction filer, then working through the eBIRForms or eFPS process in order: background information, compensation schedule (if applicable), business/professional schedule, combined tax computation, tax credits from your BIR Form 2316 and BIR Form 2307 certificates and prior BIR Form 1701Q payments, eFile, pay, then submit attachments through eAFS — all by April 15 under NIRC Section 51(C)(1). For the broader form-selection question, see BIR Form 1700 vs 1701A vs 1701 vs 1702; if your income turns out to be purely business or professional under the 8% rate or OSD, How to File BIR Form 1701A is the simpler path instead.