Do Online Sellers on Shopee or Lazada Still Need to File RELIEF SLSP If the Platform Already Withholds Tax?
No — platform withholding and RELIEF SLSP are two separate BIR obligations that don’t substitute for each other, so a VAT-registered online seller on Shopee, Lazada, or TikTok Shop must still file RELIEF SLSP even after the marketplace withholds tax and issues BIR Form 2307. The 0.5% withholding under Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 16-2023 is a creditable income tax mechanism; RELIEF SLSP is a VAT-return attachment reporting the seller’s own sales and purchases. Being subject to one does not exempt a taxpayer from the other.
Check Your RELIEF SLSP Obligation FREE →This guide is for VAT-registered sellers confused by the two rules landing on the same transactions. For the withholding mechanics themselves, see BIR Form 2307 for Online Sellers: The 0.5% E-Marketplace and DFSP Withholding Tax Under RR No. 16-2023; for RELIEF SLSP eligibility generally, see Who Must File RELIEF SLSP? and What Is RELIEF SLSP?.
Why sellers get confused about this #
A Shopee or Lazada seller who sees tax already deducted from every payout, plus a BIR Form 2307 certificate proving it, reasonably assumes their BIR compliance for those sales is handled — but that certificate only covers income tax withholding, not the seller’s own VAT reporting duties. Since RR No. 16-2023 took effect and platforms began actually withholding on July 15, 2024, more sellers now hold monthly or quarterly BIR Form 2307 certificates than ever before, and it’s a short, understandable leap from “the platform is remitting tax on my behalf” to “the platform’s filing covers me.” It doesn’t, because the two filings answer different questions to different parts of the BIR’s system.
Two different obligations, two different purposes #
Platform withholding under RR No. 16-2023 answers the question “how much creditable income tax has already been paid on this seller’s behalf,” while RELIEF SLSP answers the entirely separate question “what did this VAT-registered taxpayer buy and sell this quarter, and does it match what their counterparties reported.” The first is a payment mechanism that follows the seller’s income tax return; the second is an information-matching filing that follows the seller’s VAT return.
| E-marketplace withholding (RR No. 16-2023 / RR No. 5-2025) | RELIEF SLSP (RR No. 1-2012) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Creditable withholding tax on gross remittances to a seller | Quarterly Summary List of Sales and Purchases |
| Who acts | The marketplace/DFSP withholds and remits | The VAT-registered seller prepares and files |
| Attaches to | Feeds the seller’s income tax return (1701/1701Q/1701A) as a tax credit | Attaches to the seller’s own BIR Form 2550Q VAT return |
| Trigger | Cumulative gross remittances exceeding ₱500,000/year | VAT-registration status — no peso threshold since RR No. 1-2012 |
| Proof document | BIR Form 2307 issued by the platform | DAT file the seller submits |
A seller can be under the ₱500,000 withholding exemption threshold and still owe RELIEF SLSP, because the SLSP trigger has nothing to do with that figure — it runs entirely on whether the seller is VAT-registered, per Who Must File RELIEF SLSP?. Conversely, a seller well past ₱500,000 in withheld remittances but not VAT-registered (filing percentage tax instead) has no RELIEF SLSP obligation at all, regardless of how much has been withheld.
Does the platform’s own alphalist reporting cover this for the seller? #
No — the platform’s obligation to report sellers on its own alphalist of payees is a separate filing by the marketplace about the marketplace’s withholding activity, not a substitute for the seller’s personal VAT compliance. E-marketplace operators and DFSPs report the sellers they paid and withheld from on their own quarterly alphalist tied to their withholding tax returns. That filing tells the BIR what the platform withheld and from whom — it says nothing about the seller’s own purchases from suppliers, or reconciles the seller’s own output and input VAT, which is exactly what RELIEF SLSP exists to do on the seller’s side of the ledger.
Worked example: a VAT-registered seller with both obligations running side by side #
A seller who is VAT-registered and crosses the e-marketplace withholding threshold owes both a BIR Form 1701Q credit and a separate RELIEF SLSP filing for the same quarter — neither one cancels the other.
A fictional example: Dela Cruz Home & Living, a VAT-registered sole proprietorship selling exclusively through one marketplace, reports the following for Q2 2026 (April–June):
| Item | Amount | Where it’s reported |
|---|---|---|
| Gross sales through the marketplace for the quarter | ₱850,000.00 | Output VAT on BIR Form 2550Q, and as a sales row on the RELIEF Summary List of Sales |
| Cumulative annual gross remittances (already past ₱500,000 exemption earlier in the year) | — | Determines that the marketplace must withhold on this quarter’s remittances |
| E-marketplace withholding tax (0.5% of ₱850,000) | ₱4,250.00 | Shown on BIR Form 2307 issued by the marketplace; credited against Dela Cruz’s income tax due |
| Taxable purchases from suppliers for the quarter | ₱310,000.00 | Input VAT on BIR Form 2550Q, and as a purchase row on the RELIEF Summary List of Purchases |
Dela Cruz Home & Living owes two entirely separate deliverables for the same quarter: (1) file BIR Form 2550Q, crediting the ₱4,250.00 shown on the marketplace’s BIR Form 2307 where applicable to its overall tax position, and (2) file a RELIEF SLSP DAT file listing the ₱850,000.00 in sales and ₱310,000.00 in purchases for BIR cross-matching against the marketplace’s own reporting and the suppliers’ returns. Skipping the SLSP filing because “the marketplace already withheld” leaves a VAT-registered taxpayer non-compliant on an obligation the withholding never touched.
What a seller should actually do #
A VAT-registered online seller should treat platform withholding and RELIEF SLSP as two items on the same compliance checklist, not as one covering the other. Concretely:
- Keep every BIR Form 2307 received from the marketplace or DFSP and credit it against income tax due on the applicable quarterly or annual return.
- Separately confirm VAT-registration status and, if VAT-registered, prepare and file RELIEF SLSP each quarter regardless of how much platform withholding occurred, since RR No. 1-2012 removed any peso threshold for that filing.
- Don’t assume the marketplace’s own alphalist reporting on its withholding return does anything for the seller’s personal VAT filings — it doesn’t cover the same ground.
Sellers preparing the underlying sales figures from a marketplace payout report or spreadsheet before converting them into the RELIEF DAT layout can use the BIR Excel Uploader to build that file from existing spreadsheet data rather than re-keying it manually; see Excel to BIR DAT File for RELIEF SLSP for the conversion steps themselves.
Frequently asked questions #
If Shopee or Lazada already withholds tax on my sales, do I still need to file RELIEF SLSP? #
Yes, if you are VAT-registered. Platform withholding under RR No. 16-2023 is a creditable income tax mechanism between you and the BIR; RELIEF SLSP is a separate VAT-return attachment reporting your sales and purchases. Neither obligation substitutes for the other.
Does the ₱500,000 e-marketplace withholding threshold have anything to do with the RELIEF SLSP filing requirement? #
No. The ₱500,000 figure is the annual gross-remittance exemption threshold under RR No. 16-2023 for platform withholding only. RELIEF SLSP eligibility runs on VAT-registration status under RR No. 1-2012, with no peso threshold at all — a VAT-registered seller under the ₱500,000 withholding exemption can still owe RELIEF SLSP.
What is the difference between BIR Form 2307 and RELIEF SLSP? #
BIR Form 2307 is the Certificate of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source that a marketplace issues to a seller for tax it already deducted and remitted on the seller’s behalf. RELIEF SLSP is a quarterly DAT-file listing of a VAT-registered taxpayer’s own sales and purchases, filed as an attachment to BIR Form 2550Q. One documents withheld income tax; the other reports VAT transaction data.
I’m a non-VAT registered online seller — do I have any RELIEF SLSP obligation? #
No. RELIEF SLSP applies only to VAT-registered taxpayers. A seller paying the 3% percentage tax under BIR Form 2551Q instead of VAT has no SLSP obligation, regardless of how much platform withholding shows on their BIR Form 2307 certificates.
Where do the amounts on BIR Form 2307 from Shopee or Lazada go if not into RELIEF SLSP? #
The withheld amount shown on BIR Form 2307 is credited against the seller’s income tax due on BIR Form 1701, 1701Q, 1701A, or the corporate equivalent — not entered into RELIEF SLSP. RELIEF SLSP separately reports the underlying VAT sales transaction (and any purchases) for the same period, independent of how much tax was withheld on it.
Summary #
Platform withholding under RR No. 16-2023 and RELIEF SLSP under RR No. 1-2012 answer different compliance questions and run on different triggers — a VAT-registered Shopee, Lazada, or TikTok Shop seller owes RELIEF SLSP regardless of the ₱500,000 withholding exemption or how much tax a marketplace has already deducted. Credit every BIR Form 2307 against income tax due, and separately prepare and file RELIEF SLSP each quarter as long as VAT registration stands. For the withholding side, see BIR Form 2307 for Online Sellers; for RELIEF SLSP eligibility and mechanics, see Who Must File RELIEF SLSP? and What Is RELIEF SLSP?.