RMC No. 95-2026: BIR Further Extends Tax Deadlines to August 18 and Adds eBIRForms Relief
RMC No. 95-2026 moves BIR deadlines that fell between August 10 and 16, 2026 to Tuesday, August 18, 2026 — one day later than the August 17 cutoff the BIR had set five days earlier in RMC No. 89-2026 — and adds a second, nationwide category of relief for taxpayers who couldn’t file because the eBIRForms Offline Package itself was technically unavailable. If you’re relying on either circular, the practical takeaway is simple: the deadline that now controls is August 18, not August 17, and eligibility no longer depends solely on being registered under one of the named flood-affected RDOs.
Don't Wait on eBIRForms — File and Generate Certificates FREE →This post is a direct follow-on to RMC No. 89-2026: BIR Extends Tax Deadlines to August 17 for Habagat-Affected RDOs, which explains the original relief measure and the full list of covered regions in detail.
Why did the BIR issue a second extension five days later? #
The Southwest Monsoon rains that prompted RMC No. 89-2026 on August 10, 2026 continued into the following week, and a separate, unrelated problem compounded the disruption: taxpayers nationwide, not just those in flood-hit RDOs, reported that the eBIRForms Offline Package was technically unavailable or malfunctioning in the days leading up to the deadline. Rather than issue a narrow patch, the BIR consolidated both problems into a single follow-up circular, RMC No. 95-2026, which both pushes the date later and widens who qualifies.
RMC No. 89-2026’s original caption — reproduced identically across BIR-sourced coverage — described the relief as one:
“Providing Extension of the Deadlines for the Filing of Tax Returns and Payment of Corresponding Taxes Due Thereon, Including Submission of Required Documents for Taxpayers within the Jurisdiction of Revenue District Offices of the Bureau of Internal Revenue that were Affected by the Continued Heavy Rainfall brought about by Southwest Monsoon”
RMC No. 95-2026 follows the same structure and legal basis — the BIR’s general authority under the NIRC to grant reasonable extensions when taxpayers are prevented from complying by circumstances outside their control — but layers on the eBIRForms-outage ground and a later date, based on multiple independent news reports covering the circular’s release around August 14–15, 2026, including the Philippine News Agency, GMA News, the Manila Times, and tax-alert coverage from accounting firms such as Reyes Tacandong & Co.
What exactly changed from RMC No. 89-2026? #
Two things moved: the date, and the eligibility test. The table below summarizes the difference between the two circulars for the same August 10–16, 2026 window of original deadlines.
| RMC No. 89-2026 | RMC No. 95-2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued | August 10, 2026 | Around August 14–15, 2026 |
| Extended deadline | August 17, 2026 | August 18, 2026 |
| Ground for relief | Habagat-related flooding in named RDOs | Habagat flooding plus eBIRForms Offline Package technical unavailability |
| Who qualifies | Taxpayers registered under 53 named RDOs and 5 Large Taxpayer divisions | Same RDO list, plus any taxpayer nationwide blocked by the eBIRForms outage |
| Banks instructed to honor it without penalty | Yes, per Bank Bulletin | Yes, per a corresponding Bank Bulletin |
If your RDO wasn’t on the original RMC No. 89-2026 list but you were unable to file because eBIRForms itself was down, RMC No. 95-2026 is the circular that covers you — the flood-based coverage alone would not have.
Which RDOs and Large Taxpayer divisions are covered? #
The RDO list carries forward unchanged from RMC No. 89-2026: 53 Revenue District Offices and five Large Taxpayer Audit/Excise Divisions across Metro Manila, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, and Mindoro. See RMC No. 89-2026 for the regional breakdown. The eBIRForms-outage ground under RMC No. 95-2026 is not limited to this list — it turns on whether the taxpayer was actually blocked by the technical problem, not on registered RDO.
What should you do right now? #
- Confirm which ground applies to you — RDO-based flood relief, the eBIRForms outage, or both.
- File and pay by August 18, 2026 if either applies; the earlier August 17 date from RMC No. 89-2026 no longer controls once RMC No. 95-2026 takes effect.
- Keep proof of the eBIRForms error (screenshots, error logs, timestamps) if you’re relying on the technical-unavailability ground, since that basis is taxpayer-specific rather than RDO-specific and may be more likely to require documentation if questioned later.
- Don’t assume the extension applies nationwide for flood reasons — outside the eBIRForms ground, the RDO list is still the limiting factor. Compare your due dates against the 2026 BIR Tax Filing Deadlines Calendar, and if you think you’ll still miss August 18, review what late filing actually costs under NIRC Sections 248 and 249.
Summary #
RMC No. 95-2026 supersedes the August 17, 2026 cutoff set five days earlier by RMC No. 89-2026, moving it to August 18, 2026, and adds a nationwide eBIRForms-outage ground for relief on top of the original RDO-specific flood coverage. Taxpayers who already filed under the earlier deadline don’t need to do anything further; those still catching up should treat August 18 as the operative date and document whichever ground — flooding or the eBIRForms outage — actually applies to them.