What Is BIR Form 0605 (Payment Form) and When Do You Use It?
BIR Form 0605 is the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s general-purpose Payment Form, used to pay a tax, fee, or penalty that has no dedicated return of its own — for example, a deficiency tax assessment, a compromise penalty, or an installment payment. Unlike a regular tax return, BIR Form 0605 does not compute tax; it only records and remits an amount that has already been determined elsewhere. It is no longer used for the ₱500 Annual Registration Fee, which was abolished in 2024.
Track Your BIR Payments and Deadlines FREE →What BIR Form 0605 is actually for #
BIR Form 0605 exists because not every payment owed to the BIR is generated by filing an income tax, VAT, or withholding return — some payments are one-off, penalty-driven, or installment-based, and need a standalone payment slip. Current uses include:
- Deficiency or delinquency tax payments arising from an assessment (a Final Assessment Notice, an accepted protest resolution, or a final court decision)
- Compromise penalties in lieu of criminal prosecution for violations under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC)
- Second installment of income tax for individual taxpayers who elected to pay their annual income tax due in two installments
- Advance payments and other one-time or miscellaneous BIR charges that do not have a dedicated return form
- Historically, the Annual Registration Fee (ARF) — see below for its current status
BIR Form 0605 does not itself calculate what is owed. The amount comes from an assessment notice, a compromise agreement, a return’s installment schedule, or another BIR computation; the form simply carries that figure to payment.
BIR Form 0605 vs a regular tax return #
The core difference between BIR Form 0605 and a regular BIR return is that a return both computes and pays tax for a specific period, while BIR Form 0605 only pays an amount already fixed elsewhere.
| BIR Form 0605 (Payment Form) | Regular tax return (e.g., 1701, 1702, 2550Q) | |
|---|---|---|
| Computes tax due | No — carries a pre-determined amount | Yes — return itself calculates the liability |
| Typical trigger | Assessment, penalty, or installment schedule | A filing period (monthly, quarterly, annual) |
| Filed how often | As needed, whenever a payment applies | On a fixed recurring schedule |
| Return data (sales, income, credits) | None | Full return data required |
The ₱500 Annual Registration Fee is no longer required #
A large share of searches for BIR Form 0605 are still looking for the ₱500 Annual Registration Fee (ARF) that businesses used to pay every January 31 — but that requirement has been abolished. Under Republic Act No. 11976, the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act, the ARF was removed effective January 22, 2024. The BIR confirmed this in Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 14-2024 and further clarified the removal in Revenue Regulations No. 11-2024, which states that taxpayers no longer need to file or pay BIR Form 0605 for the ARF, even if the fee still appears as a tax type printed on an older Certificate of Registration (BIR Form 2303) — existing CORs remain valid regardless.
If you registered a business before 2024, you may still see “Registration Fee” listed on your COR; that entry does not create an ongoing obligation to file BIR Form 0605 each January under current rules. If you are unsure whether a prior-year ARF balance from before the abolition remains unpaid, confirm your ledger status directly with your RDO.
Worked example: paying a compromise penalty via BIR Form 0605 #
A sole proprietor is assessed a ₱2,000 compromise penalty by the RDO after being cited for using an unregistered invoice booklet, discovered during a routine tax mapping visit. No separate return exists for a compromise penalty, so it is settled through BIR Form 0605.
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Violation | Use of an unregistered invoice booklet |
| Compromise penalty assessed | ₱2,000 |
| Form used | BIR Form 0605 (Payment Form), citing the compromise penalty as the tax type/ATC |
| Basis | Compromise settlement in lieu of criminal prosecution under the NIRC’s penalty provisions and the BIR’s compromise penalty schedule |
| Filing channel | eBIRForms or eFPS, with payment through an authorized agent bank or accredited electronic payment channel |
| Proof of payment | Validated BIR Form 0605 / payment confirmation kept with the taxpayer’s compliance records |
The ₱2,000 here comes from the RDO’s compromise assessment, not from a computation on the 0605 form itself — BIR Form 0605 is simply the vehicle that carries that fixed amount to payment, the same role it plays for a deficiency tax bill or a second income tax installment.
Frequently asked questions #
What is BIR Form 0605 used for? #
BIR Form 0605 is the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s general Payment Form, used to pay taxes, fees, and penalties that do not have their own dedicated return — including deficiency or delinquency tax assessments, compromise penalties, second-installment income tax payments, and other one-time BIR charges.
Do I still need to pay a ₱500 Annual Registration Fee using BIR Form 0605? #
No. The ₱500 Annual Registration Fee (ARF) was abolished effective January 22, 2024 under Republic Act No. 11976, the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act, as confirmed by Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 14-2024 and Revenue Regulations No. 11-2024. Registered taxpayers are no longer required to file or pay BIR Form 0605 for the ARF, even if it still appears printed on an older Certificate of Registration.
How is BIR Form 0605 different from a regular BIR tax return? #
A regular BIR return, such as the income tax return or a VAT return, both computes the tax due for a specific period and serves as the payment document. BIR Form 0605 carries no independent tax computation of its own — it is purely a payment slip used alongside an assessment notice, a compromise agreement, or another BIR-computed amount.
What happens if I don’t pay a deficiency tax shown on BIR Form 0605? #
An unpaid deficiency assessment continues to accrue interest under Section 249 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) until fully paid, and unresolved liabilities can block registration updates such as an RDO transfer or business closure, and may lead to collection enforcement by the BIR.
Can BIR Form 0605 be filed and paid online? #
Yes. BIR Form 0605 can be filed and paid through eFPS (Electronic Filing and Payment System) for enrolled taxpayers, or through eBIRForms with payment via an authorized agent bank, online banking, or other BIR-accredited electronic payment channels, in addition to over-the-counter filing at an authorized agent bank.
Is there still a penalty for failing to pay old Annual Registration Fee balances? #
The abolition of the Annual Registration Fee under the EOPT Act applies going forward; it does not automatically erase a genuinely unpaid, prior-year ARF liability that had already accrued before the fee was removed. Taxpayers unsure whether an old balance remains should confirm their ledger status with their RDO.
Summary #
BIR Form 0605 is a payment vehicle, not a computation form — it carries an already-determined amount (a deficiency tax, a compromise penalty, an installment payment) to the BIR for settlement. It is no longer the form for the ₱500 Annual Registration Fee, which Republic Act No. 11976 (the EOPT Act) abolished effective January 22, 2024, per Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 14-2024 and Revenue Regulations No. 11-2024. If you’re registering a business for the first time, see How to Register a New Business with the BIR; if a 0605 payment is arising from a late or missed filing, see BIR Late Filing Penalties: Surcharge, Interest, and Compromise.