How to File BIR Form 1604E (Annual Information Return Withholding)

If your business paid professional fees, rent, or contractor costs during the year and withheld tax from those payments, BIR Form 1604E Philippines is the annual report you are required to submit. Here is the thing, most small business owners know about quarterly withholding filings but forget that BIR also requires an annual summary return with a complete list of every payee you withheld from during the year. Skipping this step even after filing quarterly returns creates a compliance gap.

What Form 1604E Is and Who Files It

BIR Form 1604E is the Annual Information Return of Creditable Income Taxes Withheld (Expanded). It is a summary of all the expanded withholding tax, or EWT, you remitted to BIR throughout the year through your quarterly 1601-EQ filings.

It applies to any person, business, corporation, or government agency that acted as a withholding agent during the calendar year. If you withheld tax on rent payments, professional fees, contractor billings, or any other payment covered by expanded withholding tax, this return is for you.

For context on how the withholding system works before diving into the annual return, see our guide on withholding tax explained. For the payee side, where your clients issue you the certificate, our BIR Form 2307 guide covers what to do with it once you receive it.

Difference Between Form 1604C and Form 1604E

These two annual returns are often confused because they look similar. Here is the key distinction.

BIR Form 1604-C, or 1604-C, is the annual information return for withholding on compensation income, meaning the salaries and wages you withheld from your employees throughout the year. Every employer with at least one employee files this.

BIR Form 1604-E is the annual information return for expanded withholding tax on non-compensation income, covering professional fees, rent, contractor payments, commissions, and similar transactions. You file this if you withheld EWT from anyone outside of regular employment during the year.

Many businesses file both, since they may have employees and also pay outside contractors or professionals.

Step by Step: How to File Form 1604E

Here is the 1604E step by step process for the annual filing.

1. Gather your quarterly 1601-EQ returns filed throughout the year, since the total remittances from those returns must reconcile with the amount declared on your 1604-E.
2. Compile a complete list of every payee you withheld EWT from during the year, including their full name, TIN, address, income payment amount, and the tax withheld from each.
3. Download the latest BIR Form 1604-E from the BIR eBIRForms page and open it through the eBIRForms Offline Package.
4. Fill in your withholding agent TIN, RDO code, the calendar year covered, and your total EWT remittances for the year.
5. Prepare your alphalist of payees as a separate attachment in the format BIR requires, usually a CSV or Excel file in a specific template.
6. Validate and submit the return through the Online eBIRForms System, then upload or attach your alphalist file as instructed in the submission process.
7. Pay any remaining balance if your year-end reconciliation shows a discrepancy between quarterly remittances and what was actually required, though in most cases this should net to zero if quarterly filings were done correctly.

What the Alphalist of Payees Requires

The alphalist is the most time-consuming part of 1604-E. It is a detailed list of every person or business you withheld EWT from during the year, arranged alphabetically, with their TIN, income paid, and tax withheld listed for each.

BIR provides a specific data entry template for the alphalist. You should have been collecting payee TINs and keeping records of each EWT payment throughout the year, since reconstructing this list in January is far harder than maintaining it as you go.

If any payee’s TIN is missing, you may need to follow up with them before submission, since the alphalist cannot be filed with blank TIN fields.

Deadlines Table

Verify the latest deadline with the BIR website or ask BB for the most current information, since BIR has adjusted annual information return deadlines through revenue regulations in recent years.

Form	What It Covers	General Deadline
BIR Form 1604-E	Annual EWT summary with alphalist of payees	On or before January 31 of the following year
BIR Form 1604-C	Annual compensation withholding summary with alphalist of employees	On or before January 31 of the following year
BIR Form 1601-EQ (Q4)	Quarterly EWT remittance for October to December	January 31 of the following year

How to Pay BIR Using GCash

If your year-end reconciliation shows any balance due, settle it through GCash.

1. Open your GCash app and tap “Pay Bills.”
2. Select “Government,” then choose “BIR.”
3. Enter your TIN, RDO code, the relevant form type, and the tax period you are settling.
4. Enter the exact amount due.
5. Confirm and save your reference number as proof of payment.

You can also pay through the BIR online payment portal if you prefer using your bank app.

Common Mistakes When Filing 1604E

Most 1604-E errors are preventable with better records throughout the year. Watch out for these.

1. Not collecting payee TINs at the time of payment, then scrambling to find them before the January 31 deadline.
2. Failing to reconcile the 1604-E total against all four 1601-EQ quarterly remittances, which leads to mismatches BIR can flag.
3. Submitting the alphalist in a format BIR does not accept, such as a non-standard Excel layout, which delays processing.
4. Confusing 1604-E with 1604-C and filing the wrong one for the wrong category of withholding.
5. Assuming quarterly filings are sufficient and not knowing that the annual 1604-E is a separate mandatory submission with different content.

Andy’s Story: A Small Contractor from Pampanga

Andy runs a small construction firm in Pampanga. Throughout 2026, he paid freelance architects and engineers a total of ₱1,200,000 in professional fees and withheld 5% EWT on each payment, remitting a total of ₱60,000 to BIR across four quarterly 1601-EQ returns.

In January 2027, he prepared his BIR Form 1604-E showing the total ₱60,000 withheld, along with an alphalist listing each professional, their TIN, the amount paid, and the tax withheld.

He had kept a running spreadsheet throughout the year with this information, so building the alphalist took less than an hour. He filed through eBIRForms and submitted the alphalist attachment before the January 31 deadline.

Final Thoughts

BIR form 1604E Philippines is the annual reporting obligation that closes out your year as a withholding agent. The quarterly 1601-EQ returns handle the remittances, but 1604-E is what tells BIR the full picture of who you withheld from and how much over the entire year.

The annual information return withholding requirement catches many businesses off guard because it requires an alphalist that takes time to build if you have not maintained your payee records throughout the year. The solution is simple: track each payee’s TIN, income, and withheld amount from the first payment you make.

BB is available 24/7 if you need help with the alphalist format or reconciling your quarterly totals. Getting this right once makes every future January much easier.

Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or accounting advice. For complex tax situations, consult a licensed CPA.