BIR surpasses April target despite ITR deadline extension

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday reported a gross collection of P422.378 billion in April, overshooting last month’s target by 3.12% or P12.776 billion.

In a statement, the BIR said its April performance despite the extension for the filing of the 2025 Annual Income Tax Returns (AITR) from April 15 to May 15 as ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Moreover, the taxman’s April gross collection grew by 0.13% or P551.11 million from the same month last year.

For his part, Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said the agency’s collection performance last month was due to the intensified tax campaign efforts of the National Office, Revenue Regions, Revenue District Offices, and the Large Taxpayer Service in the past months, which helped encourage early and voluntary compliance.

“Even with the extension of the Annual Income Tax Return filing deadline, the BIR sustained solid collection performance in April, reflecting the impact of higher taxpayer confidence, better digital services, and continuing reforms under the BIR DARES reform agenda,” said Mendoza.

For the first four months of 2026, the BIR saw its gross collection exceed its target by 0.84% or P9.631 billion, amounting to P1.155 trillion.

Year-on-year, the taxman’s January to April 2026 revenue grew by 3.58% or P39.92 billion.

Mendoza said the BIR’s collection performance for the first four months of the year showed that the bureau remains on track to meet this year’s revenue goal while continuing to improve taxpayer service, and that the bureau is optimistic for May collections to be positive as well, with the remaining 2025 annual income tax payments due mid-month.

“We remind taxpayers who availed of the extension to file their Annual Income Tax Returns and pay the corresponding taxes due by May 15, 2026. They should use the remaining time to complete their requirements properly and avoid the rush on the last day,” said the BIR chief. —VAL, GMA News