BIR stops doctors from directly billing hospital in-patients

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) further revved up its tax collection efforts on professionals by ordering hospitals, clinics and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to stop doctors from receiving professional fees from in-patients.

 

Medical facilities must withhold and remit taxes of accredited medical practitioners, which include doctors of medicine, doctors of veterinary science and dentists, BIR noted. 

 

Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said the measure is just "tightening up" of compliance of medical practitioners to pay the right taxes.

 

"Mas pinaigting lang ng BIR ang regulation para mas compliant ang mga doktor. But they will still have to file their income tax returns, dahil ang withholding tax ay partial lang," she told GMA News Online over the phone.

 

In a September 20 Revenue Regulations order No. 14-2013, the bureau directed hospitals, clinics, HMOs and similar establishments to withhold and remit taxes due on the professional fees of accredited medical practitioners, "paid by patients who were admitted and confined." 

 

The order takes effect Oct. 1, 2013. 

 

This means hospitals and clinics will prohibit medical professionals from receiving payments directly from patients, and professional fees must be included in the total medical bill of a patient and paid to the hospital or clinic.

 

"The amended regulation is just for in-patients who paid bills for consultation, admission and any other services consumed within the medical facility. For out-patients, that's a different story," Henares said.

 

But the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) noted that medical professionals directly charging in-patients has been a long-standing practice in the Philippines.

 

"Ang hospitals matagal na nag-re-require na ang bayad ng mga pasyente ay sa ospital mismo at sinusunod naman ito ng mga doktor," PMA president Dr. Leo O. Olarte said in a separate phone interview.

 

"Unless in kind ang bigay ng pasyente, matagal na naming ginagawa yan kaya hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ngayon lang yan," Olarte added.

 

Medical practitioners with professional fees exceeding P720,000 for the current year will have to pay a  15 percent tax those with professional income below that will have to pay a 10 percent tax.

 

The ruling came the BIR required doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants, engineers, architects, real estate brokers and other self-employed individuals to disclose professional fees as part of a crackdown on tax evaders.

 

The Department of Finance and BIR also have in play the Tax Watch campaign, in which government agencies publish a weekly list of the top and the least individual and non-individual tax payments on the DOF and Pera ng Bayan website, and place ads in major newspapers.

 

In April, the BIR intensified its tax drive on doctors by requiring them to issue receipts during consultations as part of efforts to ensure that professionals pay their respective professional income taxes. – VS, GMA News