How to Update Your RDO Address And Change Your Tax Status

It's almost the end of the year. Our HR had sent in a reminder that we need to submit a copy of the completed BIR Forms by December 15 if we want to update our Tax Status and for our dependent exemption to count for 2014. I've been too lazy in doing this. I had the required forms signed by our HR since April and I just processed it, seven months after.

I don't like going and transacting with government offices. I know there had been a lot of changes and improvement but I still find it to be a waste of time. That's the reason why I opted to have Mila and Hubs' NSO birth certificate delivered to us. Such a hassle-free transaction, thanks to NSOHelpline. I just wished Pilipinas Telesev and Citizen Services will also handle BIR and LTO transactions too.

Since we still have to do this manually, here's some guide and tips on how to update your RDO address and change your tax status easily.

Update your RDO (Revenue District Office) Address

- You have to fill out two copies of the BIR Form 1905 to update your RDO address. You can download the form here. 

- You need to do this if you've moved to a different company, or changed company address. Most of the time, your employer will help with this process. This is also part of pre-employment requirements. For my case, we had to do this ourselves after our office moved to a new address.

- First, call BIR to confirm your RDO Address. That's where your TIN is registered and it's based on your previous office address. You can access the RDO Directory here.

- {Optional} Once you find our where your TIN is registered, contact the RDO's office. Check if they will accept a faxed copy of your form 1905. For RDO 050, they process faxed forms. I found out about it after I went to their office to submit my form personally so I was not able to utilize this convenience. It normally takes 7 business days to complete. Then you can call your new RDO to confirm. 

- If your current RDO requires personal appearance or you are in a hurry, you can check the BIR website to find out where the office is. Again, it will help if you call the RDO office for directions on how to go there. It should only take about 3-5 business days to transfer your RDO Address to the new one.

Fill out the highlighted parts of BIR Form 1905 as shown above.

Change your Tax Status

- The BIR Form 2305 is used to update your employer information and your tax status. Fill out 3 copies - one for BIR, one for your employer, and one for your personal copy. You can download the form here. 

- This is required as part of pre-employment requirements. You also need to submit this form when you get married and/or you need to add dependent/s (ie, having newborn, legal adoption, etc.). 

- Each dependent is an additional P25,000 personal exemption on top of the basic P50,000. You can declare a maximum of 4 dependents. Take advantage of that!

- For married individuals, the exemption go to the husband as a default. Otherwise, you need to append an attachment that the husband is waiving the exemption, as signed by him and his company's representative.

- Submit Form 2305 to your current company's RDO. You have to make sure your RDO Address is updated, as per instructions above, for them to accept it. Attach a copy of your dependent's birth certificate. Have all copies received and stamped.

- Return one copy to your employer so they can update your records and change your tax status in the payroll system. Most company will require that you submit a copy before December for the changes to be effective this year. You still have time so go ahead and do this now.

Fill out the highlighted parts of BIR Form 2305 as shown above.
Orange-highlighted fields are to be filled out by your employer.
Enter other data that applies.

When I had my RDO transferred, I submitted the form in RDO 050, at the Atrium Building on a Tuesday. I was told it will be ready by Friday morning (just 3 days after). I had my TIN transferred to RDO 047 which is in the Buendia Office. I went there Friday morning and, surprise, surprise, it's not ready yet. That's why it's better to call first to confirm. The guy in Counter 3 who processes Form 2305 gave us a phone number to call and told us who to look for to get the RDO transferred immediately. Nicely done!

Since we're already there, I also requested for my TIN ID. It's processed on the same counter so I did not have to get another number to line up. It's just the print out kind where you need to put your own picture and laminate yourself. It's for free and can be done in a couple of minutes. I forgot to ask about the Digitized ID Cards. I'm thinking they are not giving one out anymore because of the Unified Multi-Purpose ID. This works for me now so I did not bother to find out (lazy me!).

There you have it. I can't wait for my 2014 tax refund!


Ps. Pardon the selfie pretending to be an ID picture on the photo on top. Promise, that's not what I'll put on the laminated card. :)