Documentary Stamp Tax

Unknown to some, Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) is not a direct multiplication of taxable amount x 1.5%.

The BIR describes the equation as: "15 pesos for the first 1,000, and 15 for each additional 1,000 or fractional part thereof in excess of P1,000.

Put another way, it's the taxable amount x 1.5%, then ROUNDED UP to the nearest multiple of 15 (if not a multiple of 15).

For example, if the taxable amount is 20,450,100, the DST is 306,765 (not 306,751.50).

So, how do you write the equation in Excel?

It's like this:

= CEILING ( TAXABLE AMOUNT * 1.5% , 15 )

Then, remove the spaces and replace "TAXABLE AMOUNT" with the pertinent cell.

=CEILING(TAXABLE AMOUNT*1.5%,15)

=CEILING(A1*1.5%,15)

Why is this important?

Preparing Manager's Checks (MC) for such taxes is tedious. One has to fall in line, answer a relatively lengthy questionnaire, and wait for a new MC to be issued. The whole process can take 1-3 hours. So, knowing how to compute the DST on a spreadsheet might save everyone time.

Happy Monday!