PAYING THE WRONG RDO

Previously, taxpayers faced a 25% penalty if they paid taxes at the wrong Authorized Agent Bank (AAB) or Revenue District Office (RDO).

For instance, if a condo in Legazpi Village (RDO 47-East Makati) was sold, but the Capital Gains Tax and Documentary Stamp Tax were mistakenly paid under RDO 049-North Makati, the taxpayer would be fined 25% of the tax due—based on Section 248(A)(2) of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), which stated:

"(A) There shall be imposed, in addition to the tax required to be paid, a penalty equivalent to twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount due, in the following cases:

(2) Unless otherwise authorized by the Commissioner, filing a return with an internal revenue officer other than those with whom the return is required to be filed."

However, it appears that this penalty has been repealed under the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act, as clarified by Revenue Regulations (RR) 4-2024 and RR 087-2024.

Section 4 of RR 4-2024 explicitly states:

"With the repeal of Section 248(A)(2) of the Tax Code, as amended, under the EOPT, the civil penalty of 25% of the amount due in case of filing a return with an internal revenue officer other than those with whom the return is required to be filed shall no longer be imposed."

Furthermore, RR 087-2024 confirms:

"Q6. With the removal of the twenty-five percent (25%) surcharge for 'wrong venue' filing, does it mean that the same shall not be imposed on a taxpayer who manually paid the tax due to an AAB outside the jurisdiction of the RDO where the taxpayer is registered?

A6. Yes. The twenty-five percent (25%) surcharge shall no longer be imposed as this has already been removed under the EOPT Act."

What's not clear is if this applies to all tax returns, since the RR mostly tackles the payment of income taxes; they do not explicitly mention other taxes, such as Capital Gains Tax and Documentary Stamp Tax for real estate (RE) transactions.

However, based on a literal reading of the regulations, I would say this applies to ALL TAXES–including those paid in RE transactions.

That said, this is my opinion. Always consult a tax lawyer or BIR officer to confirm.