Unwritten Rule #9

Do you know how when you pay your credit card before the deadline, you're still penalized because the payment gets credited on a date beyond the due date? It's the same for RE taxes.

Just like credit cards, the reckoning date for the payment of taxes is when the BIR sees the funds in their system.

The delay in receipt may be because of several factors, such as weekends/holidays or periods when the banks' systems go offline. The BIR wouldn't accept any excuse, even if it's the bank's fault.

In case of such late payments, the BIR will slap the taxpayer with a hefty surcharge of 25% and interest of 20% of the tax payable.

This is the same reason why some RE practitioners advise using government banks. It seems the crediting is faster (as opposed to non-government banks).

I think this issue has been less prevalent ever since the check clearing was reduced from 3 days to a day. In any case, the takeaway is this: pay your taxes long before their deadline.