[ad_1]
MANILA, Philippines – Special allowances and allowance for dangerous living conditions of medical and health professionals in the fight against COVID-19 will not be taxed while the country is in a state of national emergency.
The Internal Revenue Office (BIR) published Revenue Regulation No. 29-2020 on Saturday, which serves as guidelines on the income tax exemption provisions of the Republic Law No. 11494, or the Bayanihan Law to Recover as One, or Bayanihan 2.
DUE TO TAX EXEMPTIONS Health workers quarantined at the Philippine Arena complex, three months after the closure on the island of Luzon. By then, President Duterte had ordered the release of P32 million in compensation to the families of those on the front lines who died of COVID-19. —CHILD JESUS ORBETA
Compensation
Bayanihan 2 exempts the payment of risk rights for temporarily hired health workers from taxes, as well as the special COVID-19 risk allowance for public and private health workers.
RR 29-2020 also noted that the monthly special risk allowance is being extended to health workers who were in contact with COVID-19 patients during the national state of emergency.
President Duterte last month extended the national state of emergency for one more year, or until September 12, 2021. He declared the emergency for the first time in March at the start of the pandemic.
In addition to the special allowance and the hazard payment, compensation for healthcare workers who were infected by the coronavirus while doing their duty or who died “while fighting COVID-19,” the BIR said, are also tax-exempt. .
The exemption covers P1 million for those who died from COVID-19; P100,000 for those who became critically ill; and P15,000 for those with mild or moderate infections.
The tax-free compensation covered amounts awarded as of February 1 and during the state of national emergency, provided these amounts were paid within three months of delivery or death.
Retirement benefits
In the event of death, compensation will also be excluded from the deceased’s gross estate, which will then be subject to estate tax, the BIR said.
Retirement benefits for officials and employees of any private company received between June 5 and December 31 of this year are also tax-exempt.
The tax exemption will be granted “provided that the amount received is in accordance with a retirement plan duly registered in the BIR”, according to RR 29-2020.
However, re-employment within the next 12-month period will be considered non-retirement, the BIR said.
“If the reemployment occurs within the 2020 calendar year, the employer will include said retirement benefits in the gross income of the official or employee in question for 2020. However, if the reemployment will occur in 2021 and within the 12-month period, the interested party The employee must pay the taxes owed for the retirement benefits received within 30 days from the date of re-employment, or on the due date of the payment of the second installment of the 2020 income tax, whichever occurs later, without penalties ”, explained the BIR.
Retroactive
Tax exemptions for healthcare workers and retirees will be retroactive, so they will have to receive a refund from their employers for deductions made before Bayanihan 2 takes effect.
“Interested employers of public or private health personnel and human resources for health [temporary workers] Likewise, it will reimburse the income tax withheld from such income payments after the year-end adjustment by the employer for purposes of determining the taxable compensation and the corresponding contribution to the employees. This adjustment will determine which employee has been withheld with more or less of the tax owed. If the adjustment resulted in a remission of excess taxes, said excess will be deducted or applied as a deduction in the remission of subsequent tax withholdings, ”said the BIR.
Articles related to COVID-19
Another set of guidelines issued Saturday, under a separate RR 28-2020, grants tax benefits to the manufacture and import of essential goods and equipment in response to a pandemic.
The BIR said that COVID-19-related items imported between June 25 and December 19 are exempt from value added tax and consumption tax, among other fees.
Tax-exempt products include personal protective equipment; laboratory, medical and surgical devices, equipment and supplies; medicines and vitamins; test kits; cleaning and sanitation materials, and other goods that may be included by the health and commerce departments.
Waste management equipment is also covered, as well as raw materials for local manufacturing of COVID-19 mitigation essentials.
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare leaders and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
