The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P279.14 billion in gross revenues in May 2026, up 14.15 percent or P34.61 billion from a year earlier, as collections benefited from the extended tax filing season and sustained taxpayer compliance.

The May haul also slightly exceeded the agency’s P279.06-billion target by P78.22 million.

BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said the extension of the filing season, approved by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., gave taxpayers additional time to meet their obligations amid the energy crisis while easing compliance pressures.

“The May results show that revenue growth and BIR DARES reforms can move together. We will continue to support taxpayers through clearer rules, simpler processes, and better digital services, while protecting the revenue base through stronger enforcement and compliance monitoring,” Mendoza said.

Collections earlier also exceeded the April target by P12.78 billion, or 3.12 percent, despite the Bureau suspending excise taxes on kerosene and LPG.

For the January-to-May period, BIR revenues reached P1.434 trillion, 5.49 percent higher than the P1.359 trillion collected in the same period last year. The five-month total also surpassed the agency’s P1.424-trillion target by P9.71 billion.

Mendoza said the revenue growth coincided with the rollout of several reforms under the BIR DARES agenda, including the launch of the Taxpayer Portal for the Large Taxpayers Service, the implementation of QR-enabled Certificates of Registration for online businesses, the Ease of Closing Business reform, and measures supporting the new mining royalty regime under Republic Act No. 12253.

The Bureau last week said it had begun preparations for the possible implementation of the proposed Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (QDMTT), a measure being pushed by the Department of Finance (DOF) to ensure that large multinational enterprises pay a minimum level of tax on income generated in the Philippines.

It also recently filed a P1-billion tax evasion complaint against former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo before the Department of Justice, alleging that she failed to account for substantial assets, expenditures, and financial transactions uncovered during government investigations.