In addition to the sheer awesomeness I reek of, I could well be the God-sent answer to the individual local taxation problems that you, dear reader, may be burdened with. It has come to my attention that quite a number of my off-line friends almost always turn to me for queries on filing, computation, reference, opinion, past incidences, likely outcomes, and other similar cases or situations related to personal or “individual” taxation. Like they’re my subscribers and I’m their personal Lex Libris or something.
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Are you bothered by a tax-related inquiry but didn’t know who to ask? Here’s where the pro bono fun part begins. I will, for the first 5 people (I know I first offered this to 20 or so people but let’s see how we could manage with 5 for starters), answer what they need to know and help them in the best of my personal capacity to come up with a remedy or solution to their tax-related problems. The catch is, since this service is free, my end of the bargain will be to help by means of guiding you with what to do moving forward, help you analyze the possible remedies to your dilemma, and help you go about computing your interest and surcharges and penalties arising from your dilemma, if at all there is any. I would like to reiterate that I am not your bitch nor your slave so let us go about this helping-you-out bit in the most civilized and professional manner. I will not be held liable or accountable with the consequences that may arise by your acting in your full capacity with me being your consult but I will exercise the best my expertise has to offer in coming up with a sound proposed solution. Just take this as a venue for your hypothetical questions, if you must.
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We won’t do textbook taxation here. Textbooks do little to help with its legal-terms, non-customized, and vague stands anyway. And I won’t help you with your school’s taxation problems, OK? This offer is good for those who really need help on money-tax, the thing we get deducted with on a monthly basis for compensation income earners and the thing we have to pay in quarterly and annual terms for those deriving incomes from sources other than purely compensation.
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As taxation almost always requires actual figures that are revenue and expense related, should your inquiry require that you provide numbers, you may substitute your digits with made-up ones. Be wary, however, that since a graduated tax-rate is used in taxation locally, unless it’s fixed percentage tax we are dealing with, whatever taxable figure and tax-amount we come up with might be different, depending whether the hypothetical number you have provided falls in a higher or lower tax bracket than what is used in your example as this will be the basis for my computation.
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I still recommend that you consult with your hired accountants and have them give you sound advice. They are after all paid to know what they are doing and are thus required more to do a great job at it. May this be your, should we say, second opinion.
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This “service” might not come again, depending on my work-load. Should you be so ashamed to let other people know that you have asked a mere Fritzified, you may email me your queries directly at admin [at] fritzified [dot] com. Rest assured, lest my professional license be rebuked, or worst revoked, that everything between me and my pseudo-client will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Even your identity. Quality high-level professionalism and it’s finest for free!
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As for the turn-around time, give me a week or two to come back to you. Leave a comment here if you have submitted or are planning to submit an inquiry. Make it anonymous if you don’t like your identity disclosed.
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As for my credentials: 4 years of individual tax advocacy expertise from working with the best accounting firm in the country, having a range of individual clients either self-employed or employed by manufacturing, power, airline, banking, and stock brokering companies, and individual business income earners, both multinational and local. Also, I have several years under my belt with two other multinational companies working in a function closely associated with individual local taxation.
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Either leave me a comment or email me your inquiry. Be sure to put in as much detail of the situation as you can because, with much probability, your case will be different from that of others.
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So what’s the catch? NOTHING. Just do not expect me to teach you how to evade taxes because I was not trained to do that.
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If this exercise has helped you in any way, just pay it forward.
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Twitter Updates
29 August 2007 at 2:56 am
i wish you had an american clone.. i just wanna know how to cheat my taxes.
29 August 2007 at 4:48 am
You should get paid for this.
I got a quick question, Fritz. Shouldn’t “heads of the family” (HF1) get lower tax deductions than regular “single” employees? Because I sure don’t feel the difference.
29 August 2007 at 10:26 am
HF1s are single individuals with one child that they claim as their dependent. Do you have a child? Because minor siblings do not qualify as a dependent of an HF individual. If you support said minor sibling, that qualifies you to be HF0 but not HF1. Same goes for a parent older than 65. They make you HF but you can not claim them as your dependent. This IS a hypothetical question anyway so we discuss just for the heck of it, right? Please say yes.
Anyhow, tax exemptions for TEUs in question are as follows:
SL0 – 20,000
HF0 – 25,000
HF1 – 33,000 (8,000 per dependent)
You divide those by 12 if you are paid monthly and 24 if semi-monthly so you get the exemption “effect” on those pay periods.
Your “benefit” of changing to HF0 coming from SL1 is P208.33 semi-monthly (or P416.67 monthly). That’s P541.67 semi-monthly (or P1,083.33 monthly) if you change to HF1.
29 August 2007 at 10:39 am
I did several 1040s back in the days. I’m helpless without Turbo Tax, though. Drawing from memory, I like how the Federal US TAX system works. Tax rates are graduated for a WIDE range of incomes so those earning little get to pay little tax and those who earn ridiculous moneys are subject to the maximum tax rate. But you have State taxes on top of this and we don’t so there. But this system is still viable. Overall, the IRS has made a host of allowable deductions you all could “abuse,” pardon the term.
Here, you earn 500,000 and you pay the maximum. Come on! 500,000 a year isn’t THAT much! They should jack that threshold shit up to like 2M for it to be fair!
29 August 2007 at 1:19 pm
bravo for your selfless service fritz! :) Talagang people-guy ka and you can moonlight as a tax consultant hehe. cheers!
29 August 2007 at 1:42 pm
Stocking up on as much good karma as I could get. LOL. Thanks JT!
29 August 2007 at 6:20 pm
First of all, I wasn’t able to read your post. Because I have ADD and your post was in English. So apologies if this was already covered. Anyway, here goes:
What kind of tax deductions do I get for getting married?
29 August 2007 at 6:30 pm
Just earning purely compensation income, right? You actually do not need to burden yourself with the computation because your payroll does that for you. Standard non-taxable deductions, though, are as follows:
1. Government Contributions (SSS, HDMF, and PhilHealth)
2. Bonus Exemption (up to 30,000 a year)
3. Leaves Conversion for the first 10 days
4. Personal Exemption of 32,000 for each of your and your Spouse. Add to that 8,000 for every child (dependent) you make which will be claimed by the Father, by default (or by the Wife by filing the same with the BIR). Note that you will have to register a “change in status” with the BIR for this, or any claim for an additional dependent, to take effect.
29 August 2007 at 7:01 pm
Wow, wala akong naintidihan. Hahahahaha.
29 August 2007 at 11:05 pm
Wag problemahin ang tax habang bata ka pa. pagnagtrabaho ka or business, dun, tepok.
30 August 2007 at 3:09 am
So HF1s are employees with one child? Imma askin’ all my ex-girlfriends tomorrow.
Also, I can see the numbers but I cannot read them. Need I use deductive reasoning skills on this? All I understand is I should be getting a lower tax deduction as an HF1 employee. Right? Right.
30 August 2007 at 3:38 am
You people with short attention spans! Yes, lower, by like a hundred pesos for HF0 and about 200 for HF1 per semi-monthly payroll. Isang kape lang ang katapat, abono ka pa!
30 August 2007 at 11:18 am
Thanks for the affirmation…
*bata pa ko* *bata pa ko* *bata pa ko* …
14 September 2007 at 4:28 am
This offer has expired. SRY.
25 March 2009 at 7:27 pm
Hi Fritz! I really hope you can help me. All my friends are doctors and nurses, they are not exactly helpful during these tax-paying times hehe. Ive worked as a goverment doctor for the past years, and now that im a retainer company doctor, i am forced to file my taxes on my own. I really have no idea how to file my taxes. I am registered as a self employed professional. I just recently found out that we are required to pay an additional 3% monthly tax of the monthly gross. I just dont know how come some doctors are not aware of this 3% monthly tax. Is it optional then or mandatory? Second question, the company I work for already gets 10% from my salary monthly and submits to me a form (Tax withheld at source form -?) I have to file my annual taxes this before april however i do not know how to fill up form 1701. I’ve even visited the BIR website but it really has not been helpful at all. I dont know which to deduct or add. I am married to a marine engineer (seaman), should I still fill up the spouse side of the form? I am married but without kids, should I opt for an optimal standard deduction or itemized deduction? gosh I really need help! If you have any medical-related problems, I would happily assist you in return. I hope to hear from you soon! Maraming salamat!
26 March 2009 at 10:27 pm
Hi Mia, I would like to know the nature of the 3% withholding tax. Will the hospital issue a tax certificate for this (like the withholding tax from source certificate you mentioned)? Actually, my offer for “help” has prescribed but since you made an effort to write a very lengthy comment, I’ll indulge a request this one last time, haha!
You asked if you will need to claim an optional standard deduction since you are registered as a professional. My answer: yes you may may but still do consider itemizing your necessary business expenses (gas, parking, instruments, supplies, and the like). I’m saying this because your total annual business expenses may add up to more than (edited per Adan’s comment) 40% of your gross income (40% is the rate of the optional standard deduction for expenses) and ultimately make you pay a little less than what you ought to in taxes come April.
You are aware that you may have to shell out cash for “annualized” taxes, yes? Let me elaborate. The hospital withholds 10% from your income on a per payout basis. Come April, professionals and “individuals earning purely compensation income” (aka “waged” people, like me) are subject to the same graduated rate ranging from 5% to 32% of our net taxable income. If your income has crossed the 500k threshold, the maximum in the tax table, then anything you earn in excess will be subject to 32%. Tax for the first 500k is a flat rate of 125k. What makes you different from “wage earners” is you get to claim expenses. The option is either to settle with the “optional standard deduction” (which is 40% as I’ve mentioned) or “itemize.”
As for filing joint, you may not file a joint return to reflect that of your husband’s income from overseas. They have a “special” tax procedure which exempts them from filing “joint” with their resident citizen spouses. It’s one of the few instances where married individuals are allowed to not file “joint.”You will still claim 50k as personal exemption as a “married” individial, though.
I hope this somewhat clarifies some of the questions that have been bothering you. At least you are concerned with filing. Others aren’t. If you need further clarification, email me at fritz.tentativa at gmail dot com.
By the way, you are filing quarterly income taxes, are you? I guess not. It’s required, though. Form is used is 1701Q.
29 March 2009 at 6:24 pm
Fritz, I never realized how popular you are in the blogging community. May award ka pa. ;-) Nice blog! Btw, OSD is now at 40%; I suppose the 3% tax your friend Mia is talking about is the percentage tax on professionals not covered by VAT. Good luck pre. I like the domain name ;-)
29 March 2009 at 9:47 pm
Hahaha, hindi ah. Hey, Dan, thanks for the correction with the OSD rate. Seems like my numbers got stuck in the year 2003 LOL. Salamat ule. Edited my reply to Mia with 40% just as you said. Cheers!