Influencer tax on free products and hosted stays in the Philippines

The rule on free products

The BIR summary of RMC 97-2021 states the rule in these words. "if a social media influencer receives free products in exchange for the promotion thereof on his/her/it YouTube channel or other social media accounts, he/she/it must declare the fair market value of such products as income."

The same summary says "To constitute gains or profits from the conduct of trade or business, the payments must be received by a social media influencer in consideration for services rendered or to be rendered, irrespective of the manner or form of payment."

The summary names free products. It does not name hosted stays. This page applies the quoted rule to a hosted stay as its own example, because a stay given in exchange for content is a payment in a form other than cash. That is this page's reading, not a BIR statement.

On the 8% option, the BIR summary says that self-employed individuals "whose gross sales or gross receipts and other non-operating income do not exceed the VAT threshold of ₱ 3,000,000.00 shall have the option to avail of the eight percent (8%) tax on gross sales or gross receipts and other non-operating income in excess of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (₱ 250,000) in lieu of the graduated income tax rates under Section 24(A)(2)(a) and Percentage Tax under Section 116 of the NIRC."

On deductions, the BIR summary says that itemized deductions must be "directly and exclusively related to the production or realization of the income" and "can be substantiated with sufficient evidence". In lieu of itemized deductions, an individual may elect the Optional Standard Deduction, which the summary describes as "not exceeding forty percent (40%) of gross sales/receipts". The summary says "No substantiation is required for the OSD", and that the taxpayer "must signify in the return the intention to elect OSD". The summary describes the 8% option as a tax on gross sales or gross receipts, and the example on this page subtracts no deduction from that base.

Worked example

Assumptions of this example, not BIR figures. The creator is a self-employed individual with no compensation income who elects the 8% option. Cash fees are an assumed PHP 200,000. One hosted stay has an assumed fair market value of PHP 100,000. The summary does not say how fair market value is measured, so this value is an assumption. There is no other non-operating income. The PHP 250,000 and PHP 3,000,000 figures apply to the creator's total gross sales or receipts and other non-operating income, so the example uses totals, not one deal. For mixed income earners, who earn both compensation income and business income, the summary describes the 8% income tax as "based on gross sales or gross receipts" and does not repeat the PHP 250,000 amount in that paragraph. This page does not compute that case.

1. Total gross receipts and other non-operating income is PHP 200,000 plus PHP 100,000, which is PHP 300,000.
2. PHP 300,000 is not above the VAT threshold of PHP 3,000,000, so the summary allows the 8% option.
3. The amount in excess of PHP 250,000 is PHP 300,000 minus PHP 250,000, which is PHP 50,000.
4. 8% of PHP 50,000 is PHP 4,000. That figure is the example result under the 8% option.

For comparison only. Under the graduated route, the optional standard deduction is not more than 40% of gross sales or receipts, which is at most PHP 120,000 on PHP 300,000. The graduated route needs the rate table from the law, which this page does not reproduce, so the page does not compute a graduated tax.

Change the assumed amounts below to repeat the same steps with your own figures. The result updates as you type.

Compliance list

The BIR summary says that these tax compliance requirements for social media influencers are specified in Section 6 of the Circular.

• Registration with the BIR and updating of registration information.
• Keeping of books of accounts.
• Filing of tax returns and payment of taxes.
• Withholding of tax and remittance of the same to the BIR, if applicable.

For income from a foreign payer, the summary says that an influencer who receives income from a nonresident person in a country with a tax treaty with the Philippines "must inform the latter that he/she/it is a resident of the Philippines". Where the non-resident requires proof of residency, the influencer "must obtain a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) from the International Tax Affairs Division (ITAD) of the BIR and submit the same to the former".

On penalties, the summary says that influencers who willfully attempt to evade tax, or willfully fail to file a return, supply accurate information or pay tax, are liable criminally "under Sections 254 and 255, in relation to Section 248(B) of the NIRC". It describes a failure to report sales, receipts or income "in an amount exceeding thirty percent (30%) of that declared per return" as substantial under-declaration under Section 248(B). It also names "the civil penalty of fifty percent (50%) of the tax or of the deficiency tax".

Methodology and sources

• Source. The BIR summary of Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 97-2021, a 4-page PDF whose first line reads "issued on August 16, 2021". Fetched on 2026-10-11 and read with a text extract of the PDF.
• This summary is not the full circular. The full text of RMC 97-2021 and the text of the NIRC were not checked for this page.
• Every quoted phrase on this page is copied from the summary. Text outside quotation marks restates the summary or describes the page's own example.
• The calculator uses only the 8% rate, the PHP 250,000 amount, the PHP 3,000,000 VAT threshold and the 40% optional standard deduction limit from the summary, kept in one constant in the page script.

Limits

• This page is information, not legal or tax advice. Consult a Philippine tax professional before filing.
• The source is the BIR summary of RMC 97-2021, issued on August 16, 2021, fetched on 2026-10-11. Later laws can change these rules, and this page does not check later laws.
• The summary names free products, not hosted stays. Applying the rule to a hosted stay is this page's example.
• The worked example assumes a self-employed individual with no compensation income, and that the 8% option is available and elected. Graduated-rate and VAT cases differ. The graduated route needs the rate table from the law, which this page does not reproduce.
• The summary does not define how fair market value is measured. Every fair market value in the example is an assumption.
• The summary does not say over what period the PHP 250,000 and PHP 3,000,000 amounts are counted, and this page does not state a period.