Taxpayers may file corrected 2020 income tax returns (ITRs) without the fear of penalty, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) announced on Thursday, April 8.
BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay issued the statement even as he stressed that the April 15 deadline in the filing of ITRs will not be extended like the previous year due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The BIR chief said, however, that the tentative ITRs may be amended and submitted not later than May 15 to avoid paying fines.
"To alleviate the hardship in beating the deadline being encountered during these challenging times, tentative returns may be filed in or before the set deadline," Dulay said in Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 46-2020.
He noted that "the ITRs may be amended on or before May 15 without the imposition of increments."
He said taxpayers may also seek refund for excess tax payments, or apply the same as credits against payables in succeeding period for the same tax type.
The Department of Finance (DOF), the mother unit of the BIR, did not favor the extension of the deadline since it would delay the collection of taxes urgently needed for the government's pandemic recovery program.