Who can apply for the One-Time Abatement Program?

Micro taxpayers, meaning individuals and businesses with annual gross sales below ₱3 million, including those that have already stopped operating. For mixed-income earners, only business income counts toward the test. The total basic tax and penalties to be abated must not exceed ₱80,000 per taxable year, and the liabilities must relate to periods on or before December 31, 2025.

A ₱5,000 abatement fee for each taxable year covered, paid on Form 0605 within five working days after the RDO accepts the application. The fee is non-refundable if the application is withdrawn or denied, and it is applied as partial payment of the amounts covered.

What liabilities does it cover?

Delinquent accounts, assessments, and open stop-filer cases for periods up to December 31, 2025, within the ₱80,000-per-year ceiling. Each taxable year needs its own application.

When is the deadline?

Applications are accepted until December 31, 2026, unless the Secretary of Finance extends the period on the BIR Commissioner's recommendation. No extension had been announced as of this writing.

What happens if I miss the five-day payment window?

The application is treated as void. You can file again as long as the availment period is still open, so an application made in December leaves little room for a second attempt.

BIR One-Time Abatement for Micro Taxpayers (RR 4-2026)

A dormant sari-sari store that never filed its closure. A freelancer who registered in 2022, stopped in 2023, and forgot. A shop with three quarters of unfiled 2551Q from 2024. These are the taxpayers the One-Time Abatement Program for Micro Taxpayers was written for. Under Revenue Regulations No. 4-2026, a micro taxpayer can settle old open cases and small assessments for a flat ₱5,000 per taxable year, instead of the compromise penalties, surcharge, and interest that would otherwise apply. The program closes on December 31, 2026.

Who qualifies

Condition	Requirement
Taxpayer classification	Micro: gross sales below ₱3 million for the taxable year. For mixed-income earners, only the business or professional income counts
Status	Operating or ceased; a business that closed informally can apply
Amount	Total basic tax and penalties to be abated of ₱80,000 or less per taxable year
Periods	Taxable years and periods ending on or before December 31, 2025
Cases	Delinquent accounts, assessments, and open stop-filer cases (unfiled returns)

The ₱80,000 ceiling is per year, so a taxpayer with three years of small problems can apply for all three, at ₱5,000 each.

What you get

The abatement settles the covered taxes and penalties for the year in exchange for the fee. The practical effect for the common case, a string of unfiled zero or near-zero returns, is that the open cases are closed without paying a compromise penalty for each missing return. For a taxpayer with four unfiled quarterly returns and an annual return in a year, that is one ₱5,000 payment instead of five separate penalties plus the filing work to clear each one.

The fee is applied as partial payment of the amounts covered. If the covered liability is smaller than ₱5,000, there is no refund of the difference, which is why the program suits taxpayers with several open cases rather than one.

How to apply

Confirm your open cases. Ask your RDO for your list of open cases and delinquent accounts, or check through ORUS. Group them by taxable year.
Prepare the application form, the One-Time Abatement for Micro Taxpayers form, one per taxable year, with the supporting documents the RDO requests (typically your registration details, the list of covered returns or assessments, and proof of your micro classification such as the latest filed returns).
File manually at the RDO that has jurisdiction over you. Online filing is not provided for this program.
Pay ₱5,000 on Form 0605 within five working days after the RDO accepts the application. Use the abatement ATC code; the Offline eBIRForms Package was updated in September 2026 to include it.
Submit proof of payment to the RDO within five working days after paying.
Receive the approval. The RDO closes the covered cases and updates your record.

Missing either five-day window voids the application. You can refile while the program is open, but an application filed in the last week of December has no margin.

What it doesn’t cover

Taxpayers classified as small, medium, or large (gross sales of ₱3 million and above).
Liabilities for 2026, which are handled under the regular penalty rules; see the late filing penalties guide.
Amounts above ₱80,000 per year. A larger assessment is settled through the regular compromise and abatement procedures.
Withholding taxes that were actually withheld from employees or suppliers and not remitted, which are generally outside penalty relief programs. Check the RDO’s reading of the regulation for your case.

Who should act now

Dormant and informally closed businesses. The abatement clears the open cases that otherwise block closure. Pair it with a proper closure under RMC No. 47-2026; see the business closure guide.

Freelancers who stopped filing. Years of unfiled 1701Q and 2551Q returns can be settled per year, then the registration either revived with current filings or cancelled.

Small shops with a past assessment. A deficiency assessment of up to ₱80,000 for a year up to 2025 can be closed for the fee.

Anyone unsure whether they have open cases. The check at the RDO is free and takes a morning. The zero returns guide explains how open cases arise in the first place.

After the abatement

The program settles the past; it doesn’t change the future. Returns for 2026 onward are due on the normal schedule, and a taxpayer who clears old cases and then misses the next quarterly return is back where they started, without a second program to lean on. If the business is over, close it. If it continues, put the deadlines on the calendar; the year-end checklist lists what is due in the next three months.

The Grant Thornton summary and the Forvis Mazars guidelines note cover the procedural details; your RDO has the current form.

The BIR's One-Time Abatement for Micro Taxpayers: Settle Old Open Cases for ₱5,000 Before December 31, 2026