The key amendments in the Tax Code under the CREATE bill include, but not limited to,

the following:

1. Corporate income tax (CIT)

a. Adoption of graduated CIT rate effective 1 July 2020:

i. 20% CIT for domestic corporations with total assets of PHP100m and below, and with
net taxable income of PHP5m and below
ii. 25% CIT for other domestic corporations
b. 25% CIT for resident and non-resident foreign corporations effective 1 July 2020
c. Reduction of minimum corporate income tax (MCIT) to 1% from 1 July 2020 to 30 June
2023
d. Reduction of CIT for proprietary, non-profit educational institutions and hospitals to 1%
from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2023
e. Tax exemption of foreign-sourced dividends of domestic corporations subject to certain
conditions
f. Clarification on the types of reorganizations covered by tax-free exchanges under
Section 40(C)(2) of the Tax Code
g. Repeal of improperly accumulated earnings tax (IAET)
h. Repeal of 10% special income tax rate on regional operating headquarters (ROHQ)
starting 1 January 2022

2. Fiscal incentives

a. Uniform fiscal incentives for newly registered business enterprises (RBE)

i. Income tax holiday (ITH) for 4 to 7 years
ii. 5% gross income tax (GIT) or enhanced deductions for 10 years
b. Total period of incentive availment has been increased to a maximum of 17 years. The
length of the period of incentives takes into account the location and type of the
registered activity
c. Highly-desirable projects with a minimum investment capital of PHP50bn or those that
can generate at least 10,000 employees, can enjoy a superior incentive package for up
to 40 years which includes ITH for a maximum of 8 years
d. Sunset period for existing RBEs:
i. Firms enjoying ITH can continue to enjoy the same within the remaining ITH period
ii. Firms enjoying 5% GIT can continue to enjoy the same for 10 years
e. Existing RBEs may re-apply for the fiscal incentives under the CREATE bill after the
lapse of the sunset period
f. Approval of fiscal incentives for new projects or activities with investment capital of
PHP1bn and below shall be delegated to their respective Investment Promotion
Agencies (IPA). Fiscal incentives application for projects or activities with investment
capital exceeding PHP1bn shall be subject to the approval of the Fiscal Incentives
Review Board (FIRB)
g. Duty exemption on certain importations, VAT exemption on importations, and VAT zero-
rating on local purchases shall still apply

3. Value-added tax (VAT) and Percentage Tax

a. VAT-exemption on the sale or importation of digital or electronic reading materials

b. VAT-exemption on the sale or importation of drugs, vaccines and medical devices
specifically prescribed and directly used for the treatment of COVID-19 registered with
and approved by the FDA from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2023
c. VAT-exemption on the sale or importation of medicines for cancer, mental illness,
tuberculosis, and kidney diseases to take effect on 1 January 2021 instead of 1 January
2023
d. Adjustment on the threshold of VAT-exemption on sale of real property to account for
inflation, as follows:
i. Residential lots from PHP1.5m to PHP2.5m
ii. House and lot, and other residential dwellings from PHP2.5m to PHP4.2m
e. Reduction of percentage tax for non-VAT taxpayers from 3% to 1% starting 1 July 2020
to 30 June 2023