Your PERA earns a tax credit of 5% of what you put in each year, up to ₱10,000 on the ₱200,000 limit. Your PERA administrator applies for the certificate, but it only lowers your tax once a copy reaches your HR.
Most people know about the 5% tax credit. Fewer know how it actually gets from the BIR to their payslip, and that is where it often stalls. Here is the whole path, step by step.
The PERA Act of 2008 (Republic Act No. 9505) gives you an income tax credit equal to 5% of your PERA contributions. The annual limit is ₱200,000, so the most you can earn is ₱10,000 a year. Overseas Filipinos have a ₱400,000 limit, so their credit can reach ₱20,000.
If you are married, each spouse has their own limit. Contributions above the limit do not earn the credit.
| You put in this year | Your tax credit (5%) |
|---|---|
| ₱2,000 a month (₱24,000) | ₱1,200 |
| ₱5,000 a month (₱60,000) | ₱3,000 |
| ₱10,000 a month (₱120,000) | ₱6,000 |
| ₱200,000, the annual limit | ₱10,000 |
| ₱400,000, the limit for overseas Filipinos | ₱20,000 |
You do not. Your PERA administrator files for all its contributors within 60 days after the year ends. The application goes through the BSP's PERASys, and the BIR approves it through its ePERA System.
The result is a PERA Tax Credit Certificate, BIR Form No. 2337. For contributions made in 2026, the administrator files by March 1, 2027.
Ask your administrator for it in writing. They can give you a printed certificate or email it to you as a PDF. Your administrator does not send it to your employer for you, so this request is yours to make.
This is the step most people miss. The certificate does nothing until you use it, and how you use it depends on how you earn.
Give a copy to your HR or payroll team. Your employer applies it in the annual year end adjustment of your withholding tax. If more tax was withheld than you owe after the credit, your employer refunds the difference. If the credit is bigger than your tax due, the rest carries over to the next year's withholding.
Claim it on your income tax return under "Other Tax Credits/Payments," and attach a copy. Check your tax due first. Any part of the credit above what you owe is forfeited.
You can use the credit against any national internal revenue tax, not only income tax. You file the return with the certificate attached, the same way.
Five years from the date it was issued, under Revenue Regulations No. 7-2023. After that it is cancelled automatically and cannot be used. Each certificate can be used only once, though you can use part of it and keep the balance. It cannot be transferred to anyone else.
Sources: Republic Act No. 9505, Sections 5 and 8; Revenue Regulations No. 2-2022 and No. 7-2023; BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 94-2026 (August 13, 2026); BSP FAQ on the PERA Tax Credit.
5% of your PERA contributions for the year, under RA 9505. With the ₱200,000 annual limit, the most you can earn is ₱10,000. Overseas Filipinos have a ₱400,000 limit, so up to ₱20,000.
Your PERA administrator files for all its contributors within 60 days after the year ends, through the BSP's PERASys. The BIR approves it and issues BIR Form No. 2337.
Ask your administrator for your certificate, then give a copy to HR. Your employer applies it in the annual year end adjustment of your withholding tax.
Five years from the date of issue, under Revenue Regulations No. 7-2023. After that it is cancelled and can no longer be used.
Try the calculator with your own numbers, including your yearly tax credit. When you are ready, join the waitlist and we will let you know as soon as ezPERA opens.