RMO 25-2023:New Nationwide BIR Payroll System (NBPS) Guidelines

To align with the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue’s digital transformation roadmap, there is a need to replace the outmoded and obsolete processing of payroll with a more contemporary and progressive payroll system. The Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) no. 25-2023 issued on July 4, 2023, prescribes the policies, guidelines, and procedures for the preparation and processing of payroll in the National Office and Regional Offices using the new Nationwide BIR Payroll System (NBPS). 

The new NBPS has a full integration module that can accurately capture personnel information necessary for the processing of payroll and the generation of reports. It can generate the weekly or semi-monthly General Office Payroll (GOP) for the salaries, Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA), Representation Allowance and Transportation Allowance (RATA), including other monetary bonuses and incentives. NBPS has the following modules: 

Encoding and updating of personnel information, which includes adding, editing, and viewing it in the Personnel Module in the NBPS, shall be the responsibility of the concerned sections of the Personnel Division (PD) for the National Office and the Administrative Human Resource Management Division (AHRMD) for the Regional Offices. The updates shall be based on the documentary requirements received by PD/AHRMD on or before the 12th day of the month. As soon as the concerned Section Chiefs recommend it for approval by the Division Chief or Assistant Division Chief of PD/AHRMD, it shall be immediately encoded in the NBPS. Documents received after the cut-off date shall be included in the succeeding GOP. If the 12th day of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, the new cut-off date is the next working day. 

Updates on mandatory government deductions and other loans that are authorized to be deducted by the BIR shall be the responsibility of the concerned section of the Accounting Division or Finance Division (AD/FD). The updates shall be done prior to the processing of the monthly GOP and must be supported with the following documents:  

a. Letter requests from employees 

b. Billing from GSIS/PAG-IBIG  

c. Other billing deductions/loans 

All documentary requirements received by the AD/FD on or before the 18th day of the month shall be encoded or uploaded in the NBPS for approval of the Division Chief or Assistant Division Chief as recommended by the concerned Section Chief of the AD/FD in the NBPS. Documents received after the cut-off date shall be included in the succeeding GOP. If the 18th day of the month falls on a Weekend or Holiday, the new cut-off date is the next working day. Other details are specified in the Order. 

The Order defines the roles and responsibilities of the following: 

1. Employee concern 

2. Head of Office 

3. The sections under the Personnel Divisions which are the following: 

1. Manpower and Management Section (MMS) 

2. Information and Records Section (IRS) 

3. Compensation and Benefits Section (CBS) 

4. Performance Evaluation and Management Section (PEMS) 

5. Payroll Section (PS) 

4. The PS-PD/HRMS/AHRMD 

5. BD/FD-Budget Section (FD-BS) 

6. Accounting Division or Finance Division (AD/FD) 

7. FS/Office of the Assistant Regional Director (OARD) 

8. GSD/General Services Section (GSS)-AHRMD 

9. Administrative Services 

10. Human Resource Development Service/Office of the Assistant Regional Director 

The Order defines documentary requirements for new employees, transferred employees from other Government offices, promotions, transfers of employees in compliance with the Revenue Travel Assignment Order (RTAO), employee information changes or updates, salary increments, separated employees, suspension/resumption of salaries of employees, and supplemental payroll. 

The Order shall take effect immediately. The full implementation of the New BIR Payroll System shall be operational for the National and Regional Offices from 2023 onwards.

Under the Social Security Act of 1997, Republic Act No. 8282, it is the policy of the State to establish, develop, promote, and perfect a sound and viable tax-exempt social security system suitable to the needs of the people throughout the Philippines, which shall promote social justice and provide meaningful protection to members and their beneficiaries against the hazards of disability, sickness, maternity, old age, death, and other contingencies resulting in loss of income or financial burden. 

To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Social Security System (SSS) was born. The Social Security System is a social insurance program in the Philippines for compulsory and voluntary members. Compulsory members are those that are employed, self-employed, household helpers, and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), while voluntary members are the separated employees and the non-working spouse. SSS gives its members protection against the economic and social distress caused by contingencies such as sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, death, funerals, and unemployment. 

The employer is mandated to remit contributions to SSS from both employer and employee every month from the start of operation with at least one employee. The employees’ membership will be effective on the first day of employment. 

The table below shows the regular contributions for the SS, the Employees’ Compensation (EC) that is paid only by the employer, and the Workers’ Investment and Savings Program (WISP) that are administered by the SSS. The 2023 SSS contribution rate is 14%. The 14% is composed of a 9.5% Employer share and a 4.5% Employee share, while the minimum Monthly Salary Credit (MSC) increased from P3,000 to P4,000 and the maximum MSC from P25,000 to P30,000. The WISP contribution is only required for employees who have a monthly salary credit of PHP 20,500 and above.

Reference for the image: SSS

The basis for the computation of the SSS contribution is gross compensation. Compensation is defined as all actual remuneration for employment, except the part of the remuneration received during the month that is more than the maximum MSC as provided under the Social Security Act of 2018 and this IRR [Sec. 8, (f)], including but not limited to the following: 

To give a better understanding of how SSS contributions are identified and computed, let us have an example: 
A, an employee of XYZ Company, has a monthly basic salary of P30,000, transportation, communication, and meal allowances of P5,000, and a performance incentive of P5,000. The total gross compensation is P40,000. This will be used to identify the contributions of the employer and employee by selecting the appropriate range of compensation. For the 40,000, the range will be P29,750 and above, which would result in an SSS ER Contribution of P2,880, which is composed of Regular SS of P1,900, EC of P30, and WISP of 950, while for the EE’s SSS Contribution, it is P1,350, which is composed of Regular SS of P900 and WISP of P450. 

The deadline for the regular employer to remit and pay the contributions is on the last day of the month following the applicable month. The employer is liable to his or her employees and must pay their benefits on the employee’s behalf. If there are unpaid contributions, employers are bound to pay for all unpaid contributions and penalties and be held liable for a criminal offense punishable by a fine or imprisonment. 

PhilHealth no longer receives manual payment in their branches despite presenting the Certificate of Exemption (COE) from online payment to the cashier. PhilHealth recommends using the online payment facilities available in the Electronic Premium Remittance System (EPRS) portal. MyEG Philippines, Inc., effective October 14, 2022, a PhilHealth-accredited collecting agent for PhilHealth premium contributions, is now accepting online payments through the well-known e-Wallet giants, GCASH and Maya. Employers can also pay the contribution through a debit or credit card. 

With this, the collecting agent no longer spends long hours in the queue. Individuals or companies can quickly and easily pay for a PhilHealth contribution online at any time using a smartphone or computer that is connected to the internet, and transactions will be done in no time with just a few clicks. There is no need to be a techie to perform the transaction, as the process is simple and the instructions are easy to understand. 

Save yourself the hassle of going to the PhilHealth office. This service allows you to pay your contributions whenever and wherever you want, using e-wallets (GCash and Maya) or credit or debit cards. 

Privacy and protection are of the utmost priority. PhilHealth follows the International Payment Gateway Standards that have been tried and tested in the Philippines and Malaysia. The system has an additional layer of protection to ensure that transactions and payment data are encrypted and secured. 

Below are the simple steps for paying the PHIC contribution through Gcash, Maya, or a debit or credit card: 

First, log in to the EPRS portal.

Next, prepare the remittance list of employees. Make sure to post the correct basic pay to report the correct contribution based on what has been reported in the payroll register.

After preparing the remittance list, you can now proceed with posting for payment by selecting the online payment option using MyEG. 

You will only be able to pay for premium contributions using a GCash or Maya wallet via the PhilHealth website. Premium payments are acknowledged in real-time and will be immediately posted to your account. 

A convenience fee is added based on your selected payment channel. Mastercard, Visa, JCB, and credit or debit cards that are issued in the Philippines can be used to pay for PhilHealth premium contributions. 

This online payment facility will serve employers more conveniently by allowing them to pay the PhilHealth contributions on time and in real-time. This will help employers avoid delays in settling the remittances and bearing the cost of any fines and interest. PhilHealth also aims to utilize these online payment facilities to avoid cash payments in the branch, lessen transactions in the payment section, and accommodate other transactions for more productive services to their clients.