The Bureau of Internal Revenue (“BIR”) issued on 24 April 2025 Revenue Memorandum Circular (“RMC”) No. 40-2025. This issuance provides clarification on specific provisions of Revenue Regulations (“RR”) No. 10-2023 concerning the submission of proof of estate settlement required for availing of the Estate Tax Amnesty under Republic Act No. 11213, also known as the Tax Amnesty Act, as amended.
Estate Tax Amnesty
The Tax Amnesty Act grants an Estate Tax Amnesty covering the estate of decedents who died on or before 31 May 2022, with or without assessments duly issued therefor, whose estate taxes have remained unpaid or have accrued as of 31 May 2022. This amnesty shall not extend to cases which have become final and executory and to properties involved in cases pending in appropriate courts:
- Falling under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Commission on Good Government;
- Involving unexplained or unlawfully acquired wealth under Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Republic Act No. 7080 or An Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder;
- Involving violations of Republic Act No. 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act, as amended;
- Involving tax evasion and other criminal offenses under Chapter II of Title X of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended; and
- Involving felonies of frauds, illegal exactions and transactions, and malversation of public funds and property under Chapters III and IV of Title VII of the Revised Penal Code.
The executor or administrator of the estate, or if there is none, the legal heirs, transferees, or beneficiaries shall, within 15 June 2023 until 14 June 2025, file, either electronically or manually, with any authorized agent bank, Revenue District Office through the Revenue Collection Officer, or authorized tax software provider, a duly accomplished and sworn Estate Tax Amnesty Return, in such forms as may be prescribed, together with the required documents.
Requirements to Avail of the Estate Tax Amnesty
Under RR No. 10-2023, the documents required to avail of the amnesty are the Estate Tax Amnesty Return (“ETAR”) (BIR Form No. 2118-EA), the Acceptance Payment Form (“APF”) (BIR Form No. 0621-EA), and the following documents:
A. Mandatory Requirements:
- Certified True Copy of the Death Certificate (“DC”) or if not available the Certificate of No Record of Death from the Philippine Statistics Authority and any valid secondary evidence including but not limited to those issued by any government agency/office sufficient to establish the fact of death of the decedent;
- Taxpayer Identification Number (“TIN”) of decedent and heir/s;
- For “Claims Against the Estate” arising from contract of loan, notarized promissory note, if applicable;
- Proof of the claimed “Property Previously Taxed,” if any;
- Proof of the claimed “Transfer for Public Use,” if any; and
- At least one (1) government issued identification card (“ID”) of the Executor/Administrator of the Estate, or if there is no executor or administrator appointed, the heirs, transferees, beneficiaries or authorized representative.
B. For Real Property/ies, if any
- Certified true copy/ies of the transfer/original condominium certificates of title of real property/ies;
- Certified true copy of the tax declaration of real property/ies, if untitled, including the improvements at the time of death or the succeeding available tax declaration issued nearest to the time of death of the decedent, if none is available at the time of death; and
- Certificate of No Improvement issued by the assessor’s office at the time of death of the decedent, if applicable.
C. For Personal Property/ies, if applicable
- Certificate of Deposit/Investment/Indebtedness owned by the decedent alone or decedent and the surviving spouse, or decedent jointly with other;
- Certificate of Registration of vehicle/s and other proofs showing the correct value of the same;
- Certificate of Stocks;
- Proof of valuation of shares of stock at the time of death; or
- Proof of valuation of other types of personal property.
D. Other Requirements, if applicable
- Duly notarized original Special Power of Attorney (“SPA”), if the person transacting/processing the transfer is the authorized representative or one of the heirs, designated as executor/Administrator;
- Certification from the Philippine Consulate or Apostille, if the document is executed abroad; or
- Location Plan/vicinity map if the zonal value is not readily available.
Provided, however, that in the absence of the abovementioned documents, the Commissioner may request for alternative documents, as may be deemed appropriate.
Within five (5) working days from receipt of the complete documents, the concerned Revenue District Office shall either endorse the APF for payment of the estate amnesty tax with the authorized agent banks (“AABs”), Revenue Collection Officers (“RCOs”), or authorized tax software provider, or shall notify the taxpayer if there is any deficiency in the application. Only a duly endorsed APF shall be received by the AAB, RCO, or authorized tax software provider.
Submission of Proof of Settlement of Estate
RMC No. 40-2025 clarifies that the proof of settlement of the estate (e.g. Extrajudicial Settlement, Court Order), whether judicial or extra-judicial, is not required to accompany the ETAR at the time of filing and payment of taxes if not yet available. Thus, the non-submission of such proof on or before 14 June 2025 shall not invalidate the application for estate tax amnesty.
The proof of settlement shall be required during the processing and issuance of the electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (“eCAR”), as the eCAR shall only be issued upon submission of such proof.
Deadline to Submit
After payment, the duly accomplished and sworn ETAR and APF with proof of payment, together with the complete documentary requirements listed above, shall be immediately submitted to the concerned RDO in triplicate copies. Failure to submit the same until 15 June 2025 is tantamount to non-availment of the Estate Tax Amnesty, and any payment made may be applied against the total regular estate tax due inclusive of penalties.