Philippines Crypto Tax Guide

the Philippines cryptocurrency taxation for 2026. The guide covers: the CGT at 15% on the crypto gains — if the crypto assets are classified as the "securities" under the Securities Regulation Code (the "SRC"), the gains are subject to the capital gains tax at 15%; the IIT at 0% to 35% — if the crypto trading constitutes the "business" (the frequent trading, the professional trading), the gains are subject to the graduated income tax rates; the BIR guidance (2022+) — the Revenue Memorandum Circular (the "RMC") No. 56-2022 and the subsequent issuances clarifying the crypto tax treatment; the SEC licensing under the Revised Corporation Code — the crypto exchanges must register with the SEC as the "crowdfunding intermediaries" or obtain the "Virtual Asset Service Provider" licence; the no specific crypto law yet — the Philippines does NOT have the comprehensive crypto-specific legislation as of 2026; the crypto-to-crypto transactions subject to CGT — each exchange of one crypto for another is the taxable event.

CGT at 15% — Crypto as Securities

Capital gains tax (CGT) at 15%: If the crypto assets are classified as the "securities" under the Securities Regulation Code (the "SRC" — the "RA 8799"), the gains from the sale or the exchange of the crypto are subject to the capital gains tax at 15% of the net gain. The CGT is imposed on the "final withholding tax" basis — the tax is withheld by the buyer or the exchange and remitted to the BIR.
Securities classification: The SEC classifies the crypto tokens as the "securities" if they meet the "Howey test" — the investment of the money in the common enterprise with the expectation of the profit from the efforts of the others. The utility tokens and the payment tokens may NOT be classified as the securities. The security tokens (the tokenised shares, the tokenised bonds, the tokenised investment contracts) are clearly the securities.
CGT vs IIT: The choice between the CGT at 15% and the IIT at 0% to 35% depends on the classification of the taxpayer and the activity: (a) the individual investor who holds the crypto as the capital asset and sells it at the gain — the CGT at 15% applies; (b) the individual who trades the crypto frequently (the "day trading", the "high-frequency trading") — the gains are treated as the "business income" subject to the graduated IIT rates up to 35%.

IIT at 0% to 35% — Crypto as Business Income

Graduated rates — 0% to 35%: If the crypto trading is classified as the "business" (the regular, the frequent, or the systematic trading activity), the gains are included in the taxable income and subject to the graduated IIT rates: 0% (for the first PHP 250,000), 15% (PHP 250,000 to PHP 400,000), 20% (PHP 400,000 to PHP 800,000), 25% (PHP 800,000 to PHP 2 million), 30% (PHP 2 million to PHP 8 million), and 35% (over PHP 8 million).
Business vs capital asset determination: The BIR considers the following factors: (a) the frequency of the transactions — the daily or the weekly trading suggests the business; (b) the holding period — the short-term holding (under 1 year) suggests the business; (c) the taxpayer's intention — the "intent to profit from the short-term price movements" suggests the business; (d) the volume of the transactions — the high volume suggests the business.
Mixed treatment: The same taxpayer may have the crypto classified as both the capital assets (the "investment holdings") and the business inventory (the "trading portfolio"). The taxpayer must segregate the holdings and apply the CGT to the capital asset disposals and the IIT to the business trading gains.

BIR Guidance — Revenue Memorandum Circulars (2022+)

RMC No. 56-2022: The BIR issued the "Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 56-2022" (the "RMC 56-2022") in June 2022 — the first comprehensive guidance on the crypto tax treatment in the Philippines. The RMC provides: (a) the definition of the "virtual currency" and the "digital assets", (b) the classification of the crypto gains as the CGT or the IIT, (c) the valuation rules — the fair market value in PHP at the time of the transaction, (d) the reporting requirements — the disclosure on the annual ITR.
Updated guidance (2024-2025): The subsequent RMCs (the "RMC No. 78-2024" and the "RMC No. 12-2025") updated the crypto tax rules: (a) the simplified reporting for the small traders — the "de minimis" threshold for the minor transactions; (b) the mandatory data sharing by the crypto exchanges — the exchanges must report the transaction data to the BIR annually; (c) the crypto-to-crypto exchange treatment — each exchange is the taxable event subject to the CGT.
No specific crypto law yet (2026): As of 2026, the Philippines does NOT have the comprehensive "Digital Assets Act" or the "Crypto Law". The crypto tax treatment is governed by the: (a) the NIRC (the "National Internal Revenue Code" — the "RA 8424"), (b) the SEC regulations (the "SRC" rules), (c) the BSP regulations (the "BSP Circular No. 1108" of 2021 on the "Virtual Currency Exchange" oversight), (d) the AMLA (the "Anti-Money Laundering Act" — the "RA 9160" as amended).

SEC Exchange Licensing

SEC registration requirement: The crypto exchanges operating in the Philippines must register with the SEC under the: (a) the "Revised Corporation Code" (the "RA 11232") — the standard corporate registration; (b) the "Securities Regulation Code" (the "RA 8799") — if the exchange offers the tokenised securities; (c) the "Crowdfunding Act" (the "RA 11765") — if the exchange facilitates the crowdfunding of the tokenised projects.
BSP oversight: The crypto exchanges (the "Virtual Asset Service Providers" — the "VASPs") are also regulated by the "Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas" (the "BSP") under the "BSP Circular No. 1108" (2021). The BSP requires: (a) the "Certificate of Authority to Operate as the Virtual Currency Exchange", (b) the minimum capital of PHP 50 million, (c) the AML/KYC compliance, (d) the IT security and the cyber insurance.
Tax reporting by the exchanges: The licensed exchanges must report the client transaction data to the BIR on the annual basis. The report includes: (a) the total transaction volume per client, (b) the realised gains and the losses per client, (c) the wallet addresses and the account details, (d) the PHP value of the transactions.

Crypto-to-Crypto Transactions

Taxable event: The exchange of one crypto asset for another (e.g., the Bitcoin for the Ethereum) is the taxable event — the gain or the loss must be recognised at the time of the exchange. The gain = the fair market value of the crypto received MINUS the cost basis of the crypto disposed.
Fair market value determination: The FMV is determined at the time of the transaction using: (a) the exchange rate from the licensed exchange (the "Binance", the "Coins.ph", the "PDAX", the "GCrypto"), (b) the "CoinGecko" or the "CoinMarketCap" rate if the exchange does not provide the PHP rate, (c) the "BSP reference rate" if available.
Loss offset: The crypto losses may be offset against the crypto gains within the same tax year. The net capital loss may be carried forward for up to 3 years against the future capital gains ONLY (the "capital loss carryforward" under the Section 39 of the NIRC). The business trading losses (the IIT classification) may be offset against the other business income.

Reporting Obligations

Annual ITR — BIR Form 1701: The crypto gains and the trading income must be reported on the annual ITR (the "BIR Form 1701" for the self-employed individuals or the "BIR Form 1700" for the purely compensation individuals). The crypto gains are reported under the "capital gains" schedule or the "business income" schedule depending on the classification.
Documentation requirements: The taxpayer must maintain the detailed records of: (a) each transaction (the date, the type, the amount, the counterparty, the wallet address), (b) the cost basis records (the purchase receipts, the exchange records, the transfer records), (c) the fair market value sources (the exchange rate screenshots, the BSP rates). The records must be retained for 10 years from the end of the tax year (the standard Philippine statute of limitations).
No separate crypto form: The Philippines does NOT require the separate crypto tax form. The crypto gains are reported on the standard ITR. However, the BIR may issue the "Letter of Authority" (the "LA") for the tax audit of the crypto transactions — the taxpayer must provide the detailed transaction records.