Philippines Documentary Stamp Tax: Rates, Liability, and Filing

The Philippines Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) is an excise tax the Bureau of Internal Revenue collects whenever certain legal documents are made, signed, issued, accepted, or transferred, including deeds of sale, share issuances, loan agreements, mortgages, insurance policies, and even ordinary bank checks. Rates depend on the document. Payment is due within five days after the close of the month the document was executed, or within five days of the transaction itself for one-time deals. Republic Act No. 12214, the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), changed several rates effective July 1, 2025, so any computation done today should use the current schedule.¹

Which Documents Trigger DST

Section 173 of the National Internal Revenue Code covers documents, instruments, and loan agreements that accept, assign, sell, or transfer obligations, rights, or property connected to Philippine sources or property located in the Philippines.² The everyday taxable documents are:

Original issuance of shares of stock, and later sales or transfers of shares
Loan agreements, promissory notes, and certificates of indebtedness
Deeds of sale, deeds of donation, and other instruments transferring real property
Mortgages, pledges, and deeds of trust
Lease agreements
Life insurance policies, property insurance policies, and fidelity bonds
Bank checks and drafts drawn in the Philippines

Signing abroad does not create a safe harbor. Under Revenue Regulations No. 19-2025, a loan agreement executed overseas is subject to DST if the object of the contract is located or used in the Philippines.¹ Bonds, debentures, or certificates of stock issued in a foreign country become taxable once they are sold or transferred inside the Philippines.²

How Much You Pay

Rates depend on what you are signing. The figures below reflect the schedule in force for 2026 after the CMEPA adjustments.

Real Property Deeds

A deed of sale or other instrument transferring real property is taxed at PHP 15.00 for every PHP 1,000 of the consideration or the fair market value, whichever is higher.³ Fair market value is generally the higher of the BIR zonal value or the assessor’s fair market value. On a property priced at PHP 5,000,000, the DST is PHP 75,000.

Shares of Stock

Original issuance of shares with par value is now taxed at 0.75% of the par value (written in the statute as 75% of 1%). Before the CMEPA took effect this rate was 1%.¹ For no-par shares, the tax is based on the actual consideration the corporation receives.

On a later sale or transfer, the rate is PHP 1.50 for every PHP 200 of par value, or a fractional part of that. For no-par shares, the DST on a transfer equals 25% of the DST paid on the original issuance.²

Loans and Other Debt Instruments

Loan agreements, promissory notes, and similar instruments are taxed at 0.75% of the issue price. Watch a small trap when a loan is signed together with its security document. If a loan agreement and its mortgage or chattel mortgage are executed at the same time, only one DST is collected, on whichever document produces the higher tax. If a single instrument covers both the loan and the security, the mortgage rate under Section 195 applies to the full loan amount.¹

Mortgages, Pledges, and Deeds of Trust

These use a tiered schedule. Where the amount secured is PHP 5,000 or less, the DST is PHP 20.00. For every PHP 5,000 (or fraction of that) above the threshold, add PHP 10.00.²

Life Insurance Policies

DST on life insurance is PHP 0.50 for every PHP 200 of premium collected, or any fraction of that. The tax is collected each time a policy is issued or renewed.⁴

Bank Checks

Every bank check or draft drawn in the Philippines carries a flat DST of PHP 3.00, regardless of the amount.³

Foreign-Issued Securities

Bonds, debentures, and certificates of stock or indebtedness issued in a foreign country are taxed at 0.75% of the transaction value when sold or transferred within the Philippines. The seller or transferor is liable.¹

Who Is Legally Liable

Section 173 places the obligation on the person making, signing, issuing, accepting, or transferring the document.² The issuing corporation pays on a share issuance. The seller usually handles it on a real property sale as part of the transfer process.

One statutory override matters: when one party is legally exempt from DST, the non-exempt party becomes liable for the full amount.² Outside that rule, buyer and seller can agree privately on who shoulders the cost, and real estate contracts often split or reassign the DST. Private allocations do not change who the BIR pursues if the tax goes unpaid.

Common Exemptions

Section 199, as amended by the CMEPA, exempts a handful of transactions worth knowing before you compute:

Sales, exchanges, redemptions, or other dispositions of shares listed and traded through a local or foreign stock exchange. The old rule limited this to local exchanges.¹
Original issuance, redemption, or other disposition of shares in a mutual fund company, and certificates of participation in a mutual fund or unit investment trust fund.¹

Special laws also exempt certain entities, including cooperatives and specific government agencies. Claiming an exemption means attaching proof when you file.

How and When to File

Two BIR forms cover most filings. BIR Form 2000 is the monthly Documentary Stamp Tax Declaration/Return, used for recurring transactions such as loans issued in the ordinary course of business.⁵ BIR Form 2000-OT is the one-time transaction return for isolated events, such as a real property sale or a transfer of unlisted shares.⁶

File Form 2000-OT in triplicate, and attach a copy of the taxable document, proof of any claimed exemption under special laws, and, for share transfers, proof of the DST paid on the original issuance of the stock.⁶

Deadlines are tight. Form 2000 is due within five days after the close of the month the taxable document was executed. So a return for documents signed in March 2026 is due by April 5, 2026.⁷ Form 2000-OT is due within five days after the document is made, signed, issued, accepted, or transferred.

Filing can be done electronically through the BIR’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) or the eBIRForms package. The BIR also runs an eDST Taxpayer Portal for electronic documentary stamp purchases; enrollment requires your TIN, branch code, registered name, and email address, and the system validates the TIN against BIR records.⁸ Payments then run through authorized agent banks or approved electronic payment channels.

Keep the filing reference number and the payment confirmation. For real property transfers, you will need proof of DST payment to obtain the electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) from your Revenue District Office.⁹ Without the eCAR, the Registry of Deeds will not process the title transfer.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Three separate charges can hit at the same time. Under Section 248 of the NIRC, failure to file and pay on time triggers a 25% surcharge on the unpaid tax. The surcharge climbs to 50% if the BIR determines the failure was willful or fraudulent.¹⁰

Delinquency interest then runs at double the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas legal interest rate for loans. With the BSP rate at 6% per annum, delinquency interest is 12% per annum from the due date until the tax is paid. Deficiency interest and delinquency interest cannot be imposed at the same time.¹¹

On top of that, the BIR may impose a compromise penalty based on a published schedule tied to the unpaid amount. These range from PHP 1,000 for amounts up to PHP 5,000 to PHP 50,000 for amounts above PHP 5,000,000, and they sit separately from the surcharge and interest.¹⁰

The bigger problem is what an unstamped document cannot do. Section 201 of the NIRC prohibits any unstamped taxable document from being recorded, and no copy or record of its transfer may be admitted or used as evidence in any court until the required stamps are affixed and cancelled. A notary public is also barred from adding a jurat or acknowledgment to any document subject to DST unless the proper stamps are in place.²

In practice, an unstamped deed of sale cannot be registered with the Registry of Deeds, and the buyer cannot get the title transferred. The contract also cannot be used in court to enforce obligations or prove ownership. The document stays in legal limbo until the full tax, plus accumulated penalties and interest, is paid and the stamps are properly affixed. Skipping DST at closing to save money usually costs far more later, when the document is needed for a dispute or a government filing.

1
Bureau of Internal Revenue. Revenue Regulations No. 19-2025
2
Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 – Title VII
3
LawPhil. Philippines Code – Republic Act No. 10963
4
Supreme Court E-Library. Clarifying the Taxability of Insurance Companies
5
Bureau of Internal Revenue. BIR Forms – Documentary Stamp Tax Return
6
Bureau of Internal Revenue. Guidelines and Instructions for BIR Form No. 2000-OT
7
Bureau of Internal Revenue. Tax Reminder
8
Bureau of Internal Revenue. eDST Taxpayer Portal – Registration Form
9
Bureau of Internal Revenue. Processing and Issuance of Electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration
10
Bureau of Internal Revenue. Penalties
11
Department of Finance. TRAIN Removes Oppressive Rates for Delinquent Tax Payments