BIR bullish on 2026 take

Bureau of Internal Revenue. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — After a strong fourth-quarter 2025 rebound, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expressed optimism about sustaining this momentum into 2026.

This is despite persistent headwinds that continue to threaten revenue targets.

Updated preliminary data as of Jan. 14 showed BIR collections reached P782.68 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. These were buoyed by a rebound in December revenues that reversed months of sluggish growth linked to disruptions from the flood control corruption scandal.

READ: BIR collections rebounded in December 2025 

“Our December performance was good. As you know, we were doing well during the first half of the year, but our revenue collection efforts were significantly affected in the second half when the flood control investigations started,” Commissioner Charlie Mendoza told reporters on Jan. 8.

‘Credibility’

In a separate statement, Mendoza said the late-year rebound reflected the “restoration of credibility” at the bureau.

“Even while audits were paused, taxpayers continued to pay. That tells us that predictability, fairness and institutional trust are now driving compliance,” he said.

Collections in December reached P199.55 billion, with revenue growth climbing to 8.62 percent—a sharp rebound from 2.7 percent in November and nearly 1 percent in October.

READ: BIR almost done with proposed reforms in tax audit process

Full-year collections

The year-end surge pushed full-year collections to P3.105 trillion, net of refunds.

Despite breaching the P3-trillion mark, the BIR still fell short of its P3.2-trillion collection program for 2025, an outcome Mendoza has already conceded.

READ: Restoring BIR’s credibility

Mendoza earlier projected that the agency would end the year with around P3.1 trillion in collections, citing intensified digitalization efforts and a more service-oriented tax administration as key drivers of compliance gains. INQ