Bill filed seeking tax exemption for monthly income up to P50,000

Senator JV Ejercito on Wednesday filed a measure seeking to exempt workers earning up to P50,000 a month from income tax has been filed in the Senate. Ejercito filed Senate Bill No. 2341, which seeks to amend the National Internal Revenue Code by raising the annual income tax exemption threshold from the current P250,000 to P600,000. The P250,000 tax-exempt threshold was set under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. "This is not simply tax reform. This is for our middle-income earners who work hard, pay taxes, and contribute to the economy despite the high prices of goods. They are the true backbone of our economy," Ejercito said. In the bill’s explanatory note, Ejercito said the country’s tax system should remain responsive to the economic realities faced by Filipino families. He said that while the TRAIN Law raised the tax-exempt income threshold in 2017, economic conditions have since changed due to persistent inflation and rising fuel and basic commodity prices. He added that workers’ purchasing power has also weakened. Under Ejercito’s measure, workers earning up to P50,000 a month, or P600,000 a year, would no longer have to pay income tax. The bill also proposes a new graduated income tax schedule for those earning more than P50,000 a month. “Our primary objective in proposing this measure is not to offer temporary relief, but to provide Filipino families with decent take-home pay from their hard-earned income," Ejercito said. "This measure seeks to acknowledge the value of middle-income earners and address their current vulnerable position,” he added. On Tuesday, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III also filed a similar measure seeking to expand the income tax exemption. Sotto filed Senate Bill No. 2338, or the proposed Expanded Income Tax Exemption Act of 2026, which seeks to raise the annual tax-exempt income threshold from P250,000 to P350,000 beginning July 1, 2027. “The measure aims to give meaningful tax relief so that the working Filipino could have a bigger take-home pay for their family,” Sotto said in Filipino. Ejercito and Sotto filed their bills in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call during his fifth State of the Nation Address for Congress to pass legislation providing tax relief to the middle class. — MCG, GMA News