BIR set to resume tax audits in Q1
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is expected to again issue controversial letters of authority (LOAs) within the first quarter, an informed source said, once planned reforms to digitize audits and strengthen safeguards are finalized.
The creation, printing, issuance and signing of LOAs and mission orders have been suspended since November last year, following complaints of misuse and abuse that resulted in extortion and corruption.
Two weeks after the suspension, the Senate blue ribbon committee opened an inquiry into an alleged money-making scheme within the BIR, including reports that some employees had issued multiple LOAs to the same taxpayer within a single taxable year.
Since then, the BIR, alongside the Department of Finance (DOF), has been crafting reforms to ensure greater transparency, accountability and efficiency in the audit process.
Finance Secretary Frederick Go, speaking at an event on Wednesday, noted that the BIR “cannot survive if LOAs are suspended forever.”
“We need that for revenue collection. The government needs that, and the BIR does too. But when we resume it, we will ensure that we have those [reforms],” he told reporters after his speech.
BIR’s full-year revenue collections in 2025 reached P3.105 trillion, buoyed by a rebound in December revenues that reversed months of sluggish growth linked to disruptions from the flood control corruption scandal.
However, this still fell short of the P3.2-trillion collection target for the year.
For 2026, the BIR is targeting a P3.58-trillion tax take, roughly an 11-percent increase from last year’s program.
In his speech, Go reiterated plans to digitize and institutionalize a data-driven audit selection process for LOAs.
