Summary
RR No. 12-2022 prescribes the policies and guidelines for availing the incentives under RA No. 9999 (Free Legal Assistance Act of 2010).
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Key points
- Allowable deduction. Lawyers or professional partnerships that render actual free Legal Services may deduct from gross income the lower of two amounts: what could have been collected for the free services, or ten percent (10%) of gross income from actually practicing the legal profession.
- Hours not counted. The actual free Legal Services exclude the minimum sixty (60)-hour mandatory legal aid services to indigent litigants under the Rule on Mandatory Legal Aid Services for Practicing Lawyers, Bar Matter No. 2012.
- Certification. A certification from the Public Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice or an accredited association of the Supreme Court must state that the services are within those defined by the Supreme Court, that the agencies cannot provide them, and that they were actually undertaken. An accredited association’s certification also specifies the hours actually provided.
- Other attachments to the ITR. The ITR for the period of the deduction includes the accomplished BIR Form No. 1701 (individual lawyers) or BIR Form No. 1702-EX (general professional partnership), particularly Schedules 5 and 2 on Special Allowable Itemized Deductions. It also includes a Sworn Statement of the lawyer or managing partner on the amount that could have been collected.
Who is affected
- Lawyers rendering actual free Legal Services
- General professional partnerships of lawyers
Summary by Tax Resources PH. It is not a substitute for the full text of the issuance or professional advice.
Copies of BIR issuances are hosted here for reference. For the official version, check bir.gov.ph. Summaries by Tax Resources PH are not a substitute for the full text or professional advice.