The enactment of Republic Act No. 10963 (TRAIN Law) on January 1, 2018, fundamentally transformed the Philippine personal income tax landscape by completely removing personal and additional exemptions that previously varied according to civil status and number of qualified dependent children. As a result, as of 2025, there is effectively no difference in the income tax liability of a single taxpayer with children and a married taxpayer with children (or without children) who have the same taxable income.
The tax computation is now purely income-based and status-blind.
I. The Pre-TRAIN Regime (Before January 1, 2018): When Civil Status and Children Mattered Greatly
Before the TRAIN Law, the National Internal Revenue Code granted the following exemptions that were deducted from gross income before applying the progressive rates:
- Basic personal exemption: P50,000 for every individual taxpayer
- Additional exemption: P25,000 for each qualified dependent child (QDC), maximum of four (4) children (total possible additional P100,000)
The claiming rules created significant differences:
Single taxpayer, no dependents
→ P50,000 exemption onlySingle parent (legally considered “head of family”) with 4 children
→ P50,000 + P100,000 = P150,000 total exemptionMarried couple, only one spouse earning, 4 children
→ Earning spouse claimed P50,000 (own) + P100,000 (dependents) = P150,000
(The non-earning spouse’s P50,000 basic exemption was effectively not usable because he/she had no income against which to offset it)Married couple, both earning income, 4 children
→ One spouse (usually the husband, unless waived) claimed P50,000 + P100,000 dependents = P150,000
→ The other spouse claimed only P50,000 (own basic)
→ Total family exemptions: P200,000
Consequence: A dual-income married couple with children enjoyed the highest total exemptions (P200,000 across the family), while a single individual with no children had only P50,000.
These differences could result in tax savings of up to P35,000–P50,000 per year depending on the tax bracket the exempted amount pushed the taxpayer out of.
II. The TRAIN Law Revolution (2018 Onward): Complete Removal of Status-Based Exemptions
Section 5 of the TRAIN Law explicitly provided that the P50,000 basic personal exemption and the P25,000 × 4 additional exemptions for dependents “shall no longer be allowed” starting January 1, 2018.
Congress deliberately eliminated these exemptions and instead compensated lower- and middle-income earners by:
- Making the first P250,000 of annual net taxable income completely tax-free (far more generous than the old P50,000–P150,000 exemptions for most families)
- Lowering the tax rates in the lower and middle brackets
- Increasing the tax-exempt ceiling for 13th-month pay, Christmas bonus, and other benefits from P82,000 to P90,000 (now P100,000 effective 2024 per recent revenue regulations, but the principle remains the same)
Result: The tax table became completely uniform.
III. Current Income Tax Table (2023 Onward – Still Applicable in 2025)
Applies identically to all resident citizens and resident aliens, whether single, married, head of family, solo parent, with or without children:
| Annual Taxable Income | Tax Due |
|---|---|
| Not over P250,000 | 0% |
| Over P250,000 but not over P400,000 | 15% of the excess over P250,000 |
| Over P400,000 but not over P800,000 | P22,500 + 20% of excess over P400,000 |
| Over P800,000 but not over P2,000,000 | P102,500 + 25% of excess over P800,000 |
| Over P2,000,000 but not over P8,000,000 | P402,500 + 30% of excess over P2,000,000 |
| Over P8,000,000 | P2,202,500 + 35% of excess over P8,000,000 |
This table is the same for everyone.
IV. Practical Implications in 2025
A single parent earning P600,000 net taxable income with three children
pays exactly the same tax as
a childless single person earning P600,000
pays exactly the same tax as
a married person (one or both spouses earning total P600,000) with three children.Tax in all cases: P65,000.
Having children no longer reduces income tax liability at all.
Being married no longer grants any additional exemption or lower effective rate on the same individual income.
The only remaining indirect family-related deduction is the health/hospitalization insurance premium deduction (maximum P2,400 per family per year, available only if the family’s total gross income does not exceed P250,000 and the taxpayer itemizes deductions instead of taking the 40% OSD). This is so small and so narrowly applicable that it is irrelevant for the vast majority of taxpayers.
V. The One Remaining Structural Advantage of Marriage: Separate Taxation (Not Child-Related)
While children no longer matter, marriage itself still confers a significant tax advantage because the Philippines uses separate (not joint) taxation.
Example (2025 rates):
Total household compensation income = P3,000,000
Scenario A – Single parent with children:
Tax = P402,500 + 30% × (P3M – P2M) = P702,500
Scenario B – Married couple, one spouse earns P3,000,000, other earns P0:
Tax = same P702,500 (no advantage)
Scenario C – Married couple, each spouse earns P1,500,000:
Each pays P102,500 + 25% × (P1.5M – P800,000) = P102,500 + P175,000 = P277,500
Total family tax = P555,000
→ Marriage with income-splitting saves P147,500 in this example.
This advantage exists whether or not the couple has children. Children are irrelevant to the computation.
VI. Conclusion
Since January 1, 2018, the Philippine income tax system has been deliberately designed to be blind to civil status and the presence of children. A single taxpayer with four children now pays exactly the same income tax as a married taxpayer with four children (or none) who earns exactly the same amount.
The old regime’s complex, status-based exemptions have been permanently abolished and replaced with a much higher tax-free threshold and lower rates that benefit everyone equally.
For families with children, the income tax code no longer provides any direct relief. Any financial support for child-rearing must now come from other laws (e.g., Solo Parents’ Welfare Act benefits, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program [4Ps] cash grants, free public education, PhilHealth coverage for dependents, etc.), not from lower income tax.
In short: under the present law, children do not reduce your income tax, and being married does not reduce your income tax either — unless you and your spouse can split income between you.