Payslip Content Requirements (including Government Contributions) Philippine Legal Framework and Practical Guide (2025)
1. Why payslips matter
A payslip (sometimes called a “pay statement” or “pay stub”) is both a right of the employee and an employer obligation. It serves to
| Purpose | Governing basis |
|---|---|
| Show how wages were computed | Labor Code (Arts. 102–103) & Implementing Rules, Rule VIII §13 (a) |
| Prove proper withholding/remittance of taxes & social-security dues | NIRC (Tax Code), RA 11199 (SSS), RA 11223 (PhilHealth), RA 9679 (Pag-IBIG) |
| Document compliance in a labor inspection or tax audit | DOLE Labor Advisory No. 11-14, Department Order (DO) No. 202-19 |
| Protect data privacy & integrity | RA 10173 (Data Privacy Act), RA 8792 (E-Commerce Act) |
Failure to issue an accurate payslip can trigger (a) DOLE compliance orders and administrative fines, (b) criminal penalties for non-remittance of government contributions, and (c) assessments and surcharges from the BIR.
2. Core statutory and regulatory sources
| Instrument | Key mandate on payslips |
|---|---|
| Labor Code of the Philippines (PD 442, as renumbered) – Art. 102 & 103 | Employers must give wages “in legal tender” together with a statement of each deduction at every payday. |
| Implementing Rules & Regulations (IRR) – Rule VIII §13 (a) | Requires a written or printed pay slip containing the “amount paid and all deductions” signed by the employee if practicable. |
| DOLE Labor Advisory No. 11-14 | Prescribes the minimum data that must appear (see §3 below) and clarifies that electronic payslips satisfy the requirement if accessible to the worker. |
| DOLE Department Order (DO) No. 202-19 (Revised Rules on Service Contractors) | Contractors must furnish payslips duplicating the Labor Advisory 11-14 content and indicating the principal as client. |
| RA 10361 Domestic Workers Act (Kasambahay Law) – §12 | Employers of kasambahay must issue a payslip at least once a month, keep copies for 3 years, and include SSS/PhilHealth/Pag-IBIG contributions. |
| RA 11199 (Social Security Act of 2018) – §§18-31 | Sets contribution schedule; requires employers to give each employee proof of monthly SSS deductions. |
| RA 11223 (Universal Health Care Act) – §§9 & 44 | Similar proof requirement for PhilHealth premium deductions. |
| RA 9679 (Pag-IBIG Fund Law) – §19 | Requires employers to withhold and show contributions on the payslip. |
| BIR Rev. Regs. No. 11-2018 & 2-98 | Mandate issuance of BIR Form 2316 yearly; payslip must reflect cumulative taxes withheld per period. |
3. Mandatory items that must appear on every Philippine payslip
Tip: The Labor Advisory speaks in the minimum; in practice, most employers add more detail for transparency.
| Cluster | Specific data (minimum) | Notes / legal anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Employer identifiers | Registered business name, address & TIN | LA 11-14, Art. 109 (solidary liability) |
| Employee identifiers | Name, position / job title, employee number, date hired, SSS/PhilHealth/Pag-IBIG numbers, TIN | Separate column for confidentiality of IDs |
| Pay period covered | Start & end dates; date of payment | Needed for computation of night-shift diff., OT, etc. |
| Wage rates & hours | Hourly or daily basic rate; number of regular hours, overtime hours, night-shift hours, rest-day/holiday hours | IRR Rule I §2, Art. 87, 93 |
| Gross earnings | Basic pay, COLA, incentives, commissions, service charges (hotel/resto sector), 13th-month amortization if partial payout, hazard pay, holiday pay, OT pay, night-shift diff. | DOLE Department Advisory 01-15 (formulae) |
| Statutory deductions (itemised) | Employee share only: • SSS contribution • PhilHealth premium • Pag-IBIG contribution • Withholding income tax • ECC (employee share for seafarers) |
Must use current rates (see §4) |
| Other lawful deductions | Company-authorized (e.g., union dues), salary loans & advances, SSS/Pag-IBIG/PhilHealth salary-loan amortisation, court-ordered deductions | Art. 113-115; requires employee written authorisation |
| Total deductions | Sum of statutory + other deductions | |
| Net take-home pay | Amount actually paid to employee | |
| Employer share of government contributions (informational) | Not deducted from net pay but must be disclosed: SSS-ER, PhilHealth-ER, Pag-IBIG-ER, ECC | Required by LA 11-14 for transparency |
| Year-to-date (YTD) running totals | Optional but recommended: YTD gross, taxes, contributions | Aligns with BIR Form 2316 reconciliation |
| Acknowledgment / e-signature | Space for employee signature or electronic acknowledgment | Proves receipt; good practice but not strictly mandatory when using secure e-payslip portal |
4. Government-mandated contributions: current (2025) rates & disclosure format
| Scheme | Law & latest implementing circular | Total rate | Employee share (deducted) | Employer share (informational) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSS | RA 11199; SSS Circular 2025-003 | 14 % of Monthly Salary Credit (MSC) up to ₱30 k (breakdown: 4.5 % EE / 9.5 % ER) |
Show EE peso amount and MSC used | Show peso amount OR at least the % |
| PhilHealth | RA 11223; PhilHealth Circular 2024-0015 | 5 % of monthly basic salary, cap ₱100 k (equal sharing) | 2.5 % | 2.5 % |
| Pag-IBIG | RA 9679; HDMF Circular 477-2023 | Member’s option up to 4 % but mandatory 2 % EE and 2 % ER on monthly comp. up to ₱10 k (for most employers) | 2 % (₱200 max) | 2 % (₱200 max) |
| ECC | PD 626; ECC Board Res. 20-08-08 | Fixed ₱10/₱30 (depending on risk class) paid by ER only | — | Entire amount (still disclose) |
How to show on the payslip
Example line-item layout
Gov’t Contributions: EE Share ER Share
SSS (MSC=30,000) 1,350.00 2,850.00
PhilHealth 1,250.00 1,250.00
Pag-IBIG 200.00 200.00
ECC (Class B) — 10.00
---------------------------------------------
Total Contributions 2,800.00 4,310.005. Special sectors & situations
| Sector / situation | Payslip twists |
|---|---|
| Contracted / agency workers | DO 202-19 obliges contractors to issue payslips mirroring principal’s format and identifying the principal; principal is solidarily liable. |
| Kasambahay | RA 10361 requires annual income statements and monthly payslips; employer keeps copies 3 yrs. |
| BPO / flex-time setups | Must still reflect night-shift differential (10 % of basic hourly) and segmented schedules. |
| Piece-rate & “pakyaw” workers | Show quantity accomplished × rate; list any rest-day differential. |
| Seafarers | POEA Contract clause 20(B) requires monthly allotment slips itemizing SSS/PhilHealth/ECC. |
| Minimum-wage earners | Even if exempt from income tax, payslip must state “Tax-exempt under RR 8-2018” for clarity. |
6. Electronic & paperless payslips
Legal basis: RA 8792 (E-Commerce Act) + DOLE Advisory 11-14 accept electronic formats provided:
- The employee can securely access, download, and print the file.
- Data privacy safeguards (RA 10173) are in place.
- The system retains a tamper-evident archive for at least 3 years (parallel to Article 128 record-inspection period).
Best practice: Employee click-through acknowledgment or automated read-receipt log; mirrors a physical signature.
7. Record-keeping & inspection
| Requirement | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Payroll & payslips (all industries) | 3 years from due date of filing per Art. 128(b) & Revenue Regs. 2-98 |
| Kasambahay payslips | 3 years (RA 10361 §12) |
| SSS/PhilHealth/Pag-IBIG proof of remittance | 10 years advisable (statutory offense prescribes in 20 yrs under Art. 1146 Civil Code, but agencies audit up to 10 yrs) |
| BIR Form 2316 copies | 4 years (Sec. 235 NIRC) |
8. Compliance monitoring & penalties
| Violation | Liability |
|---|---|
| No payslip / incomplete payslip | DOLE Regional Office may issue Compliance Order; fines up to ₱100k and possible “yellow-red flag” in Labor Law Compliance System (LLCS). |
| Non-remittance of contributions | SSS: 2–12 yrs imprisonment + fine (RA 11199 §28); PhilHealth: double unpaid amount + interest (RA 11223 §44); Pag-IBIG: 0.1 %/day penalty + possible criminal action (RA 9679 §24). |
| Improper tax withholding disclosure | Deficiency tax + 25 % surcharge + interest (NIRC §248). |
| Data-privacy breach of payslip data | 1–3 yrs imprisonment + ₱500k–₱2 M fine (RA 10173 §25). |
9. Practical checklist for HR & payroll teams (2025)
- Template audit – Compare current payslip template against the §3 list; add employer contribution column if absent.
- Rate update cadence – Schedule automatic rate refresh in payroll software for SSS/PhilHealth (changes almost every other year under their catch-up schedules).
- Validation rules – Flag any net-pay lower than minimum-take-home pay thresholds (₱5,000 for government, varying for private CBAs).
- Dual currency display (for POGO/BPO paying in USD) – Show peso equivalent to comply with Art. 102.
- E-archive – Keep hashed PDF copies and access logs for 3 yrs; sync with DOLE inspector portal readiness.
- Quarterly self-audit – Reconcile payslip totals with actual SSS/PhilHealth/Pag-IBIG electronic collection system (E-CS) receipts.
10. Frequently asked questions
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Must employer share of SSS/PhilHealth be shown even if it isn’t deducted? | Yes. Labor Advisory 11-14 treats it as part of “complete payroll information”. |
| Can a WhatsApp screenshot of payroll suffice? | No. Must be printable and structured; PDF or HRIS portal extract is the accepted format. |
| Are service charges in hotels/restaurants part of gross pay? | They should be shown separately because 85 % goes to employees and is subject to 13th-month-pay computations. |
| Is 13th-month pay required to be prorated on the monthly payslip? | Only if the company adopts semi-monthly crediting; otherwise disclose when actually paid (on or before 24 Dec). |
| Our cooperative deducts rice-loan amortisation. Is that “government”? | No, that is an other lawful deduction; must be itemised with written consent. |
11. Key take-aways
- Payslip issuance is mandatory at every payout interval, whether weekly, semi-monthly, or otherwise.
- Itemisation is king: each statutory deduction and the corresponding employer counterpart must appear.
- Electronic payslips are fully valid if the employee can securely access and store them and data-privacy safeguards are in place.
- Government-contribution transparency protects both employer and worker; failure to remit has severe criminal and financial consequences.
- Advance planning—rate updates, digital archiving, routine audits—keeps your organisation compliant and inspection-ready.
This article synthesises the full suite of Philippine wage-statement requirements as of July 8 2025. Always monitor DOLE, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and BIR issuances for future updates.