If you think that online streaming apps are expensive, then mas mumahal pajud na sila next month!
The 12% VAT on digital services in the Philippines is starting to make its presence felt—and yes, it’s not just you paying more.
Our dear Philippine government now requires certain foreign and local digital platforms to collect 12% VAT (Value-Added Tax) on their services. Basically, if you’re subscribed to or even earning from certain platforms, expect that extra charge in your June 2025 bill.
Damay-damay Na Tanan
It’s not just the big name apps getting this additional charge but also others related to online processing. So, we’ve got here a list of online services affected by the digital tax based on what they are offering:
Streaming services
- Netflix
- Disney+
- Amazon Prime Video
- HBO GO
- Apple TV+
- YouTube Premium
- Viu
- iQIYI
- WeTV
- Crunchyroll
- Pilipinas Live
- Vivamax
- Cignal Play (Premium plans)
- iWantTFC (Paid subscriptions)
- TrueID (if offering premium content)
Digital ads and online platforms
- Facebook Ads (Meta Ads Manager)
- Instagram Ads
- Google Ads (Search, YouTube, Display, Shopping)
- YouTube Ads (run via Google Ads)
- TikTok Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- Twitter Ads (now X Ads)
- Pinterest Ads
- Snapchat Ads
- Spotify Ad Studio
- Reddit Ads
Online marketplaces and e-commerce
- Shopee (especially for seller commissions, ads, and fees)
- Lazada
- Zalora
- Carousell (when offering paid features or promoted listings)
- Etsy
- Amazon (Marketplace services, not physical product sales)
- eBay
- Alibaba / AliExpress
- Shein (if operating as a marketplace for third-party brands)
Online Travel Platforms & Agencies
- Airbnb
- Agoda
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Traveloka
- Trip.com
- Klook
- Trivago (if facilitating bookings, not just meta-search)
- Skyscanner (if transactions go through them directly)
- Hopper
- Cebu Pacific’s GetGo Marketplace (if offering third-party travel deals)
Productivity & Collaboration Software
- Microsoft 365 / Office 365
- Google Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Docs, etc.)
- Zoom (Pro & Business Plans)
- Slack
- Dropbox
- Notion
- Trello (Premium plans)
- Asana
- Monday.com
- Evernote
- ClickUp
Design, Creative, and Content Creation Tools
- Capcut Pro
- Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, etc.)
- Canva Pro
- Figma (Professional & Org Plans)
- Affinity (Photo, Designer, Publisher)
- Envato Elements
- CorelDRAW
- Final Cut Pro (Apple, via App Store)
- Lumen5
- Kapwing (Pro plans)
Cloud Storage & Hosting
- Google Drive (Google One plans)
- iCloud (Apple Storage Plans)
- Dropbox
- OneDrive (Microsoft)
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- DigitalOcean
- Linode
- Vultr
- Cloudflare (paid plans)
- Backblaze
Paid Developer & Tech Tools
- GitHub (Pro & Teams)
- GitLab
- Atlassian (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket)
- JetBrains (IntelliJ, WebStorm, etc.)
- Namecheap / GoDaddy / Bluehost (if billing PH users)
- Netlify (Pro/Enterprise)
- Heroku
- Firebase (Paid usage tiers)
Lastly, all apps and in-app purchases from Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and even gaming platforms like Steam. Basically, if you’re paying for access to anything online, be it for entertainment, tools, storage, even in-game skins, it’s probably covered.
So, Sugboanons, buckle up for this June 1, 2025 as we’ll definitely get to see the additional charge on our bills right away.
