BIR Form 1604-C and the alphalist

BIR Form 1604-C is the yearly information return of the tax you withheld on compensation, filed with the alphalist of your employees. Sahora prepares both from the same figures as your employees' 2316s. This guide shows how to get them and check the alphalist file before you submit it.

Sahora prepares the return and the files. You file them with the BIR yourself.

Before you start

Approve every payroll of the year, including the year-end payroll (see Year-end).
Check the year's 2316s first and fix their notes (see BIR Form 2316). The alphalist is built from them.
Your BIR registration (TIN, registered address, signatory) must be in Company setup → Payroll settings. Until it is, the screen says so and those parts of the form print blank.
Record each month's 1601-C on the filing calendar with its date filed, reference and amount. Part II of the 1604-C, the monthly remittances, is printed from those records.

Open the year's return

Open Reports and click BIR 1604-C and alphalist.
Choose the Year and click Apply.

The return always covers the whole company.

Download the return and the alphalist

1604-C working copy (PDF): the year's return printed onto the BIR's own Form 1604-C. Part II lists the monthly remittances you recorded. The year-end refunds and any over-remittance are filled in from the alphalist.
Alphalist (Excel): Schedule 1 (employees other than minimum wage earners) and Schedule 2 (minimum wage earners) in the BIR's printed format, for your own review.
Alphalist DAT for 1604-C: the data file for the BIR, named the way the BIR expects.

Because the alphalist shows each employee's TIN, each download is recorded in your company's activity log.

Screenshot to come: The BIR 1604-C and alphalist report with its three download buttons and the DAT checks

Check the DAT before you submit

Sahora runs some of the checks the BIR's validation module runs, and lists what it would refuse under "thing(s) the BIR validation module would refuse in the DAT". For example:

"No TIN on file" or "TIN must be 9 digits": enter the employee's TIN on their record (see Government and bank numbers).
"Last name and first name are required".
"The last name has characters the DAT can't carry (ñ, accents); use plain letters": the DAT accepts plain letters only.
"Marked for substituted filing but tax due differs from tax withheld": check the employee's year-end tax.

When nothing is left to fix, the page shows "The DAT checks found nothing to fix."

Validate with the BIR's own module

Sahora's checks don't replace the BIR's. Before you submit, open the DAT file in the BIR's Alphalist Data Entry and Validation Module and validate it. Use the module version the BIR currently requires, and check the BIR's announcements each filing season for a newer one.

File and record it

File the 1604-C and submit the validated alphalist through the BIR's channels.
On the filing calendar, click Mark remitted on the 1604-C row and record the date and reference.

The due date is in your filing calendar.

What can go wrong

"No approved payroll for the year yet.": approve the year's payrolls first.
"Set the employer TIN in Company setup → Payroll settings first.": the DAT can't be made without your TIN.
The Part II months are blank on the PDF: record those months' 1601-C on the filing calendar, with the amount.

Good to know

Owners, payroll officers and Finance prepare the 1604-C and the alphalist.
A correction to an employee's year (for example a late adjustment) changes both their 2316 and the alphalist. Download the files again after any change.

Where this guide gives a rate, limit or number of days set by law, it is the one in force today, 24 October 2026, from the official tables Sahora uses for payroll.