Philippine travel tax: rates, who pays and how to pay

How much is the travel tax?

The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) collects the Philippine travel tax. Its website lists the full rate at ₱2,700 for first class passage and ₱1,620 for economy class passage ¹. The same amounts appear in TIEZA's implementing rules, which cite Batas Pambansa Blg. 38, PD 1867 and Executive Order 283 as the basis for the rates ³.

TIEZA's online payment form puts economy, business class and cruise ship passage in one class at the economy rate, and first class in the other ⁶. Some news reports describe ₱2,700 as the rate for business and first class ⁹. If you fly business class, check the class shown on the TIEZA form before you pay.

Paying by credit card or mobile wallet at a TIEZA counter adds a 1.266% convenience fee. That makes the full rate ₱2,734.18 for first class and ₱1,640.51 for economy. The fee goes to the payment provider, not TIEZA ⁵.

Who must pay

TIEZA's rules say the travel tax is collected from all passengers leaving the country, wherever the ticket was issued and whatever the form of payment. Three groups are covered ³.

• Citizens of the Philippines ³
• Permanent resident foreigners, such as holders of 13, 13A, 13G and the other immigrant visas TIEZA lists as taxable ⁶
• Non-immigrant foreign passport holders who have stayed in the Philippines for more than one year ¹

Who does not pay or pays less

Foreign tourists and other non-immigrant visitors who have stayed less than one year are not covered by the tax ³.

TIEZA exempts overseas Filipino workers, Filipino permanent residents abroad who stay in the Philippines less than one year, infants 2 years old and below, and more than a dozen other groups. Each group needs its own documents ⁷.

The standard reduced rate of ₱1,350 for first class and ₱810 for economy applies to children from 2 years and one day up to their 12th birthday on the date of travel, accredited Filipino journalists on assignment, and people authorized by the President for reasons of national interest ².

The privileged reduced rate of ₱400 for first class and ₱300 for economy covers the legitimate spouse of an OFW, unmarried children of an OFW below 21, legitimate or not, and children of OFWs with disabilities even above 21. The dependent must be traveling to the OFW's worksite ². The TIEZA board added illegitimate children and children with disabilities on 1 August 2017 ⁴.

How the tax is collected

Airlines and their agents that issue international tickets collect the travel tax and remit it to TIEZA twice a month ³. So a ticket issued by an airline or agent in the Philippines normally carries the tax in its fare breakdown. TIEZA's online form tells travelers to check whether the tax is already in their plane ticket before paying ⁶.

Tickets issued or bought abroad work differently. The tax is paid directly to TIEZA before departure and is not collected abroad. Airlines must not validate the booking until the passenger shows a TIEZA travel tax payment certificate, exemption certificate or reduced rate certificate ³.

You can pay TIEZA in these places. At a counter you show your original passport and airline ticket, and TIEZA's charter puts the process at a maximum of six minutes per applicant ⁵.

• Online through TIEZA's Online Travel Tax Services System, which runs 24 hours a day ^5,6
• TIEZA airport counters, open 24 hours at NAIA Terminals 1 and 3, Clark and Mactan Cebu, with set hours at other airports ⁵
• The TIEZA Central Office in Pasay City, Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., plus satellite offices in Metro Manila malls and provincial offices in Baguio, San Fernando (La Union), Mandaue, Iloilo and Davao ⁵

The law behind the travel tax

TIEZA traces the travel tax to Republic Act 1478 of 15 June 1956. Presidential Decree 1183, signed on 21 August 1977, amended and consolidated the earlier travel tax laws and set the manner of collection and the penalties ⁴.

Later issuances changed it. These include PD 1205 of 1977, Batas Pambansa Blg. 38 of 1979, PD 1867 of 1983, Executive Order 25 of 1986, which exempted Filipino overseas contract workers, and Executive Order 283 of 1987, which restructured the exemptions and restored the reduced rates ⁴.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go said in February 2026 that collections reach about ₱8 billion a year. He said 50% goes to TIEZA, 40% to the Commission on Higher Education and 10% to the arts, and none goes to the national government ⁸.

Is the travel tax being abolished?

Not yet. The House of Representatives approved House Bill 8464 on third and final reading in March 2026, with 257 votes in favor, 1 against and 1 abstention. The bill would repeal the travel tax under PD 1183 and related parts of the Tourism Act of 2009. It would fund TIEZA, CHED and the culture commission through the national budget instead ⁹.

As of 18 March 2026, Senate versions filed by Senators Francis Pangilinan, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Joel Villanueva and Erwin Tulfo had not been taken up in plenary ⁹. House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos said the tax "belongs to a different era" ⁹. Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco warned that abolishing it suddenly without a substitute fund could hurt the tourism sector ⁸.

On 1 October 2026 the Global Tourism Business Association said it opposes abolition. It proposed a uniform ₱500 travel tax and full exemptions for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and students ¹⁰. Until a repeal law takes effect, TIEZA still lists the ₱1,620 and ₱2,700 rates ¹.