This guide is for employed professionals with side gig jobs who want to protect their day job, stay tax-compliant, and avoid unnecessary drama.
Side gigs are no longer optional for many Filipinos. They are a financial reality.
Millions now rely on freelance income to supplement their salary, driven by rising costs and persistent underemployment.
In the last two years, about 9.9 M Filipinos have been engaged in gig work. They get their jobs through online platforms or mobile apps.
Underemployment is around 10.4% in 2025. This shows that most Filipinos believe that they need more hustle to get that extra cash.
The question remains. If you’re earning freelance income, do you need to tell your employer about it?
The honest answer is: not automatically.
There is no universal law that forces employees to disclose freelance income.
But there are situations where disclosure or approval is required, and ignoring them can put your job at risk.
Let’s break this down clearly.
Key takeaways
- Employer rules decide disclosure.
If your contract or handbook mentions moonlighting, outside employment, exclusivity, non-compete, or conflict of interest, disclosure or approval may be required. If none exist, disclosure is often optional. - Overlap equals risk.
If your side gig overlaps with your employer’s industry, competitors, clients, or the same work you do at your job, risk increases significantly. - Side income changes your tax lane.
Salary plus freelance income usually places you under the mixed-income earner category. This often removes you from substituted filing and requires you to file your own annual income tax return, commonly under BIR Form 1701 or its relevant version
If you’re employed and earning freelance income, you already know the tension.
You’re not doing anything illegal. You’re just trying to earn more without jeopardizing the job that pays the bills.
Still, the worries creep in:
- What if HR finds out and escalates it?
- What if my manager thinks I’m distracted?
- What if I signed something that quietly bans side work?
- What if I missed a tax requirement and get penalized later?
So instead of asking HR or a tax professional, many people avoid the conversation entirely and guess.
If this is you, then you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at what you should look out for and what you should start doing.
Am I considered a mixed-income earner?
In most cases, yes.
A mixed-income earner earns both compensation income (salary) and income from business or professional practice, including freelancing.
In practice, your employer withholds tax on your salary and issues Form 2316.
Your freelance income is tracked and reported separately by you.
A simple mental model helps: payroll handles what happens inside your job. Anything earned outside payroll needs its own compliance lane.
Here’s a guide on how to file your taxes if you’re a mixed-income earner.
Do I need a DTI registration for a side hustle?
Not automatically. DTI’s BNRS FAQ is clear.
If you do business using a name other than your true name, you are required to register that business name with DTI.
You usually do not need DTI if you freelance under your real name and your invoices and contracts are under your personal name.
But if you want to transact under a brand name on invoices and contracts, you’d want your brand to be your official business entity.
If my company already withholds tax, do I still need to file anything for my side income?
In most cases, yes.
Employer withholding applies only to salary. Freelance income is not included.
Substituted filing generally applies only to purely compensation income. Once you earn freelance income, you are usually outside substituted filing and must file your own annual return.
To clarify, BIR Form 1700 is for purely compensation income.
If you earn both salary and freelance income, annual return guidance points to Form 1701 or its relevant version, which covers mixed-income earners.
What should I check in my contract before I tell HR?
Start with your employment contract and employee handbook. These documents matter more than assumptions or office hearsay.
You are looking for restrictions, not legal language. If restrictions exist, disclosure or approval is usually required. If none exist, disclosure may be optional, but confirming policy is still safer than assuming.
Scan for the following terms and understand what they mean for side gigs.
- Exclusivity clause
Requires you to work only for your employer or obtain written approval before engaging in paid work elsewhere. This is the strongest trigger for disclosure. - Moonlighting policy
Specifies whether second jobs or side hustles are allowed, restricted, or subject to approval, often with limits on work hours or performance impact. - Outside employment
A broad rule covering any paid work outside your role. If present, declaration is often required. - Non-compete agreement
Restricts work that competes with your employer during employment or after exit. If your freelance income serves the same market or clients, this is high risk. - Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
Requires strict confidentiality. For freelancers, this means no sharing of internal data, strategies, pricing, client information, or processes. - Conflict of interest
Prevents situations where your judgment or loyalty could be compromised, such as serving competitors or overlapping clients. - Duty of loyalty
A legal obligation to act in your employer’s best interest while employed. Side gigs must not compete, undermine, or distract during paid hours. - Management prerogative
The employer’s right to regulate outside work through policy, even if the contract is vague. - Competitor
Any entity offering similar products or targeting the same customers as your employer. Overlap increases risk even if your role feels different. - Use of company time or equipment
Prohibits side work during paid hours or using company laptops, email, software, or data. This is the easiest violation to prove.
If you see exclusivity, non-compete, or outside employment clauses, assume disclosure or approval is required.
If you see conflict-of-interest language, assess whether your side gig overlaps with your employer’s industry or clients.
If none appear, disclosure may be optional, but confirming HR policy avoids surprises.
What happens if I didn’t declare my side income last year?
It depends on whether you were registered as self-employed last year. If you weren’t, the fix is usually “set up first, then catch up.”
If you were registered, the fix is “catch up on missed filings and correct the record.”
Usually, side gigs start as extra. But then it adds up, and suddenly you’re doing math you didn’t ask for.
Let’s take a look at what you need to do if you haven’t registered as a multi-income earner.
Here is where you get started.
- Reconstruct your income (bank transfers, platform payouts, invoices, screenshots). It does not have to be pretty. It just has to be honest.
- Separate salary vs freelance income. Your BIR Form 2316 covers compensation income and employer withholding. It does not automatically include freelance earnings.
- Do not wing it if you’re unsure what you should’ve filed. The cleanest path depends on your setup and timing.
If you were registered but missed filings or didn’t include side income correctly, this is a catch-up-and-correct problem.
Penalties can apply for late filing or late payment, so the goal is to correct things properly and early.
Here’s what to do next:
- List what you earned.
- Identify what returns were due based on your registration.
- File what’s missing and settle what’s due.
If you’re not sure which bucket you’re in, that’s your sign to get guided help instead of guessing.
Want the cleanest, safest next step?
If you want to stop guessing, get in touch with us.
We can confirm whether your freelance income places you under the mixed-income earner category, clarify what substituted filing does and does not cover, and map what you need to file for your side gig jobs.
If you missed last year, we can help you fix it with the least messy path forward.
Because a side hustle should add income, not anxiety.