CREATE MORE Act
Definition
CREATE MORE Act
The CREATE MORE Act, or Republic Act 12066, is a Philippine tax law signed in 2024. It cut corporate income tax for firms in export zones, protected hybrid work in outsourcing, refined value-added tax rules on local purchases, and stretched tax breaks.
Signed by President Marcos on 11 November 2024, the law amends the earlier CREATE Act (Republic Act 11534) and addresses long-running complaints from foreign investors about unclear incentives, work-from-home rules, and cross-border service treatment.
Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs) sit at the heart of the reform. RBEs — usually outsourcing, manufacturing, or renewable-energy firms — register with the Board of Investments (BOI) or the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to receive fiscal incentives.
For the outsourcing sector, the Philippines’ largest private-sector employer with roughly 1.9 million workers, the law protected work-from-home arrangements that had run on temporary permits since 2020.
That certainty unlocked new expansion decisions from big offshore providers in Manila, Cebu, and Davao.
The bill’s short title is a stretched acronym: “Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy.” Legislators and press coverage almost always shorten it to CREATE MORE.
Key takeaways
- Republic Act 12066 was signed on 11 November 2024, amending the earlier CREATE Act (Republic Act 11534).
- Corporate income tax for eligible Registered Business Enterprises can drop to 20% under the Enhanced Deductions Regime.
- Outsourcing firms in economic zones can keep up to 50% of staff on work-from-home without losing tax incentives.
- Value-added tax (VAT) rules on local purchases and imports by RBEs were clarified, cutting refund disputes.
- Foreign investors gain longer incentive periods and a clearer Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) approval track.
How it works
The law rewrites the Philippine tax and incentive stack in three moves. It lowers rates, sharpens the definition of eligible activities, and hands more approval authority to the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) for larger investments.
| Regime | Rate | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Standard corporate income tax | 25% | ongoing |
| Income Tax Holiday (ITH) | 0% | 4–7 years |
| Special Corporate Income Tax (SCIT) | 5% | up to 10 years |
| Enhanced Deductions Regime (EDR) | 20% | up to 10 years, extendable |
Under the old CREATE Act, an RBE picked one incentive path after its ITH ended. CREATE MORE lets qualifying firms elect the Enhanced Deductions Regime at a flat 20% rate and layer deductions for training, power, and research spend.
The FIRB now approves incentives for projects up to PHP 15 billion — only larger deals escalate to the president. That change moved most approval work off the executive desk and eased the pipeline for foreign direct investment in the Philippines.
The FIRB also sits at the center of the incentive machinery. It approves qualified projects, sets performance conditions, and monitors compliance across every RBE registered with the BOI or PEZA.
Two smaller changes matter for finance teams. First, the law made the FIRB’s approval decision reviewable within 60 working days. Second, it clarified that VAT zero-rating on local input purchases applies to registered activities, not the whole company.
Deductions for research spend are doubled, a real 200% deduction on qualified R&D costs. Power expenses can be deducted at 150% of the actual bill.
Training staff through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) earns another 200% deduction line, sweetening the return for firms that build Filipino capacity onshore.
Examples
CREATE MORE’s biggest early beneficiaries were firms in the Philippine IT-BPM sector, semiconductor manufacturers, and renewable-energy developers. Each group had lobbied hard for the specific changes the law finally shipped.
The following cases show the effect on real budgets and expansion plans.
The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) pushed to legalize hybrid work inside PEZA zones without incentive cuts. CREATE MORE allowed up to 50% of RBE staff to work from home, unlocking savings IBPAP now cites in investment pitches.
Manila-based electronics and semiconductor exporters, the Philippines’ single largest export sector, gained a longer runway for their tax breaks. CREATE MORE extended incentive terms up to 17 years for high-value projects registered on or after 11 November 2024.
Renewable-energy developers received a 100% Enhanced Deductions Regime run for up to 27 years — one of the longest incentive tails in Philippine history. That change accelerated new solar and wind project announcements across Luzon and Mindanao through 2025.
Related terms
CREATE MORE sits at the intersection of Philippine tax law and the outsourcing supply chain. The following terms show up alongside it in most BPO investor briefings and contract templates.
Reading them together builds a fast mental map of how the incentive stack works in practice.
- Offshore Outsourcing: the cross-border delivery model that drives most Philippine BPO revenue.
- Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO): higher-value analytical work that also qualifies as an RBE activity.
- Service Level Agreement (SLA): contract clauses that got new attention as hybrid work reshaped delivery.
- Key Performance Indicator (KPI): productivity measures used to prove compliance with incentive terms.
- Sourcing: the procurement discipline that decides which offshore market wins an outsourcing contract.
- Trade Compliance: customs and export-control rules that overlap with the law’s VAT provisions.
FAQ
What is the CREATE MORE Act?
The CREATE MORE Act is Republic Act 12066, a 2024 Philippine tax law that reformed corporate tax incentives for Registered Business Enterprises.
It amended the earlier CREATE Act (Republic Act 11534) to attract more foreign investment and clean up ambiguities that had frustrated outsourcing operators.
When was the CREATE MORE Act signed?
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the CREATE MORE Act into law on 11 November 2024.
The Implementing Rules and Regulations followed in the weeks after signing, with the Bureau of Internal Revenue) and the Department of Finance issuing further guidance in early 2025.
Does the CREATE MORE Act allow work-from-home for BPO staff?
Yes. Registered Business Enterprises in Philippine economic zones can keep up to 50% of employees on work-from-home arrangements without losing tax incentives. This is a permanent statutory rule, not the pandemic-era temporary permit that came before.
What is the new corporate income tax rate under the Enhanced Deductions Regime?
Eligible RBEs electing the Enhanced Deductions Regime pay corporate income tax at 20%, five points below the standard 25% rate. They can also layer deductions for training, power, and research spend, lowering the cash tax rate further for firms that reinvest.
How is CREATE MORE different from the original CREATE Act?
CREATE MORE fixes the ambiguities in the 2021 CREATE Act by locking in hybrid work, cutting rates under the Enhanced Deductions Regime, giving the FIRB more approval authority, and clarifying VAT on local purchases.
Compare shortlists of Philippine outsourcing partners built around the CREATE MORE Act on Outsource Accelerator.
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