PhilHealth Contribution Table 2026: Employer Guide for Cafés

By Robin Salvador, co-founder, Caffeine Brothers
Last updated: November 1, 2026

Quick answer: In 2026 the PhilHealth premium for employees is 5% of monthly basic salary, with a ₱10,000 income floor and a ₱100,000 ceiling. That means a monthly premium of ₱500 to ₱5,000, split equally between employer and employee. The rate has been 5% since January 2024 under the Universal Health Care Act, and PhilHealth restated it in an advisory signed July 21, 2026. For a Metro Manila café worker on the ₱718 daily minimum who works six days a week, the premium is about ₱936.39 a month: ₱468.20 from the café and ₱468.20 from the worker.

Most small cafés run payroll themselves, and PhilHealth is one of three government deductions on every payslip. We covered the first one in our SSS contribution table 2026 guide. This article does the same for PhilHealth, with the rules taken from the law, PhilHealth’s own circulars and advisories, and the DOLE handbook. Every figure was read on November 1, 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; check your own case with PhilHealth or an accountant.

What is the PhilHealth contribution rate in 2026?

The rate is 5% of monthly basic salary. Section 10 of the Universal Health Care Act (RA 11223), approved February 20, 2019, set a schedule that raised the rate by half a point a year from 2.75% in 2019 to 5% in 2024 and 2025, while the income ceiling rose from ₱50,000 to ₱100,000. The floor stayed at ₱10,000 throughout.

The law’s schedule stops at 2025. PhilHealth’s Advisory 2025-0002 confirmed that the rate “remains at 5.0%” from January 2025 with the same floor and ceiling. We found no separate contribution table for calendar year 2026 in PhilHealth’s 2026 advisory list. The latest advisory that mentions the rate, No. 2026-0042 signed July 21, 2026, says direct contributors pay 5.0% of monthly income “effective January 2025” and gives the same ₱500 minimum.

A rate increase looks unlikely for now. In July 2025, PhilHealth President Edwin Mercado told BusinessWorld that rates are set by law and that the maximum is 5% of basic pay. He said PhilHealth was studying a higher income ceiling instead. No change to the ₱100,000 ceiling had been announced when we checked.

PhilHealth contribution table 2026

Multiply monthly basic salary by 5%, then split the result in half. Salaries below ₱10,000 pay the floor amount, and salaries above ₱100,000 pay the ceiling amount.

How do you compute PhilHealth for daily-paid café crew?

PhilHealth Circular 2020-0005 defines monthly basic salary as “the fixed basic rate of an employee.” It leaves out sales commission, overtime pay, allowances, 13th month pay, bonuses and other gratuity payments. It also says you should not reduce the base for undertime, tardiness, leave without pay or absences. So a worker who missed two days in a month still pays on the full basic rate. The 13th month you pay in December does not attract PhilHealth; our 13th month pay guide covers that payment.

For daily-paid workers the circular says MBS is the estimated equivalent monthly rate in the latest DOLE Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits. The 2023 handbook uses daily rate × 313 ÷ 12 for workers paid on six days a week (293 ordinary days plus 12 regular holidays and 8 special days) and daily rate × 261 ÷ 12 for workers who do not work and are not paid on Saturdays and Sundays.

Metro Manila’s minimum wage rose on September 26, 2026 under Wage Order NCR-28, from ₱695 to ₱755 for most workers and from ₱658 to ₱718 for retail and service businesses with 15 workers or fewer, which covers many small cafés. Here is what that does to PhilHealth.

For a six-day crew member at ₱718, the wage order raised the café’s PhilHealth share by ₱39.13 a month, from ₱429.07 to ₱468.20. If you are still budgeting a new hire, our barista salary guide adds this to the other mandatory costs.

What does PhilHealth cost a small café each month?

Take a Metro Manila café with six crew, all on ₱718 a day and working six days a week. Each worker’s premium is ₱936.39.

• Total remitted each month: about ₱5,618.35 (6 × ₱936.39).
• Café’s share: about ₱2,809.17 a month, or ₱33,710.10 a year.
• Workers’ share: the same ₱2,809.17, deducted from pay.

For the same café, the employer share is a fixed cost that does not change with sales. At ₱2,809.17 a month it equals the bean cost of about 346 cups made with 10 g of our Robusta at the 1 kg price of ₱813 (₱8.13 per cup). You can test your own numbers with the tools in our Coffee Lab.

When is the PhilHealth remittance deadline?

PhilHealth Circular No. 1 of 2014 set the schedule that PhilHealth’s employer page still shows. The due date depends on the last digit of your PhilHealth Employer Number (PEN):

• PEN ending in 0 to 4: pay on the 11th to 15th of the month after the applicable month.
• PEN ending in 5 to 9: pay on the 16th to 20th of the month after the applicable month.
• Submit the remittance report within five days after payment. If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, pay and report on the next working day.

PhilHealth requires employers to use the Electronic Premium Remittance System (EPRS) for payment and remittance reports. Advisory 2026-0050, signed September 17, 2026, added EPRS version 4.9.0 from October 1, 2026. Payments for additional employees and salary differentials must now go through EPRS online channels using a Statement of Premium Account; PhilHealth cashiers and collecting agents no longer accept them over the counter.

What happens if a café pays PhilHealth late?

Circular 2020-0005 says missed employer contributions carry interest “compounded monthly, of at least three percent (3%).” The penalties in Section 38 of the UHC Act are heavier:

• Failing to register employees, deduct contributions, or remit and report them on time, deliberately or through inexcusable negligence: a fine of ₱50,000 for every violation per affected employee, or 6 months to 1 year in prison, or both.
• Failing to remit deducted contributions within 30 days of the due date: presumed misappropriation, and the employer must remit the money immediately.
• Recovering the employer’s own share from employees’ pay: a fine of ₱5,000 times the number of affected employees, or 6 months to 1 year in prison, or both.

To show how fast interest adds up, take one month of the six-crew café’s premiums (₱5,618.35) and apply 3% a month, compounded. This is our illustration only; PhilHealth computes the actual amount on your Statement of Premium Account.

PhilHealth also publishes lists of employers that did not remit or report. Advisory 2026-0035, signed June 11, 2026, posted the list for January to March 2026 and gave listed employers 30 days to visit a PhilHealth office to verify their status and settle what they owe.

Can employers get PhilHealth interest waived in 2026?

Yes, for older arrears. PhilHealth Advisory 2026-0001 announced a one-time waiver program under PhilHealth Circular 2026-0001 for private and government employers with missed contributions from July 2013 to December 2024. The interest depends on how quickly you settle:

• Full payment in 1 month: 0% interest (full waiver).
• Payment over 2 to 6 months: 1% interest.
• Payment over 7 to 12 months: 2% interest.

Employers must submit the required documents, update their employee masterlist, and register and assign all employees under PhilHealth’s YAKAP primary care program with a completed first patient encounter. PhilHealth accepts requests until December 31, 2026. Missed contributions from 2025 and 2026 are not covered.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Republic Act No. 11223, Universal Health Care Act. LawPhil. Approved February 20, 2019. Used for the Section 10 premium schedule and Section 38 penalties
2. PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0005, Premium Contribution Schedule (Revision 1). PhilHealth. Used for the MBS definition, equal sharing, the DOLE equivalent monthly rate and the 3% interest
3. PhilHealth Advisory No. 2025-0002, Premium Contribution for All Direct Contributors for CY 2025. PhilHealth. Used for the 5% rate, floor and ceiling
4. PhilHealth Advisory No. 2026-0042, Reimbursement Claims Abroad and Premium Contributions. PhilHealth, signed July 21, 2026. Used for the 5% rate still in force and the ₱500 minimum
5. PhilHealth Advisory No. 2026-0001, One-Time Waiver of Interest on Missed Employer Contributions. PhilHealth, 2026. Used for the waiver period, options, requirements and December 31, 2026 cutoff
6. PhilHealth Advisory No. 2026-0035, Report on Non-Remitting and/or Non-Reporting Employers. PhilHealth, signed June 11, 2026. Used for the non-remitting employer list
7. PhilHealth Advisory No. 2026-0050, Electronic Premium Remittance System Version 4.9.0. PhilHealth, signed September 17, 2026. Used for EPRS online-only payments
8. PhilHealth Circular No. 1, s. 2014, New Payment Schedule for Premium Contributions. PhilHealth. Used for the PEN-based payment windows and reporting rule
9. Payment and Reporting Procedures for Employers. PhilHealth, read November 1, 2026. Used for the current schedule and EPRS requirement
10. PhilHealth rules out contribution rate hike after loss of subsidies. BusinessWorld, July 16, 2025. Used for the rate staying at 5% and the ceiling study
11. Handbook on Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits, 2023 edition. DOLE Bureau of Working Conditions, via Labor Law PH. Used for the 313 and 261 factors
12. DOLE: P60 wage hike in NCR takes effect Sept. 26. GMA News, September 26, 2026. Used for the ₱755 and ₱718 NCR rates
13. Caffeine Brothers Robusta coffee beans. Price read from the WooCommerce Store API on November 1, 2026

Running a café or an office pantry? Our wholesale coffee comes in 10 kg boxes with free Metro Manila delivery. For costing help, see financial fundamentals for café owners and the Coffee Lab calculators, or contact us.