The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) lost up to P7 billion in income tax payments as a result of tropical disturbances "Ondoy" and "Pepeng."

BIR Commissioner Joel L. Tan-Torres bared the estimate as he instructed revenue district officers in Mertro Manila and other areas in Luzon hit by the storms to submit their damage reports until Friday.

"I need an accurate casualty estimate for evaluation in preparation for next year's collection target," Tan-Torres said.

Tan-Torres said that based on initial findings culled from various government agencies, the twin typhoons destroyed properties worth more than P1.3 trillion.

He said total income tax losses reached P7 billion after deducting accumulated depreciation cost and insurance payments.

Under existing regulations, the amount of loss compensated by insurance cannot be claimed as deductible loss by a taxpayer.

Tan-Torres instructed the RDOs to check such spurious insurance notations which taxpayers made include when they file their 2009 income tax returns next year.

Earlier, the BIR came out with a memorandum on how business taxpayers can claim losses from the typhoons, including the sworn statement of the taxpayers and pictures of damaged properties.