In a claim for refund of creditable withholding tax, the taxpayer must show convincing proof that the income upon which the taxes were withheld was included in the return of the taxpayer.

The taxpayer must satisfy the following requirements in order to be entitled to a refund or issuance of TCC for excess/unapplied creditable withholding taxes:

1. The claim for refund was filed within the two-year prescriptive period as provided under Section 204 (C), in relation to Section 229 of the NIRC of 1997, as amended;
   
2. The fact of withholding is established by a copy of a statement duly issued by the payor (withholding agent) to the payee, showing the amount paid and the amount of tax withheld therefrom; and
   
3. The income upon which the taxes were withheld was included in the return of the recipient.
   

In this case, to satisfy the third requisite, the Court ruled that based on the annual income tax return, audited financial statements, and income statements, the Court cannot determine whether the gross income payments per creditable withholding tax certificates formed part of the gross income reported in the income tax return. The taxpayer should have presented additional supporting documents such as official receipts, sales invoices, detailed general ledger, sales register, reconciliation schedules or any other document whereby the income payments related to the claimed CWT can be traced and confirmed as forming part of the income reflected in the annual income tax return. (Winebrenner & Iňigo Insurance Brokers, Inc. vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CTA Case No. 8277, December 19, 2012)