Short answer: There are four ways to hire a Filipino virtual assistant: a freelance platform (Upwork, Fiverr), a job board where you hire direct (OnlineJobs.ph), a staffing agency, or an employer of record (EOR). On a job board you pay the VA yourself, by bank transfer, GCash, Payoneer, PayPal or Wise. An EOR becomes the legal employer.
Disclosure: links marked “affiliate link” go to Wise Business, and Trabaho Online may earn a commission if you open an account. Fees, limits and rules below come from official pages checked on 27 October 2026.
Which way of hiring a Filipino VA fits your business?
The key difference is who carries the employer role. That decides who handles Philippine taxes and benefits, and how money reaches the VA.
| Route | Who is the legal employer | Who handles taxes and benefits in the Philippines | How the VA is paid | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance platform (Upwork, Fiverr) | Not fixed: Upwork’s terms make the client decide employee or contractor | The VA, if engaged as a self-employed contractor | Through the platform. On Upwork, you pay for approved work from escrow | One-off projects, testing a role |
| Job board, hire direct (OnlineJobs.ph) | You contract the VA directly, as employee or contractor | The VA, if engaged as a contractor | You pay the VA: EasyPay links (Payoneer or PayPal), or your own bank, GCash or Wise transfer | A long-term, full-time VA with no salary markup |
| Staffing agency | Depends: ask in writing if the VA is the agency’s employee | The agency, if it is the employer | You pay the agency’s invoice; the agency pays the VA | Businesses that want recruiting and replacement handled |
| Employer of record (EOR), for example Deel | The EOR. It “assumes the role of the legal employer” (Deel) | The EOR: payroll, payroll taxes, benefits | You pay the EOR; it pays the VA on your behalf | A full employee without a Philippine company |
How do the four routes work in practice?
Freelance platforms: Upwork and Fiverr
On Upwork’s Basic plan, clients pay a 5% marketplace fee on payments to freelancers, or 3% for eligible US clients paying from a checking account, plus a one-time contract initiation fee of $0.99 to $14.99 per new contract (checked 27 October 2026). Upwork’s Terms of Service state that “Clients, not Upwork, are responsible for deciding” whether freelancers are employees or independent contractors. For Fiverr, check current buyer fees on Fiverr’s own pages.
Direct hire on OnlineJobs.ph
OnlineJobs.ph is a job board for hiring Filipino workers direct. Its plans on 27 October 2026:
- Free ($0): post a job and see applications, but “You CAN NOT contact, interview, or hire people with a FREE account.”
- PRO ($69 a month): up to 3 job posts a month, contact 75 workers a month.
- Premium ($99 a month): up to 10 job posts a month, contact 500 workers a month, unlimited background data checks.
The site promises “No salary markups or ongoing fees”, and its EasyPay page says it takes no cut of payments sent to workers. Pay is set between you and the VA: “How much you pay them is dependent on how much you negotiate”. See also: how to search OnlineJobs.ph as an employer for free.
Staffing agencies
An agency typically recruits for you and sends one invoice that includes the VA’s pay. Before you sign, ask in writing: who employs the VA, how much of your fee reaches the VA, who pays 13th month pay and mandatory contributions, and what happens if the VA leaves.
Employer of record (EOR)
Deel defines an EOR as an organization that “employs and pays your workers compliantly on your behalf”. The EOR handles payroll, withholds payroll taxes, administers benefits and must comply with local labor law. Ask any EOR for a monthly quote that lists salary, 13th month pay, mandatory contributions and its own fee as separate lines.
Is your Filipino VA an employee or a contractor?
Three facts frame the answer:
- 13th month pay is an employee benefit. Memorandum Order No. 28 of 1986, which modified Presidential Decree 851, requires employers to pay “all their rank-and-file employees a 13th month pay” no later than 24 December each year. The implementing rules set it at one twelfth of the employee’s basic salary for the calendar year, for employees who worked at least one month in that year, and exclude some pay arrangements, such as workers “paid on purely commission, boundary, or task basis”.
- A contractor is not on your payroll. Per Deel, contractors “don’t have employee status”, and a local entity does not process their payroll, taxes and social security contributions. A self-employed Filipino registers with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Form 1901, the application “For Self-Employed (Single Proprietor/Professional)”.
- Your home country has its own paperwork. US businesses should ask their accountant whether to collect Form W-8BEN from the VA; the IRS says a foreign person gives this form “to the withholding agent or payer”. Australian businesses should ask their accountant how to record payments to an overseas contractor.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice: confirm your VA’s employment status with a lawyer or accountant who knows Philippine labor law before you sign.
What should you check before you hire?
- Route and status chosen. Use the table above, write down who the employer is, and confirm employee or contractor status with an adviser.
- Role written down. Tasks, weekly hours, time zone overlap, tools, and how you will review the work.
- Pay agreed in writing. Amount, currency (USD or PHP), pay day, method, and who covers conversion fees. OnlineJobs.ph says this “should be agreed upon during the interview/hiring process”.
- Identity checked. The name on the ID, the contract and the receiving account should match.
- Paid trial task. A short, paid test before a long commitment.
- Contract signed. Scope, confidentiality, ownership of work, notice period.
- Access planned. A separate login for each tool, a password manager, and a list of what to revoke at the end.
- Test payment sent. A small first transfer confirms the details before the first full salary.
- Records kept. An invoice for every payment. EasyPay lets workers create invoices that you can “show for tax reporting”.
How do you pay a Filipino virtual assistant?
The main options, with what each provider publishes (checked 27 October 2026):
- Philippine bank account. Wise says you can send pesos “to any individual and business bank accounts in the Philippines”. You need the VA’s full name, bank name and a 6 to 18 digit account number. PHP transfers are instant up to PHP 50,000 once converted; larger amounts usually take one to two working days.
- GCash and other e-wallets. Wise lists GCash, Maya, GrabPay and other wallets as PHP destinations, with a limit of PHP 49,999 per wallet transfer; the wallet may set its own limits. For a salary above that, pay to a bank account.
- Wise Business. On its business pricing pages (checked 27 October 2026), in the US Wise lists one set-up fee of 31 USD for all business features and a sending fee that varies by currency, from 0.23%. In Australia, the Basic plan (sending only) is free and Advanced has a 65 AUD setup cost. BatchTransfer lets you “Pay up to 1,000 contractors at once”. If you plan to pay to GCash, check that the e-wallet option appears when you add the recipient from the business account. Wise BusinessAd (affiliate link)
- Payoneer.OnlineJobs.ph’s EasyPay creates payment links that run through Payoneer or PayPal; EasyPay itself is “not a payment system”. Check current fees on Payoneer’s own pricing page.
- PayPal. PayPal Philippines lists its fees, including currency conversion and withdrawals to a linked bank account, on its consumer fees page (last updated 28 September 2026).
To compare, check how many pesos the VA would receive for the same amount on the same day with each option, and agree in writing who pays the difference. For monthly payroll from a US or Australian business, a business account keeps salaries apart from other spending; compare the PHP amount on Wise BusinessAd (affiliate link) with your bank’s quote before the first payment.
How much should you pay a Filipino VA?
This guide does not quote rates, because no official, dated source for VA pay was found. Rates depend on skills, hours, English level and time zone overlap. To check current asking rates:
- Post a free job on OnlineJobs.ph and read the applications (contacting applicants needs PRO or Premium).
- Compare freelancer profiles for the same skill on Upwork.
- Ask one agency and one EOR for written monthly quotes for the same role, with the VA’s take-home pay listed separately.
- Write the date next to every figure.
For the VA’s side of the job, read the complete guide to VA freelancing in the Philippines and whether virtual assistant work in the Philippines is worth it.
Trabaho Online Editorial. Sources, checked 27 October 2026: the official pages of OnlineJobs.ph, Upwork, Deel, Wise and PayPal Philippines; PD 851 and Memorandum Order No. 28 (lawphil.net); BIR Form 1901; IRS Form W-8 BEN. Fees change; check before you pay.