Issued by cities and municipalities to all persons that have reached the age of majority and upon payment of a community tax, it is considered a primary form of identification in the Philippines alongside the driver's license and the passport, and is one of the closest, single documents the country has to a national system of identification.

[1] The history of the community tax certificate entails three incarnations dating back to Spanish colonial times.

However, persons who are ineligible to pay the residence tax may be issued a certificate for twenty centavos.

A community tax certificate contains the following information: When used as a primary form of identification, community tax certificates are used when someone acknowledges a document before a notary public, takes an oath of office or is appointed to a government position, receives a license or permit from a government authority, pays government taxes or fees, receives money from a public fund, transacts official business (such as business registration) or receives salaries and wages.

In other cases, such as voter registration and opening bank accounts, community tax certificates are not a valid form of identification.

During Spanish times, the fifteen-real residence tax was split between the national and local governments and the Roman Catholic Church.

Community taxes collected by city or municipal governments proceed immediately to the city or municipal treasury, while taxes collected by barangay treasurers are allotted on a half-by-half basis, with fifty percent of the revenues allotted to the city or municipal treasury and the remaining fifty percent to the barangay treasury.