Taxes in Trinidad and Tobago

The national tax system applies across Trinidad and Tobago, including Tobago; no separate Tobago tax code is evidenced. The Ministry of Finance oversees the Inland Revenue Division (IRD), also known through the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR), and the Customs and Excise Division (CED). The IRD Regional Office in Sangster's Hill, Scarborough, provides services in Tobago. The Valuation Division and the Tax Appeal Board also have defined roles. Individuals generally pay income tax on chargeable income. The current official IRD record gives a personal allowance of TT$90,000 from 1 January 2023, with income tax at 25% up to TT$1,000,000 and 30% on excess chargeable income. Available deductions and credits include qualifying foreign tertiary education costs up to TT$72,000, first-time home ownership costs up to TT$30,000, approved pension or deferred-annuity plans together with 70% of National Insurance contributions up to TT$60,000, qualifying donations up to 15% of total income, certain travel expenses, venture-capital investment, solar water heating and CNG equipment, and National Tax-Free Savings Bonds. The amount available depends on the statutory conditions and supporting records. Employees usually have tax deducted through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). They submit a TD1 when employment starts and within seven working days after a change affecting deductions. Employers generally pay PAYE and Health Surcharge and submit the relevant return by the 15th of the following month. Employers issue TD4 certificates by the last day of February and submit the annual PAYE return by 28 February or the last working day of February. Ordinary employees generally do not file an annual income tax return unless they are professional or self-employed or the IRD otherwise requires one. Any assessed balance is generally due by 30 April, with interest stated by the IRD at 20% per year from 1 May. Self-employed people and sole traders file annual returns, keep proper books and records, and generally make quarterly Income Tax, Business Levy and Health Surcharge payments on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. Income tax is based on chargeable profit after allowable business expenses and deductions. Business Levy is generally 0.6% of gross sales or receipts, with a TT$360,000 threshold for individuals and a three-year exemption for qualifying new businesses. Income tax payments can be credited against Business Levy up to the Business Levy liability. A sole trader does not pay Green Fund Levy, while a partnership does. Companies need a BIR file number and an Employer and Account Taxpayer Division (EATD) account. Corporation Tax is generally 30% of chargeable profits and 35% for petrochemical companies. Business Levy is generally 0.6% of gross sales or receipts. Green Fund Levy is generally 0.3% of gross sales or receipts, while the petroleum-company rate is stated as 0.1%. Companies generally pay quarterly instalments in March, June, September and December. Employers and companies with employees also need the relevant PAYE account. Petroleum businesses face additional taxes, including Petroleum Profits Tax at 50% of chargeable profits, Supplemental Petroleum Tax with rates depending on the licence, price and land or marine production category, and Unemployment Levy at 5% of chargeable profits. VAT is charged at the standard rate of 12.5%. A VAT-registered business normally calculates the amount payable by subtracting allowable input VAT from output VAT. Excess input VAT can lead to a refund or offset. The current VAT-registration page gives a TT$600,000 threshold for commercial supplies made or expected in the preceding or following 12 months from 1 January 2023, although older IRD pages still show TT$500,000. Businesses should verify the current threshold with the latest BIR notice before relying on it. VAT periods normally cover two months, with returns and payment due by the 25th of the month after the period ends. VAT is filed through e-Tax. Zero-rated supplies include items listed in Schedule 2, and Legal Notice 380/2025 added specified foods and products from 17 October 2025. A 2026 budget proposal mentions a VAT review and possible final-point sales tax, but no enacted replacement is evidenced here. Imports can create Customs Duty, import VAT, excise and other border taxes. The CED uses tariff classification, customs value and the import declaration to assess the amount due, normally before releasing the goods. Rates depend on the item and classification; there is no single import rate. The CED calculator, ASYCUDA World and related electronic payment systems support the process. The IRD's e-Tax service supports BIR requests, income tax and corporation tax returns, PAYE, VAT, withholding tax, petroleum tax returns, refunds, payment slips, balances, payment plans, objections and correspondence. Taxpayers can also pay through IRD cashiers and district offices. A Tax Clearance Certificate may be required for tendering, citizenship applications, residency matters and work-permit extensions. Tendering generally requires six required returns to have been filed and liabilities to have been paid. A taxpayer who disputes an assessment generally submits a written objection stating the grounds and supporting documents within 15 working days after service. Further appeal can proceed to the Tax Appeal Board. Residents are generally taxed on worldwide income, while non-residents are generally taxed on income derived from or accruing in Trinidad and Tobago. The IRD uses a 183-day presence test operationally, but an applicable tax treaty and its permanent-establishment rules can change the result. Non-residents generally cannot claim personal allowances or deductions unless they meet the stated presence condition. Withholding tax can apply to payments to non-residents, normally with payment or remittance due within 30 days. The standard rate for many payments is 15%, while official IRD material gives conflicting distribution rates of 8% and 3% in one guide and 10% and 5% on a petroleum page. The transaction, recipient, treaty and current IRD guidance therefore need to be checked. Trinidad and Tobago has double-tax agreements with listed countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, India, China and several Caribbean states, and a mutual agreement procedure is available for treaty disputes. Financial institutions and multinational groups also face international reporting rules. FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard support automatic exchange of financial-account information. Country-by-country reporting applies for multinational groups with consolidated revenue of at least USD850,000,000 for the relevant reporting framework, with filing generally within 12 months after the financial year-end. The first reporting fiscal year is stated as one beginning on or after 20 December 2024. Trinidad and Tobago's local filing is suspended under the reviewed rules, and surrogate-parent filing is permitted. The Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters entered into force for Trinidad and Tobago on 1 April 2025, and the Common Reporting Standard multilateral agreement was activated for exchanges in 2026. Tax rules and administrative pages can change. The reviewed IRD material contains inconsistent VAT-registration, personal-allowance and non-resident distribution figures, so the current Act, Legal Notice, treaty and BIR notice should control a filing or payment decision.