What the BIR number is
The BIR number is the number Inland Revenue Division assigns to a taxpayer in Trinidad and Tobago. It follows you across every tax you deal with: VAT, income tax and withholding. Businesses that pay you will ask for it before they release payment, because they report their suppliers to Inland Revenue Division by this number.
Who needs one
Two numbers, and people conflate them. The BIR file number is the tax identifier: the Board of Inland Revenue issues one to every employee, self-employed person, sole trader, partnership and company, once and for life, and it goes on every return and letter whether or not you ever charge VAT. The VAT registration number is separate and comes later, only if you register. A partnership needs a BIR number for itself and one for each partner. A separate PAYE account number, prefixed PYE, is needed before you can hire anyone.
How to register, step by step
- Register the business first — Certificate of Registration of Business Name for a sole trader or partnership, Certificate of Incorporation with the Notice of Directors for a company. The application asks for the original and a copy.
- Apply for the BIR file number on Form IA-001 for an individual or sole trader, or Form AOI-002 with Form DP-003 for a company or partnership, with photo identification. File it at the Registration Unit, Inland Revenue Division, Government Campus Plaza in Port of Spain, or at the San Fernando or Scarborough offices. An individual can instead use Request a BIR Number on e-Tax. There is no fee.
- Ask for the PAYE account number on the same form if you will employ anyone, so you do not have to go back.
- Register a ttconnect ID at ttconnect.gov.tt, activate it from the email, then take two forms of identification and a document showing your BIR number to a ttconnect Service Centre and say you are registering for e-Tax. Without this you cannot file online.
- Register for VAT once you cross TT$600,000, with documentary evidence of trading at that level — bank statements, invoices or a contract award letter. The certificate the Board issues must be displayed in public view at every place you trade from.
How to find or check a BIR number
e-Tax has a free VAT lookup that needs no login: Check VAT Status on ird.gov.tt or etax.ird.gov.tt confirms whether a supplier's registration is live before you accept a tax invoice from them. There is no public lookup for a BIR file number. To recover your own, it appears on any document the Board issues you — Advice of BIR, Statement of Account, Notice of Assessment, Tax Clearance Certificate — and those are also what ttconnect accepts when you enrol for e-Tax.
Documents, cost and how long it takes
The BIR file number is free; the Ministry of Finance states that there is no fee, and no official processing time is published. An individual applies on Form IA-001 with valid identification, and an employee can show a letter from the employer giving the start date and salary, or a TD4 certificate. A sole trader adds the Certificate of Registration of Business Name where applicable, with originals and copies of national identification. A company uses Form AOI-002 with valid identification for every director, plus the Certificate of Incorporation; a partnership lists the partners' names and addresses and the BIR number of each. Outstanding returns, if any, are also requested.