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Guide · Trinidad and Tobago · Published 2026-10-11

How to invoice in Trinidad and Tobago: what to include

The fields a Trinidad and Tobago invoice needs, how to number and date it, when to show VAT, the e-invoicing rules, and how to fix a mistake with a credit note.

  • TT$ TTD
  • VAT 12.5%
  • BIR number
  • A4
  • English

What every invoice must show

  • The words tax invoice shown conspicuously on the document. Section 36(2)(a) says tax invoice, not VAT invoice, so print TAX INVOICE.
  • A serial number, the date, and the supplier's name, address and VAT registration number — the number from the VAT certificate, not the BIR file number.
  • The tax broken out rather than buried: the consideration excluding tax, the value of the supply, the rate of 12.5%, and the tax claimed from the recipient, each shown separately.
  • The recipient's name and address, and a description of what was supplied with the quantity of goods or number of services.
  • Issue the full invoice every time. Section 36(1) makes the short tax-inclusive form the default for a supply over $20, and the full form above is required only when the recipient asks — but a business customer always asks, because the full invoice is what supports their input tax claim. Fast food outlets, filling stations and cinemas need not issue one unless asked.

Numbering, keeping and correcting invoices

When a supply is cancelled, the price is changed by a discount or otherwise, or goods are returned after a tax invoice has been given, the supplier must give the customer a credit note or a debit note (VAT Act, section 37). The note must show the words credit note or debit note conspicuously, the supplier's name, address and registration number, the customer's name and address, the date, the number and date of the original tax invoice, the tax originally shown, the adjusted amount, and a brief explanation.

Only one note may be issued for each adjustment. If the original is lost, a copy clearly marked as a copy may be provided. The supplier deducts a credit note from output tax in the period it is given; a registered customer makes the matching adjustment to input tax. Failing to follow section 37 carries a fine of TT$3,000 on summary conviction.

Under the Books and Records Regulations (LN 170/1992), regulation 3, the records to keep include copies of tax invoices and proforma invoices, copies of debit and credit notes given or received, and certificates of waiver. Failing to keep proper books and records is an offence under section 38(5), with a fine of TT$30,000 and two years' imprisonment.

Electronic invoicing in Trinidad and Tobago

There is no e-invoicing mandate in Trinidad and Tobago and none has been announced: no clearance platform, no reporting obligation, no phase-in, and nothing in the VAT Act requiring an invoice to be electronic. A paper or PDF invoice meeting section 36 is fully compliant. What is being digitised is filing, not invoicing — the e-Tax platform is being upgraded and individual tax types are moving to online-only returns one at a time. Separately, the 2026 Budget Statement signalled an intention to review VAT and possibly replace it with a retail-stage sales tax; no bill, rate or date has been published, and VAT stays at 12.5% for now.

Sources

How this guide was made

Written from published tax-authority guidance and reviewed on 2026-10-11. Everything here is indicative rather than a ruling on your circumstances, and rules change. Confirm anything you rely on with Inland Revenue Division before acting on it, and tell us if you find something out of date so we can correct it.

This guide explains the rules in general terms and is not tax advice for your circumstances. Confirm your position with a qualified adviser or with Inland Revenue Division.