Who must file
Section 76 of the Income Tax Act: everyone liable to pay tax files, as does every partnership, everyone carrying a loss forward, and everyone with income from a section 5 source whatever the amount. The one relief is a resident individual whose only income is an office or employment, because PAYE has already collected the tax — so an employee with only a TD4 need not file, while a sole trader, a partner, a landlord or anyone claiming a deduction PAYE did not give them does. Companies file whatever the profit, and the self-employed and companies also account for Business Levy at 0.6% of gross sales, exempt for the first three years. Green Fund Levy at 0.3% is paid by companies and partnerships; a sole trader does not pay it (IRD).
Tax year and deadline
The year of income is the calendar year, and section 76(1) requires the return within four months of its end — 30 April. The resident personal allowance is TT$90,000, and individual tax is 25% on chargeable income up to $1,000,000 and 30% above. Where non-emolument income exceeds a quarter of total income, tax is paid in quarterly instalments at the end of March, June, September and December with the balance due on 30 April. Filing late costs $100 for every six months or part, but only once six months past the due date have passed.
Filing step by step
- Get a ttconnect ID and enrol it for e-Tax before the deadline rather than on it: enrolment needs a visit to a Service Centre with two forms of identification and a document showing your BIR number.
- Pick the right return — 400-ITR for non-emolument income, 440-EMO for an employee filing to claim deductions, 500-CTR for a company, 700-PAR for a partnership.
- Have the supporting documents in hand first: TD4 certificates, the TD1 approvals behind any deduction, annuity and pension certificates, tertiary education receipts, and the books behind the business figures. Claims without the document behind them get disallowed.
- Complete the return, work out the tax on the chargeable income as section 76(2) requires, and file by 30 April. There is a non-logged-in filing route if you never enrolled.
- Pay the balance by 30 April, having paid the quarterly instalments where they applied. For payments of $100,000 and over, generate a Payment Description Slip on e-Tax first and follow the large-payment procedure.
Penalties for filing or paying late
Failing to furnish a return of income is an offence (Income Tax Act, section 76(5)). Separately, where the tax paid by the filing deadline is less than the tax payable for the year, interest runs on the difference from the end of the filing time until payment, at 20% a year (section 103(1)). The Board may reduce the rate if it is satisfied the shortfall did not result from the taxpayer's own default. On the Board's small-business page, late income tax instalments likewise attract interest at 20% a year.