PAYE Calculator Trinidad and Tobago 2026

What gets deducted from a salary in Trinidad and Tobago

Three statutory deductions appear on almost every payslip in Trinidad and Tobago. PAYE (Pay As You Earn) is income tax that your employer withholds each pay day and pays to the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR). National Insurance is your contribution to the National Insurance Board of Trinidad and Tobago (NIBTT), which pays retirement pensions, sickness, maternity, invalidity, funeral and employment injury benefits. The Health Surcharge is a small flat weekly charge collected with PAYE that helps fund public health care.

A PAYE calculator for Trinidad does what payroll software does. It turns your pay into an annual figure, takes off the personal allowance and any approved deductions, applies the tax rate, then divides the tax back to one pay period. NIS and Health Surcharge are not percentages of your exact pay. Both are fixed weekly amounts, and the number of weeks charged depends on the Mondays in the pay period. The calculator above handles all three and shows the employer's NIS share as well.

The legal basis

• Income Tax Act, Chap. 75:01: charges tax on employment income, sets the personal allowance (TT$90,000 for residents) and the rates for individuals, and requires employers to deduct PAYE. Employees claim allowances and deductions on Form TD1, the Employee's Declaration of Personal Allowances and Deductions.
• National Insurance Act, Chap. 32:01 and the National Insurance (Contribution) Regulations: set the earnings classes and contributions. The National Insurance (Contribution) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (Legal Notice No. 487 of 2025) raised the contribution rate from 13.2% to 16.2% from 5 January 2026, the first increase since 2016.
• Health Surcharge Act, Chap. 75:05: sets the weekly rates of TT$8.25 and TT$4.80, collected by employers through the PAYE system.

The full 2026 class table is in the NIBTT schedule of earnings classes and contributions from 5 January 2026. The Health Surcharge rates are on the BIR's Health Surcharge page, and the 70% NIS relief is set out in the notes to Form TD1.

PAYE rates in Trinidad and Tobago for 2026

A resident employee earning up to TT$7,500 a month, or a little more once NIS relief is counted, pays no PAYE at all. Non-residents generally cannot claim the personal allowance unless their income is a pension from Trinidad and Tobago.

NIS earnings classes and contributions from 5 January 2026

NIS works on earnings classes rather than a straight percentage. Your weekly (or monthly) earnings put you in a class, and each class carries a fixed weekly contribution. The employee pays one third and the employer two thirds. The figures below are from the NIBTT schedule based on the 16.2% rate. Class Z amounts are paid by the employer alone.

Earnings of TT$13,600 a month (TT$3,138 a week) or more fall into Class XVI, so the most an employee pays is TT$169.50 a week and the most an employer pays is TT$339.00. The same Legal Notice sets a further step to 19.2% from 4 January 2027, when the Class XVI total rises to TT$602.40 a week. The calculator uses the 2026 table only.

The Mondays rule

NIBTT says that for fortnightly and monthly paid staff, "the number of contributions due are based on the number of Mondays in the said fortnight or month". A monthly-paid worker in Class XIV therefore pays 4 × TT$149.90 = TT$599.60 in a four-Monday month and 5 × TT$149.90 = TT$749.50 in a five-Monday month. Over a full year that averages out at 52 weeks. Pick the number of Mondays in the calculator to match a specific payslip, or leave it on "average month" for a typical figure.

Class Z covers employees over 65 who are still working, pensioners re-employed after age 60 (on or after 1 March 2004) and unpaid apprentices. For them the employer pays a small Class Z contribution and nothing is deducted from the worker.

Health Surcharge rates

For almost every full-time worker the rate is TT$8.25 a week: TT$33.00 in a four-Monday month, TT$41.25 in a five-Monday month, or TT$35.75 on average. Health Surcharge is not deductible for income tax.

How the PAYE calculator for Trinidad works

1. Find your NIS class from your earnings for the period: the monthly column for monthly pay, the weekly column for weekly pay, and half of your pay against the weekly column for fortnightly pay.
2. Multiply the weekly contributions by the Mondays in the period to get your NIS and the employer's NIS. Do the same with the Health Surcharge rate.
3. Annualise your pay: monthly × 12, fortnightly × 26 or weekly × 52.
4. Work out relief: 70% of a full year of your NIS (weekly amount × 52) plus your annual pension or annuity contributions, capped at TT$60,000, plus any other TD1 deductions.
5. Chargeable income = annual pay − TT$90,000 − relief. Tax it at 25% up to TT$1,000,000 and 30% above.
6. Divide by the pay periods in the year to get PAYE for this pay day, then subtract PAYE, NIS, Health Surcharge and pension from gross pay.

Worked example: TT$12,000 a month

Kavita is a resident, monthly-paid accounts officer earning TT$12,000 a month with no pension plan. She has claimed NIS relief on her TD1. This is the calculator's default.

In a four-Monday month like October 2026 her NIS is TT$599.60 and Health Surcharge TT$33.00, so take-home pay is TT$10,356.07. In a five-Monday month it is TT$10,197.92. PAYE stays at TT$1,011.33 either way.

More examples

• TT$3,500 a month (roughly a 40-hour week at the TT$20.50 hourly minimum wage): Class V, so NIS is TT$45.60 a week (TT$197.60 on average a month). Annual pay of TT$42,000 is below the TT$90,000 allowance, so PAYE is nil.
• TT$25,000 a month: Class XVI. Relief is 70% × 169.50 × 52 = TT$6,169.80. Chargeable income is 300,000 − 90,000 − 6,169.80 = 203,830.20, so PAYE is TT$4,246.46 a month.
• TT$100,000 a month: chargeable income is 1,200,000 − 90,000 − 6,169.80 = 1,103,830.20. Tax is 250,000 + 30% × 103,830.20 = 281,149.06 a year, or TT$23,429.09 a month.

Common mistakes and edge cases

• Using 13.2% NIS after January 2026. Payslips from 5 January 2026 onward should use the 16.2% table. For a top-class earner the employee share rose from TT$138.10 to TT$169.50 a week.
• Treating NIS as a flat percentage. Some summaries quote 5.4% for the employee. The real deduction comes from the class table and the Mondays count, so it can differ from 5.4% of pay by a noticeable amount.
• Deducting 100% of NIS from taxable pay. Only 70% of your NIS counts, and it shares the TT$60,000 cap with pension and annuity contributions.
• Assuming relief applies automatically. Your employer can only give you the deductions shown on your TD1 or the BIR's certificate of approval. If you never filed one, you may get the relief later through your annual return instead.
• Bonuses and overtime. Annualising one unusually large month overstates the tax for that month, because this tool assumes the same pay all year. Employers handle bonuses in different ways, so for a bonus month compare the total for the year with your TD4 certificate rather than with this estimate.
• Two employers. The TT$90,000 allowance is given once, not once per job. If both employers apply it, too little PAYE is withheld and you will owe the difference when you file your annual return.
• Workers aged 60 and over. They stop paying Health Surcharge. If they already get an NIS pension, or are over 65, their NIS moves to Class Z and is paid by the employer only.

Who this calculator is for, and who it is not for

It suits salaried and wage employees in Trinidad and Tobago paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and small employers checking payroll before they file. It is not designed for self-employed people, who pay income tax through quarterly instalments and an annual return rather than PAYE, or for income such as rent, dividends and business profit. Public servants in the Widows' and Orphans' Fund, diplomats and staff of exempt international bodies may have special rules.

Frequently asked questions

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