The network covers Trinidad and Tobago within the Central America and the Caribbean region. Payslips there are drawn up in TTD, and dealings with a local firm are conducted in English.
The business centres where the network is looking for a correspondent as a priority are Port-d'Espagne, San Fernando, Chaguanas, Scarborough.
The country lies outside the European Union and outside the European Economic Area: the A1 certificate has no standing there. Whether the employee remains in the scheme of origin then depends on the bilateral social security agreement, if any, concluded with the sending country; where no such agreement exists, dual affiliation must be expected and budgeted into the assignment.
The answer to this question changes everything: it determines to whom you may entrust your payslips locally, and what you must ask for before signing. It has been verified country by country with the local authorities.
In Trinidad and Tobago, running payroll on behalf of third parties is reserved by law to no registered profession: any company may take it on. The absence of a legal barrier shifts the checking onto you, and that is why the network itself verifies the registration, the tax and social security standing and the insurance cover of every firm before listing it.
L'établissement de la paie pour un tiers n'est pas une activité réservée à Trinité-et-Tobago : n'importe quelle société régulièrement immatriculée peut l'exercer. Seuls le titre de chartered accountant et l'audit légal sont protégés par l'Institute of Chartered Accountants Act.
Trinidad and Tobago is a Caribbean economy of British inspiration where English is the sole official language: contracts, payslips and dealings with the authorities require no translation, which considerably lightens remote administration. Wages are paid in Trinidad and Tobago dollars; the country belongs to no monetary union, and access to foreign currency is a routine management issue for businesses that must settle costs outside the country.
The employer withholds tax on wages for the Inland Revenue Division and pays contributions to the National Insurance Board of Trinidad and Tobago (NIBTT), which administers the compulsory employee scheme through earnings classes rather than a single rate.
No professional body reserves payroll. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT) protects the chartered accountant title and statutory audit, but bookkeeping and third-party payroll remain open.
The employee's earnings class depends on the level of pay and must be reviewed at every increase, failing which payments fall short and arrears build up quietly.
A distinction peculiar to the country affects the entity itself: the certificate of incorporation never expires, but it proves nothing about the company's current position. It is the latest annual return filed at the registry that shows it has not been struck off, and the same reasoning applies to your own subsidiary and to prospective partners alike.
Employer registration is done with the revenue authority, which issues a file number, and then with the NIBTT.
A written contract is not invariably required by statute, but its absence is a serious handicap before the labour courts. Put it in writing, and keep the signed copy where the payroll file is held.
Tax withheld, the health surcharge and national insurance contributions appear on the payslip; filings and payments are monthly.
Litigation remains the most distinctive area. Collective relations and part of individual disputes fall to a specialist labour court that decides on equity as much as on law and readily orders reinstatement. Termination is therefore prepared with local advice, documenting the procedure followed as carefully as the grounds relied on.
The network asks 9 documents of any firm wishing to represent it in Trinidad and Tobago. The table gives, for each of them, the exact wording in use locally, the body that issues it and the period during which it remains admissible. These are the terms to use in an application to the local administration.
Of these 9 documents, 6 are required of every applicant and 5 have a limited period of validity, the shortest being 6 months. 1 of these documents exist only in Trinidad and Tobago and have no equivalent in the common core of the network.
| Local wording | Issuing body | Validity | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Incorporation (ou Certificate of Continuance) accompagné du dernier Annual ReturnCertificate of Incorporation / Certificate of Continuance and latest Annual Return Le certificat de constitution est permanent ; exiger en plus le dernier Annual Return déposé, seule preuve que la société est encore en règle (« in good standing ») au registre. | Companies Registry, Registrar General's Department — Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs | No expiry Required | Official website |
| BIR File Number et VAT Registration CertificateBoard of Inland Revenue (BIR) file number and VAT registration certificate Le BIR file number est attribué à toute société ; l'inscription à la TVA n'est obligatoire qu'au-delà du seuil de chiffre d'affaires (600 000 TTD), un cabinet sous le seuil n'aura pas de certificat de TVA. | Inland Revenue Division (Board of Inland Revenue), Ministry of Finance | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Tax Clearance CertificateTax Clearance Certificate Pièce standard exigée pour les marchés publics et les appels d'offres à Trinité-et-Tobago ; elle est demandée auprès de l'IRD et couvre l'ensemble des impôts dus par la société. | Inland Revenue Division (Board of Inland Revenue), Ministry of Finance | 6 months Required | Official website |
| NIS Compliance Certificate (demande via le formulaire NI 200)National Insurance Compliance Certificate Se demande avec le formulaire NI 200 « Application for Compliance » ; l'employeur doit d'abord être enregistré auprès du NIBTT et à jour de ses versements pour tous ses salariés. | National Insurance Board of Trinidad and Tobago (NIBTT) | 6 months Required | Official website |
| Professional Indemnity Insurance certificateProfessional indemnity insurance certificate Aucune obligation légale d'assurance RC professionnelle pour les cabinets comptables trinidadiens ; les membres de l'ICATT en pratique publique en souscrivent généralement, pièce à exiger contractuellement. | Assureur agréé par la Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (Insurance Act 2018) | 12 months Where applicable | Official website |
| ICATT membership certificate / Practising CertificateInstitute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago membership and practising certificate Le titre de « chartered accountant » et l'audit légal sont réservés aux membres de l'ICATT titulaires d'un practising certificate, mais la tenue de comptabilité et la paie pour compte de tiers ne sont pas en elles-mêmes réservées ; exiger la pièce lorsque le cabinet se présente comme chartered accountants. | Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT), constitué par l'Institute of Chartered Accountants Act, Chap. 90:52 | 12 months Where applicable | Official website |
| National Identification Card ou passeport du director, avec l'extrait des Notices of Directors déposées au registreDirector's national ID or passport and filed Notice of Directors L'usage local est de justifier l'identité du signataire par la carte d'identité nationale ou le passeport, en cohérence avec les Notices of Directors déposées au registre. | Elections and Boundaries Commission (carte d'identité) / Companies Registry | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Data protection registration Non trouvé : le Data Protection Act de 2011 n'est proclamé que partiellement et aucun registre des responsables de traitement n'est opérationnel — aucune pièce exigible à ce titre. | Office of the Information Commissioner (prévu par le Data Protection Act, Chap. 22:04) | No expiry Where applicable | No online service |
| Registration as a Listed Business with the Financial Intelligence UnitFIU Listed Business registration Les comptables exerçant certaines activités pour compte de tiers sont des « Listed Business » au sens de la Proceeds of Crime Act et doivent être enregistrés auprès de la FIU ; à vérifier auprès du candidat car le périmètre dépend des prestations rendues. | Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT) | 12 months Required | Official website |
The earnings-class system for national insurance requires constant attention. It is not a percentage applied to salary but a banded scale: any change in pay may shift the class, and monitoring that parameter is a payroll task in its own right, to be performed at each review rather than once a year.
The labour court, inherited from the British industrial relations model, places weight on the procedure the employer followed. Strong grounds poorly handled will still tell against it, however defensible the underlying decision.
Businesses periodically encounter pressure on access to foreign exchange, with practical consequences for repatriating funds and paying providers established outside the country, including those handling the payroll itself. Anticipate this when designing the funding route for local payroll, rather than when the first transfer is delayed.
Le certificat de constitution ne périme jamais, ce qui en fait une pièce peu discriminante : c'est le dernier Annual Return déposé au Companies Registry qui prouve que la société n'est pas radiée. Attention à la double appellation des attestations : « Tax Clearance Certificate » côté IRD et « Compliance Certificate » côté NIBTT — il faut bien les deux. Enfin le pays étant sous surveillance renforcée LAB/FT, l'enregistrement Listed Business auprès de la FIU est un bon indicateur de sérieux d'un cabinet comptable local.
The network opens 3 partner slots in Trinidad and Tobago, not one more. No firm is listed there yet: all 3 slots therefore remain open to applications.
No listed partner in Trinidad and Tobago has asked to appear in the public directory. The contact details of a firm are passed on to the client only when an assignment is awarded.
Filing an application does not amount to admission: every request is reviewed one by one. There is no minimum turnover requirement, and the partner selected invoices its fees directly.
Submit an application: we review your file, we check the documents required on the ground and we give you an answer, whether it is positive or not.
Trinidad and Tobago does not reserve payroll, so we cannot require mandatory registration. The chartered accountant title, with an ICATT practising certificate, remains the best marker where a firm relies on it. We ask for the certificate of incorporation together with the latest annual return filed, the tax file number, the Tax Clearance Certificate from the revenue authority and the compliance certificate issued by the NIBTT, two separate documents that must both be produced. Registration with the financial intelligence unit also holds our attention.
Describe your requirement. No firm is listed in Trinidad and Tobago yet: we review the request, then entrust it to a local firm that the network identifies and vets, or to the partner of a neighbouring country covering this territory. Your contact details are passed on to the selected firm alone.
Request a provider in Trinidad and TobagoMobility is rarely arranged one country at a time. The neighbouring profiles follow the same outline.
These countries account for most of the requests received: each one has, in addition to its profile, six pages devoted to a single aspect of local payroll.
The information gathered on this page comes from the registers, administrations and bodies listed below, consulted when the reference base was compiled. It is given for guidance and does not replace the advice of a professional established in Trinidad and Tobago.