Establishing and maintaining payroll in Trinidad and Tobago
An important part of foreign expansion is hiring locally, and this means setting up payroll in the target country. Establishing a payroll in Trinidad and Tobago involves following a complex set of unique and frequently changing employment laws, which can be a lengthy and difficult process.
At Horizons, we specialize in helping businesses expand internationally, including into Trinidad and Tobago. Our payroll setup and management services are designed specifically to give clients a faster, more reliable route of entry into Trinidad and Tobago employment and expansion, ensuring you operate in full compliance with local regulations, whether or not you have an entity in the country.
Why choose the Horizons payroll solution?
If you have an entity
For businesses that have already registered an official entity in Trinidad and Tobago, we offer a comprehensive and tailored payroll outsourcing service. Our expert team will set up and manage your payroll, also handling all of your associated administration, HR, and compliance with local laws.
This level of outsourcing is ideally suited to larger organizations and those expanding into Trinidad and Tobago in the long-term.
If you don’t have an entity
If you have not registered an official entity in Trinidad and Tobago, we can provide our more comprehensive payroll service, offering our Trinidad and Tobago subsidiary to work as your employer of record in the country. Our Trinidad and Tobago payroll experts can also manage your HR, contracts, legal compliance, and more.
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Trinidad and Tobago payroll guide
What withholdings and taxes are required in Trinidad and Tobago?
Income tax in Trinidad and Tobago is progressive, with higher earners paying a higher percentage in tax. Rates are either 25% or 30%. Taxes must be withheld by the employer.
Corporate tax is generally 30%, but there are variations for some categories of companies. Many businesses must also pay additional taxes in the form of a 0.6% business levy and a 0.3% green fund levy.
Entitlements and terminations
There are no mandatory general terminations regulations in Trinidad and Tobago. However, one month of notice prior to termination is usually required.
When employers are terminated for economic reasons, they may be entitled to severance payments. Payments generally equate to two weeks of pay per year of service, but the rules change slightly depending on the employee’s length of service and do not apply for employees of less than one year and those on certain types of contracts.
How to establish payroll in Trinidad and Tobago
If you want to hire and set up payroll in Trinidad and Tobago, we recommend establishing a Trinidad and Tobago-based entity first. However, tackling this independently can be complicated, possibly leading to delays and impacting your profits.
Alternatively, you can outsource your payroll setup and management to Horizons. We can provide our Trinidad and Tobago subsidiary to act as employer of record for your new hires, so you don’t even need to have a registered entity in Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, we can establish your payroll and handle all the ongoing administration and compliance work, giving you the freedom to expand into the country more efficiently.
Manage payroll in Trinidad
Whether it’s EOR service or just payroll management, Horizons’ employment experts can help you get started in 24h.