Business Permits & Incorporation for Foreigners in Port of Spain

Standard Rate Pct

12.5

Exempt Supplies

Healthcare, education, financial services, and residential rental are generally VAT-exempt; exported goods and services are zero-rated.

Digital Services Note

Foreign companies selling digital services to consumers in Trinidad and Tobago may have VAT registration obligations regardless of the turnover threshold.

Registration Threshold Note

Mandatory VAT registration applies once annual taxable turnover exceeds a threshold — legal-sector sources cite TT$500,000, while some other sources cite TT$600,000 specifically for sole traders; confirm the current figure directly with the Board of Inland Revenue before relying on it.

Rate Above Threshold Pct

30

Rate Below Threshold Pct

25

Elevated Rate Sectors Pct

35

Standard Rate Description

Corporation tax is charged at 25% on the first TT$1,000,000 of a company's chargeable profits and short-term capital gains, and 30% on profits above that threshold. A 35% rate applies to financial institutions, and companies engaged in certain downstream petroleum/petrochemical activities and banks with gross income over TT$1 billion.

Capital Gains

No general capital gains tax; gains from real estate, shares, and other capital assets are generally not taxed, though gains from disposal of business-use assets may be treated as business income.

Residency Basis

A resident company is taxed on worldwide income; a non-resident company engaged in business locally is taxed only on income accruing in or derived from Trinidad and Tobago.

First Bracket Threshold

TTD 1,000,000

E Filing

Corporate tax returns must generally be filed electronically (via the e-Tax system), with tax due paid by the end of April of the year following the tax year in most cited guidance.

Employer Obligations

A company (or sole trader) that hires staff must register for PAYE and the Health Surcharge, withhold tax and National Insurance contributions from employee salaries, and remit these monthly to the BIR and the National Insurance Board.

Registering Authority

The Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) administers corporate tax; all companies must register with the BIR to obtain a BIR File Number, separate from registering the business itself with the Companies Registry.

Landlord Note

Companies or individuals renting out premises must separately register those premises with the BIR and pay a one-time TT$2,500 registration fee; a late-payment surcharge of 5% plus 15% annual interest applies to overdue tax.

Reported Foreign Shareholding Cap

At least one legal/expat-guidance source states that while a non-national may register a company, the combined shareholding that all foreign shareholders can control is capped at 40% without further compliant arrangements involving a local partner. This figure could not be independently corroborated against a second authoritative source at the time of research — verify directly with a local corporate/immigration attorney or the Ministry of Trade and Industry before relying on it for structuring decisions.

Foreign Direct Investment Act Notice

Under Section 4 of the Foreign Direct Investment Act, a foreign investor must notify the relevant Minister in writing prior to incorporating a company, providing details of the investor's identity/nationality and, for a company, its place of incorporation and the nationalities of its directors and controlling shareholders.

AML KYC Note

Where incorporation is arranged through a third-party service provider (e.g. a law firm), that provider is treated as a 'listed business' under the Proceeds of Crime Act and must complete know-your-customer due diligence on the foreign client before completing incorporation.

Name Reservation

1–3 days

Certificate Of Incorporation

Historically cited as issued within about two working weeks of filing complete, approved documents, though total time from start to receiving the certificate is reported elsewhere in a wider range of roughly 2–6 weeks depending on documentation, backlog, and whether Foreign Investment Act notification or other regulatory consents are needed.

Post Incorporation Registrations

BIR tax number and NIS registration are free but require additional time and documentation; a functioning corporate bank account is often the longest post-incorporation step in practice.

Official Government Links

• https://legalaffairs.gov.tt/
• https://www.ttbizlink.gov.tt
• https://ttconnect.gov.tt/company-registry/

External Branch Route

As an alternative to local incorporation, a foreign investor may register as an External (branch) Company. An external company establishing a place of business in Trinidad and Tobago must register with the Registrar within fourteen (14) days of establishing that place of business, filing a duplicate application, certified (and translated if necessary) corporate instruments, a supporting affidavit, a power of attorney to a local company or two individuals authorised to accept service of process, and a statutory declaration by a Trinidad and Tobago attorney-at-law.

Physical Local Address Required

A company must have a physical presence within Trinidad and Tobago. This address can be the physical location of the company or the address of a Trust & Company Service Provider, and a virtual office/mailing address may be used in lieu of a physical presence.

Foreign Investment Act Notification

Under Section 4 of the Foreign Investment Act (Chap 70:07), a foreign investor must notify the Minister of Finance in writing prior to incorporating or acquiring shares in a local company. The notice must include the investor's name, address and nationality, place of incorporation and directors' details (if a company), other countries where the investor holds investments, the purpose of the investment, residency status under the Exchange Control Act, and full particulars of the consideration and payments made, including the bank used.

Local Director Or Shareholder Required

No general requirement for a Trinidad-and-Tobago-national co-director or co-shareholder was found for a standard locally incorporated LLC. A single person or company may incorporate a company under the Act, and there are no prohibitions against thin capitalisation.

KYC Note

Where incorporation is facilitated by a third-party service provider such as a law firm, that provider is required to obtain prescribed know-your-customer information under the Proceeds of Crime Act as part of Trinidad and Tobago's anti-money-laundering framework.