Health Surcharge

Income Tax Act, Chap. 75:01

Administered by: Inland Revenue Division (IRD), www.ird.gov.tt

Why This Matters

The Health Surcharge is a mandatory statutory contribution toward public healthcare funding in Trinidad and Tobago. It is collected alongside PAYE through the payroll system and remitted to the IRD. Unlike PAYE, the Health Surcharge is not calculated as a percentage of income; it is a fixed weekly amount determined by the employee’s earnings level. Its simplicity can cause employers to overlook it, but the obligation is firm, and omission constitutes a compliance breach in the same way as any other unpaid statutory deduction.

Current Rates

The Health Surcharge is assessed weekly. The statutory test is the employee’s weekly income: where weekly income exceeds TT$109.90, the rate is TT$8.25 per week; where weekly income is TT$109.90 or less, the rate is TT$4.80 per week. For ease of reference, this guide uses the approximate monthly equivalent of TT$470 as shorthand for this threshold. The rates are applied as follows:

Employee Monthly Earnings	Weekly Surcharge Rate
Above TT$109.90 per week (approx. TT$470 per month)	TT$8.25 per week
At or below TT$109.90 per week (approx. TT$470 per month)	TT$4.80 per week

For monthly payroll, the weekly rate should be converted to a monthly equivalent. Using four and one-third weeks per month as the standard conversion, the approximate monthly deduction is TT$35.75 for higher-rate employees and TT$20.80 for lower-rate employees. Employers may also apply the weekly rate directly if payroll is processed weekly.

Exemptions

The following categories of individuals are exempt from the Health Surcharge:

✔ Persons under 16 years of age

✔ Persons aged 60 years and above

✔ Pensioners in receipt of a pension

Employers should verify the age and status of employees at onboarding and update exemptions as circumstances change, for example, when an employee turns 60 during the course of employment.

Remittance

The Health Surcharge is remitted to the IRD together with PAYE, by the 15th of the month following the month of deduction.

Practical Insight: Employer Risk The Health Surcharge is frequently omitted from payroll systems set up without professional guidance, particularly in micro and small businesses. Because the amounts are modest, the omission is rarely discovered until an IRD audit or a payroll review. At that point, the liability for unpaid surcharges, potentially spanning several years for all employees, can represent a material sum when penalties and interest are added. Establishing the Health Surcharge as a standard line item in the payroll system from the outset costs nothing and eliminates this exposure entirely.

Template – Health Surcharge Tracking Sheet

Use this template to record the Health Surcharge deduction for each employee each pay period. Retain as part of the payroll register and reconcile against IRD remittance receipts.

Employee Name
Monthly Earnings	TT$
Applicable Rate	TT$8.25/week □ or TT$4.80/week □
Exemption Status	Exempt □ Not Exempt □
Weekly Deduction	TT$
Monthly Total Deducted	TT$
Month
Date Remitted to IRD (with PAYE)