The TD4 form in Trinidad and Tobago is the supplementary certificate your employer gives you at the end of each tax year showing your gross earnings and the tax withheld from your pay. You use it to complete your Individual Income Tax Return (Form 701), which is what you actually submit to the Inland Revenue Division (IRD). Employers must issue it by the last day of February following the income year, and the figures on it decide whether you owe more tax or are due a refund.
What Appears on the TD4
A single page carries a full year of payroll information. At the top: your full legal name, home address, and Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) file number, followed by your employer’s name, address, and PAYE account number. The main body records your total gross earnings for the calendar year — salary, wages, overtime, bonuses, and taxable allowances combined — alongside the total income tax your employer withheld under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system and remitted to the IRD.
Two other deductions are recorded on the same form: your National Insurance (NIS) contributions and your Health Surcharge payments. The Health Surcharge is a flat weekly deduction of TTD 8.25 if your monthly pay exceeds TTD 469.99, or TTD 4.80 per week if it does not.1Inland Revenue Division. Health Surcharge NIS contributions vary by earnings class.2The National Insurance Board of Trinidad and Tobago. Earning Classes, Contribution Rates and Benefit Rates
Severance pay and pension income use specially marked versions of the form, stamped “Severance Pay” or “PENSION” below the income year in the top-right corner.3Inland Revenue Division. Printing PAYE Annual Return Supplementary Forms (TD4 Certificates) If you received severance during the year, you should get a separate TD4 for that payment on top of your regular earnings certificate.
When You Should Receive It
Your employer must issue your TD4 no later than the last day of February following the end of the tax year.4Inland Revenue Division. PAYE Annual Return For the 2025 income year, the deadline is February 28, 2026. This applies whether or not you still work there. Former employees who resigned or were terminated during the year are entitled to the same certificate.
If you worked for more than one employer during the year, expect a separate TD4 from each. Every employer reports only the wages they paid, so your total annual income is the sum of all your certificates.
If March arrives and yours has not shown up, contact your former employer’s payroll or human resources office first. Many delays trace back to an outdated mailing address or a clerical backlog. If that doesn’t resolve it, raise the issue with the IRD. Employers face a fine of up to TTD 3,000 on summary conviction for failing to submit PAYE Annual Return data, which includes the TD4.4Inland Revenue Division. PAYE Annual Return
Physical vs. Digital Copies
The IRD provides pre-approved PDF and Word templates that employers use to generate TD4 certificates, but the finished form must be printed on plain white paper of at least 20-lb weight, then stamped with the company stamp and initialed.3Inland Revenue Division. Printing PAYE Annual Return Supplementary Forms (TD4 Certificates) A bare PDF without the company stamp and initials may not be accepted. If your employer emails a digital-only version, ask for the properly stamped and initialed printed original.
Check the Figures Before You File
Compare the numbers on your TD4 against your own records: your last pay slip of the year, bank deposit history, or any payroll summaries you kept. The two figures that matter most are gross income and total tax deducted. Small discrepancies can trigger processing delays or cause you to claim the wrong refund.
Common errors to watch for:
- An incorrect BIR number. A single wrong digit means the IRD cannot match the certificate to your tax file.
- Overstated gross income, usually where tax-free travelling allowances or approved reimbursements have been swept into the taxable total.
- Understated tax deducted. Months where PAYE was withheld but not reflected, often from payroll software errors.
- Wrong NIS contributions. If your earnings class changed mid-year, the annual total should reflect the weighted sum, not just the final rate.
If you spot a mistake, bring it to your employer’s attention immediately. They are the ones responsible for issuing a corrected TD4. Don’t file with figures you already know are wrong. Correcting a submitted return is far more time-consuming than fixing the certificate first.
The Travelling Allowance Trap
Any allowance from your employer counts as taxable income unless the IRD has granted a travelling dispensation for it.5Inland Revenue Division. Application for Travelling Dispensation Where a dispensation applies, an employer can pay you up to TTD 1,500 per month for work-related driving expenses free of tax. That tax-free portion should not appear in the taxable income total on your TD4. If it does, the gross earnings figure is inflated and you could overpay. Check this line specifically if you receive any kind of travelling allowance.
Using the TD4 to File Form 701
The TD4 is not filed on its own. You transfer its numbers onto your Individual Income Tax Return (Form 701) and submit that to the IRD. Gross income and total PAYE tax withheld from each TD4 map to the corresponding lines on Form 701. If you held multiple jobs, you add the figures from all your TD4s together to arrive at your total annual income and total tax already paid.
The return determines whether you owe more or are due a refund. Individual income is taxed at 25 percent on the first TTD 1,000,000 of chargeable income and 30 percent above that. You subtract your personal allowance of TTD 90,000 before the calculation, and you can also deduct NIS, Health Surcharge, and approved pension fund contributions, subject to an aggregate cap of TTD 60,000 per year for pension-related deductions.
The filing deadline is April 30 of the year following the income year. There is an automatic six-month grace period, but once that expires, a penalty of TTD 100 accrues for every six months (or part thereof) the return remains unfiled.4Inland Revenue Division. PAYE Annual Return The penalty is modest, but an IRD inquiry is a hassle worth avoiding, so file on time even if your balance is zero.
Filing Online
The IRD’s online filing service is at etax.ird.gov.tt. To use it you need a ttconnect ID and a separate e-Tax password.6ttconnect. e-Tax Services If you don’t already have a BIR number, you can register for one online at etax.ird.gov.tt or by submitting Form IA-001 with valid ID at any IRD office.7Inland Revenue Division. Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) Number
Filing on Paper
You can submit a completed Form 701 at any IRD office. Regional and district revenue offices operate across both islands, including Port of Spain, San Fernando, Chaguanas, Tunapuna, Sangre Grande, and Scarborough, among others.8Inland Revenue Division. Office Locations Bring your original TD4 certificates so staff can verify the figures if needed.
Whichever route you take, the figures on Form 701 must match your TD4s exactly. The IRD cross-references what you enter against what your employer submitted in their PAYE Annual Return, and a mismatch is the most common cause of processing delays.
Keep the Certificate for Six Years
Hold onto your TD4 and supporting payroll documents for at least six years. The Income Tax Act allows the IRD to review and reassess prior-year returns, and the TD4 is the primary proof of what you earned and what tax was withheld. If a figure on a past return is ever questioned, producing the original certificate resolves most disputes quickly. The same records also protect your future NIS benefit claims if payroll data errors ever come to light.