You file your income tax return on e-Tax by 30 April, for last year's income. If you're paid a salary, filing is often how you get back tax you overpaid, because your employer may not have counted all your deductions.
Here's everything you need to file your 2025 return, step by step.
Do You Actually Need to File?
If you're a PAYE employee and your salary is your only source of income, you are not legally required to file a return. Your employer handles the deductions through the Pay As You Earn system.
But here's the thing, you should still file if:
- You think you're owed a refund from overpaid PAYE tax
- You have deductions your employer didn't account for (mortgage interest, pension contributions, tertiary education and more)
- You have any additional income outside of your job
If you're a sole trader or self-employed, filing is mandatory. No exceptions.
The short version: it's optional for pure PAYE employees but often worth doing. It's compulsory for everyone else.
What's the Deadline?
April 30, 2026.
That's your deadline to file your 2025 income tax return without penalty. Miss it and the IRD gives you an automatic six-month grace period, but a penalty of TTD $100 kicks in for every six months the return stays unfiled.
File before April 30. You have time right now, so use it.
What You Need Before You Start
Get these together before you sit down to file. Having everything ready saves you from stopping and starting.
For PAYE Employees:
- Your TD4 slip: the document your employer issues showing total earnings and tax deducted for 2025. Haven't received it yet? Follow up with HR or payroll now
- Your BIR file number: your personal tax ID with the Board of Inland Revenue
- Your ttconnect ID: required to log into e-Tax, the IRD's online filing portal
- Any deduction receipts: mortgage statements, NIS records, pension fund statements, tertiary education receipts, CNG conversion receipts
For Sole Traders, add:
- Income records for 2025: invoices, bank statements, sales records
- Business expense receipts
- A Profit and Loss statement for the year
- Records of any quarterly tax payments made during 2025
- Schedule E if applicable
No ttconnect ID yet? Apply before anything else: in person at a ttconnect Service Centre (usually done next business day) or by email (about two business days). Our e-Tax login guide has the details. You can't use logged-in e-Tax without one.
Step-by-Step: Filing on e-Tax
Step 1: Log Into e-Tax
Go to etax.ird.gov.tt and sign in with your ttconnect ID and e-Tax password. First time? Your ttconnect ID has to be linked to your BIR file number for e-Tax, which happens when you apply. The IRD then emails you a temporary password to change on first login.
Step 2: Select the Right Return
From your dashboard, start a new return and choose:
- 440-EMO if your only income is salary, wages or pension
- 400-ITR for everyone else: sole traders, the self-employed, and employees with rental or other income
If you're a PAYE employee with any other income, such as rent or a side business, you need the 400-ITR.
Step 3: Personal Information
Name, address, BIR number, marital status, employment details. Pretty straightforward. One thing to get right though: your marital status affects your personal allowance, so make sure it's accurate for the 2025 tax year.
Step 4: Enter Your TD4 Information
Your TD4 slip is essential here. You'll enter:
- Employer's name and BIR number
- Total emoluments (gross pay, not your take-home)
- NIS deductions
- Health surcharge deducted
- PAYE tax deducted
- Any non-taxable allowances
Enter the figures exactly as they appear on your TD4. Had more than one employer during the year? You'll need a separate TD4 entry for each one.
Step 5: Deductions (Don't Skip This Part)
This is where most people lose money. The IRD allows you to deduct approved expenses from your taxable income. The more you claim legitimately, the lower your tax bill or the bigger your refund.
Deductions available to PAYE employees:
- Personal Allowance: TTD $90,000 standard deduction for all resident individuals
- NIS Contributions: deductible up to 70% of contributions made. Note that NIS contribution rates went up 3% from January 2026, so your contributions this year may be higher than previous years
- Approved Pension and Annuity Contributions: these share a combined TTD $60,000 cap with 70% of your NIS. From January 1, 2026, income from approved pension plans and deferred annuities is tax-exempt, but that applies to 2026 income, not this return
- First-Time Homeowner Mortgage Interest: up to TTD $30,000 a year for five years
- Tertiary Education Expenses: up to TTD $72,000 per household, for programmes at institutions outside T&T
- CNG Conversion: a tax credit of 25% of the cost, up to TTD $10,000
- Covenanted Donations: approved charitable donations
Our article on PAYE deductions you're probably missing goes deeper on each one. Worth reading before you file.
Step 6: Review Your Tax Calculation
e-Tax calculates automatically once your figures are in. You'll see:
- Total chargeable income after deductions
- Tax at 25% on income up to TTD $1,000,000
- Tax at 30% on income above TTD $1,000,000
- Health surcharge
- Total tax payable vs tax already paid
- Refund due or balance owed
If a refund is showing lower than you expected, go back and check your deductions. Something may have been missed.
Step 7: Attach Supporting Documents
Before submitting, attach:
- Your TD4 slip (PDF or clear photo)
- Deduction receipts being claimed
- For sole traders: P&L statement and Schedule E
PDFs and images are accepted. Blurry or unclear attachments get rejected, so take a moment to check quality before uploading.
Step 8: Submit and Save Your Confirmation
Submit your return and save the confirmation number you receive. That number is your proof of filing. Screenshot it, email it to yourself, write it down. Just don't lose it.
If you owe tax, payment can be made through e-Tax via online banking or at an IRD office.
Mistakes That Cost People Money
Skipping deductions: the $90,000 personal allowance is automatic, but pension contributions, mortgage interest and education expenses get missed constantly. Each one reduces your taxable income.
Entering net pay instead of gross: your TD4 shows gross earnings. That's what goes into e-Tax, not your take-home figure.
Waiting until April 29: e-Tax traffic spikes heavily in the last week of April. The system slows, sometimes crashes. File early.
Not filing because you think you owe nothing: a clean filing record matters when you need a tax clearance certificate. Don't skip it.
Landlords who haven't registered with the BIR: the 2026 budget introduced a mandatory landlord registration requirement. If you earn rental income, you need to register with the BIR and pay the one-time $2,500 fee. A new surcharge also applies: 2.5% on rental income up to $20,000 and 3.5% on anything above that. This took effect January 1, 2026, so it applies to rental income from 2026 onward, not your 2025 return.
The Faster Way to Do This
Navigating e-Tax manually takes most people two to three hours the first time. Between tracking down documents, figuring out which fields mean what, and double-checking every figure, it adds up fast.
TaxDash is built right here for how we file locally to cut that down significantly. Upload your TD4, answer a few questions, and TaxDash calculates your tax, identifies every deduction you qualify for, and prepares a summary matched to the exact e-Tax fields. PAYE returns take about 10 minutes. Sole trader returns about 25.
When you're ready to file, the TaxDash Chrome extension takes it a step further. It reads your prepared return and auto-fills the e-Tax fields directly. No manual copying, no transcription errors, no frustration. Your numbers go straight into the form.
Try the free income tax calculator to see where you stand, then let TaxDash fill in your return.