Knowledge base
Health Surcharge in Trinidad & Tobago 2026: a flat weekly amount, tested two ways
The Health Surcharge is not a percentage and not a tax band. It is a flat amount per week — one figure above a threshold, a smaller one below it — so a pay rise that stays on the same side of the threshold does not change it at all. The part that catches people out is that the threshold is tested two different ways depending on how the employee is paid.
A flat amount, not a percentage
The charge is TTD 8.25 a week once earnings pass the threshold, and TTD 4.8 a week below it. Crossing the threshold therefore moves it by a fixed TTD 3.45 a week, and nothing in between.
That is the opposite of how a contribution normally behaves, and it is why the surcharge is easy to get wrong: there is no rate to apply, only a band to land in.
Two thresholds, and they are independent
The published tests are more than TTD 469.99 a month, or more than TTD 109 a week. They are two separate statutory tests, not one converted into the other: TTD 109 a week works out at about TTD 472.33 a month, which is not TTD 469.99.
Which test applies follows how the employee is actually paid — a monthly-paid employee is tested against the monthly figure, a weekly-paid employee against the weekly one. Taking one threshold, converting it and applying it to everybody is a common way to get the surcharge subtly wrong.
Who does not pay it
Three groups are outside the surcharge: employees under 16, employees aged 60 and over, and employees whose only source of income is a pension.
Do not confuse this list with NIS Class Z. Class Z is about employment-injury-only cover and uses a similar but different set of conditions — the two rules are not interchangeable.
How a monthly payroll converts it
The statutory amount is weekly. For a monthly payroll the engine converts it at 52/12, which turns TTD 8.25 a week into TTD 35.75 a month.
That monthly figure is a convenience rather than a published number — whether a monthly payroll should apply 52/12 or count the contribution weeks in the month is still open with the Board. This page states which one the engine uses rather than presenting it as settled.
Worked example
An employee on TTD 10,000 a month has a weekly equivalent of about TTD 2,307.69 (× 12 ÷ 52). That is well above TTD 109 a week, so the surcharge is TTD 8.25 a week — TTD 35.75 a month, which is the figure the calculator shows.
It is withheld from the employee only, and the employer remits it to the Board together with PAYE on the monthly return.
What we do not model yet
The calculator applies the surcharge to every employee whose earnings pass the threshold. The three exemptions above are not modelled yet, so an exempt employee has to be handled outside it.
The amounts and thresholds are the product's own figures, taken from the Board of Inland Revenue and the Health Surcharge Act. Have them verified before relying on this page as tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Health Surcharge a percentage of what I earn?
- No. It is a flat weekly amount — TTD 8.25 once earnings pass the threshold, TTD 4.8 below it. No rate is applied to your wage.
- I am paid monthly. Is my threshold the weekly one or the monthly one?
- The monthly one: more than TTD 469.99 a month. The two tests are independent, and the one that applies is the one matching your pay frequency.
- Do pensioners pay the Health Surcharge?
- Someone whose only source of income is a pension is exempt, as are employees under 16 and those of 60 and over. Note that the calculator does not apply these exemptions yet.
Indicative information based on the rates Wage Payroll applies — not tax, legal or payroll advice.