Beyond NIS, two more statutory deductions appear on a Trinidadian payslip: PAYE income tax and the Health Surcharge.
PAYE
Income tax is charged at 25 % up to TT$1 million of chargeable income, and 30 % above that.
The tax is deducted by the employer and remitted on your behalf.
The Health Surcharge
A flat weekly charge — TT$8.25 per week for most employees. It is not a percentage, so it does not scale with earnings.
The deduction sequence matters
This is a technical point with a practical consequence: NIS is deducted before PAYE is calculated. Getting the order wrong produces the wrong tax figure.
If your net pay looks off, the sequence is one of the first things to check.
Private pensions
As of 2026, income tax has been removed from private pensions, a change intended to encourage voluntary retirement savings.
If you contribute to a private pension, that change is worth understanding.
What employers owe on top
Beyond your deductions, the employer carries its own share of NIS. The total statutory burden is significant, which is part of why formal employment costs considerably more than the headline salary.
Reading your payslip
You should be able to identify: gross pay, NIS deduction, PAYE, Health Surcharge and net pay. If a line appears that you cannot account for, ask about it.
And keep your payslips. In any dispute about pay or contributions, they are the primary record.