Personal Income Tax applies to all those who work, who are self employed and other sources of income. All residents of Antigua & Barbuda have to pay PIT on all income regardless of whether or not it is earned in the country. Residency is calculated on the number of days spent in the country each year, but there are tax treaties and regulations in place which can protect those who may have income from more than one country and who may be expected to pay taxes on the same income in two different countries. Non-residents are those who spend less than 6 months of each tax year living in the country.

The tax year in Antigua & Barbuda is the same as the calendar year and the employee must apply to the Inland Revenue for an Individual Taxpayer Number. This is acquired by completing a registration form. It is then the responsibility of the worker to make sure that his employer is aware of the number so that when deductions are made that they are credited to the right person. The employee is also required to check the amount of tax that is paid is correct. If there has been an error with the tax the worker needs to file a tax return to have the error corrected. Those who pay tax by PAYE and who do not feel that there has been an error have no need to file a tax return.

Employment income covers a number of payments and allowances relating to work. These include any salary, holiday pay, overtime payments, commissions and bonuses. Any fees paid to directors are considered to be employment income as are any allowances provided by the employer. Any redundancy payments are exempt from PIT, but other monies paid on the termination of employment are subject to taxes. Expenses that are reimbursed by an employer are subject to taxation too.

Those who are self employed will have to pay taxes on any profits from their business, any pension payment which exceeds $60,000 as well as any royalties. A person who is self employed is obliged to register with the Inland Revenue and obtain a tax number. Every month the individual must pay 1% of their gross income over and above the personal allowance by the last working day of the month or pay an amount which has been calculated from information given on a tax return. Tax returns must be filed by the 31st March every year following the year that the income was earned.

Employers are obliged to make the relevant deductions from their employees’ salaries each month. This amount then has to be paid to the Inland Revenue department by the 15th of the following month. Every year by February 15th the employer has to submit a statement to the Inland Revenue which details all the payments which have been made on behalf of the employee.

Both employed and self employed workers are allowed to earn $3000 per month before there is any income tax deducted from their salary. This is a total of $36,000 per year. The first tax bracket runs to $48,000 and is taxed at 10%. The second bracket runs to $120,000 and is taxed at 15%. The third tax bracket is taxed at 20% up to $180,000 and the final bracket is anything over this amount and is taxed at 25%.

There is no capital gains taxation in Antigua & Barbuda and no inheritance tax either. If the proceeds from either of these could officially be considered to be income then they will be subject to the income tax laws as for earned monies. VAT is payable in the form of a sales tax that is applied to many goods, particularly those that are imported from other countries. This is rated at 15%.

The Ministry of Finance has a lot of information on its website about different taxes and as well as the forms that need to be filled in there are guides on how to do it. Forms can be submitted online as well as payments and for further advice the tax office can be contacted by telephone and email.