BRA extends personal Income Tax filing deadline

Taxpayers have been given an additional month in which to file their 2019 personal income tax returns.

The Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) announced on Friday that it had extended the deadline for filing to May 29, 2020.

The tax filing season began on April 6 and was originally to end April 30.

However, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in limited movement of individuals and the delay in companies uploading required information, the BRA has granted an extra month.

It also said taxpayers should note that penalties and interest on payments made after April 30 will be deferred until the new deadline in May.

“Amid the response to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Barbados, there has been reduced operational capacity across the country. However, the Authority continues to facilitate the needs of all taxpayers as best as possible.

“The Authority advises that the extension has been necessitated as a number of institutions have not yet uploaded information into TAMIS and this has been limiting the filing process. The extension gives taxpayers additional time to fulfil their filing and payment obligations,” the BRA explained.

It added that although the filing deadline has been extended, it was encouraging taxpayers whose information is available in TAMIS, to file their returns and make any associated payments “as early as possible”.

Before submitting a return, individuals are advised to review their pre-loaded information for accuracies, such as total remuneration, basic salary, allowances, donations to charity and trade union subscriptions. If any of these figures are incorrect or missing, they are urged to cancel their return and contact the relevant party such as your employer, trade union and church.

Employees who earned above $25,000 last year are required to file their 2019 personal income tax return.

Likewise, any pensioner who received income over $40,000 last year should file. All self-employed persons are also required to file a personal income tax return.

However, employees who earned less than $25,000 last year and no more than $2083 per month, are eligible to file for their 2019 Reverse Tax Credit claim for $1300. The deadline for the RTC is December 31, 2021.

Penalty for failing to meet the personal income tax filing deadline is $500, plus five per cent of the tax assessed at the due date.

They will also be charged interest of one per cent per month on the tax and penalties calculated for each month, which tax and penalties remain unpaid.