Bahamas · Compliance deep-dive

Bahamas NIB compliance, explained by Workzoom.

Workzoom calculates Bahamas NIB at 6.65% employer and 4.65% employee on insurable earnings up to B$830 per week, the ceiling in force since July 1, 2026. C10 monthly remittance is due by the 15th of the following month for submission to the National Insurance Board.

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Last updated: 2026-09-07 Regulator: National Insurance Board (NIB) of the Bahamas

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Current rates

Bahamas NIB rates and ceilings.

Published by National Insurance Board (NIB) of the Bahamas. Workzoom applies these rates automatically on every Bahamian payroll run.

Deduction Employer Employee Ceiling / Floor Effective
NIB
National Insurance Board contributions
Social insurance 		6.65% 4.65% Ceiling: B$830 per week Maximum insurable earnings per week. NIB is not contributed on pay above the ceiling. Pro-rated on monthly payrolls (~B$3,597 per month, ~B$43,160 per year). The ceiling rose from B$810 on July 1, 2026. Floor: Statutory minimum insurable threshold Rates effective July 1, 2024; ceiling B$830 per week effective July 1, 2026

Source of record: National Insurance Board (NIB) of the Bahamas.

One page · PDF
Bahamas NIB payroll: what is wrong online right now
Version 1.0, current as of Sep 7, 2026

The numbers in force, how they got here, the traps on the official pages, and what to do if a past run used the wrong ones. Every figure carries its source and the date it was read. Download the sheet, no form.

Filing calendar

When Bahamas NIB returns are due.

Workzoom generates each filing directly from the live payroll register. The form code, the regulator, and the deadline come pre-wired in every Bahamian pay group.

C10
Monthly remittance
Due by the 15th of the following month

Employers file the C10 with the National Insurance Board listing each insured employee, their insurable earnings, and the employer plus employee contributions remitted. Workzoom generates the C10 automatically from payroll with no manual data entry.

Non-compliance

What happens if Bahamas NIB is missed.

Late or missing filings trigger surcharges, interest, and audit exposure. Persistent non-compliance escalates to liability for both employer and employee portions.

  • Outstanding contribution balances. If a contribution payment is overdue, contact NIB to confirm the amount outstanding and the applicable assessment. Keep the corrected statement and payment confirmation with your payroll records.
  • Interest on outstanding balances. Section 55 of the National Insurance Act provides for interest compounded annually at the prime rate, unless regulations prescribe otherwise. Confirm the assessed balance, applicable rate and any waiver directly with NIB.
  • Liability for the employee 4.65% portion. If the employer fails to deduct the employee NIB from wages, the employer becomes liable for both the 6.65% employer and 4.65% employee portions. Retroactive recovery from the employee is restricted by statute.
  • Prosecution for persistent non-filing. The National Insurance Act provides for fines and, in severe cases, imprisonment for employers who persistently fail to file or remit NIB.

The traps

What is wrong online right now.

Checked against the official pages on Sep 7, 2026. Each item names the page and the date it was read, in the references at the foot of this page.

  • The official Contributions page shows the old ceiling. On 7 September 2026 nib-bahamas.com still read "insurable wage ceiling of $810 (effective July 2024)", nine weeks after the move to B$830 on 1 July 2026. Payroll that follows the page under-collects both shares on anyone earning between B$810 and B$830 a week.
  • The old rate sheets are still in Google, and the links are dead. Rate-sheet PDFs from 2014, 2022 and 2024 remain indexed. Each URL now returns the site's blank application shell instead of the file, so a bookmarked sheet vanishes without warning, and Google still indexes a 2014 filename citing 9.8%.
  • The ceiling is weekly even though you remit monthly. B$830 applies per contribution week, Monday to Sunday. Monthly-paid staff must be reconciled to weekly equivalents. The monthly figure of B$3,597 exists only in the NIB director's press quote, not on any NIB page.
  • Pay in lieu of notice counts. Severance does not. Basic pay, pay in lieu of notice, declared tips and bonuses are insurable. Overtime and severance are excluded. Dual employment is one contribution a week, remitted by the first-paying employer.

How it got here

Every change, and what is still to come.

Changes only, not every year. The change date tells you how far back a missed update runs, and why stale pages still exist.

2014
Combined rate 9.8%
Superseded

3.9% employee, 5.9% employer. The 2014 rate sheet is still indexed online.

Jul 2024
Rate 9.8% to 11.3%
In force

Employee 4.65%, employer 6.65%. Weekly ceiling B$740 to B$810. Self-employed 8.8% to 10.3%.

Jul 2026
Ceiling B$810 to B$830
In force

Biennial review. Contribution rates unchanged. Pensions and grants also adjusted.

Jul 2028
Next biennial review
Expected

On the two-year cycle. Nothing published yet.

Correction

If a past run used the wrong numbers.

  • Identify the affected contribution periods and retain the original payroll and payment records.
  • Rerun every affected period at the correct rate and ceiling, both shares, week by week.
  • Contact NIB promptly to confirm correction and payment instructions, then record the affected periods and payment reference.
  • Confirm how the employee portion must be handled before making any recovery from later pay.

Workzoom Payroll · Bahamas

Stop calculating Bahamian NIB by hand.

Workzoom runs NIB automatically inside every Bahamas payroll run. Current rates, the weekly ceiling (B$830 since July 1, 2026), and the split between employer and employee apply on every pay group and every pay frequency. Workzoom prepares the C10 from payroll data for the employer to review and submit.

  • Current NIB rates and the B$830 weekly ceiling applied on every pay run
  • Employer 6.65% and employee 4.65% portions itemized per insured person
  • C10 monthly remittance generated directly from payroll for every pay group
  • Contribution records available for reconciliation with payroll
  • Multi-island pay groups managed from one database, no CSV transfers

NIB in Bahamas

What Bahamian employers ask Workzoom about NIB, filings, and payroll integration.

Workzoom applies NIB at 6.65% employer and 4.65% employee on insurable earnings up to B$830 per week, the ceiling in force since July 1, 2026. The rates took effect July 1, 2024, when the National Insurance Board moved up from the previous 5.9% / 3.9% schedule. The ceiling moved from B$810 to B$830 on July 1, 2026. Both portions roll into the same C10 monthly remittance.
Workzoom caps NIB at B$830 per week, equivalent to approximately B$3,597 per month or B$43,160 per year. That ceiling has applied since July 1, 2026, up from B$810 per week (approximately B$3,510 per month or B$42,120 per year), applied automatically on the first pay run on or after that date. Pay above the weekly ceiling is not insurable and is not contributed. Monthly payrolls pro-rate the weekly ceiling automatically inside Workzoom.
Workzoom prepares the C10 contribution statement from payroll data. Contributions for a month are payable to NIB by the 15th of the following month. The employer reviews and submits the statement and pays the contributions. Contact NIB promptly if a payment is overdue.
Workzoom prepares the C10 contribution statement from payroll data. Your team checks employee details, insurable earnings and contributions against the payroll register, submits the statement to NIB and pays the contributions. Keep the statement and payment confirmation with your payroll records.
Businesses and self-employed persons must register with NIB within 10 working days of commencing operations. Individuals in gainful employment must register before or as soon as possible after starting employment. NIB publishes separate business and individual registration guidance.
Yes. Workzoom runs NIB across Nassau, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, and the Family Islands from a single database. Island Luck, the Bahamas's largest gaming employer, runs eight payrolls per week across 60+ locations on Workzoom, with NIB calculated per employee and consolidated into one C10.
Classify each pay component against NIB's current definition of insurable wages before calculating contributions. Do not assume every item in gross pay receives the same NIB treatment. Confirm any uncertain classification with NIB and retain the basis for the payroll configuration.
If contributions are overdue, contact NIB to confirm the outstanding balance, applicable interest and how to correct the statement. Workzoom prepares contribution data for review; the employer remains responsible for submission and payment. Keep any adjustment and NIB confirmation with the payroll records.

Keep going

More on Bahamas payroll and compliance.

NIB is one line among every Bahamian statutory requirement a payroll has to carry.

Bahamas NIB calculator
Free calculator for NIB at the current 4.65% / 6.65% rates and the B$830 weekly ceiling.
Bahamas overview
Every Bahamian statutory requirement Workzoom handles, from NIB to multi-island payroll.
Bahamas Payroll
Full payroll feature set for the Bahamas: NIB, C10, garnishments, lending accounts, multi-island pay groups.
Bahamas NIB compliance guide
Long-form guide to running Bahamian NIB correctly all year.
Common Bahamas NIB employer mistakes
What Bahamian payroll teams get wrong on NIB, and how to fix it before the next C10.
Cable Bahamas case study
How the Bahamas's largest employer runs payroll on Workzoom, including NIB and multi-subsidiary reporting.

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