Barbados payroll guide

The Barbados NIS guide. Deadlines and automation.

Barbados NIS, explained for employers by the Workzoom payroll team: the filing deadlines and how Workzoom automates the math. Then run the numbers in the NIS calculator.

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Filing calendar · Marked against the actual deadlines

When NIS is due.

Monthly PAYE return

Due by the 15th of the following month

The F5 is the BRA's monthly PAYE return. Workzoom generates the F5 directly from payroll with PAYE calculated against the BBD 25,000 personal allowance and the Income Year 2026 brackets of 11.5% and 27.5%.

Annual PAYE summary

Due by 28 February

The F4 is the BRA's annual PAYE summary per employee for the prior year. Workzoom builds the F4 from the same payroll engine that produced each F5, so the year and the months agree by construction.

Workzoom Payroll · Barbados

Stop calculating NIS and PAYE by hand.

Workzoom runs every Barbadian statutory deduction automatically. NIS calculates at 12.75% employer and 11.10% employee on the BBD 5,360 monthly ceiling (effective 1 January 2026). PAYE applies the BBD 25,000 personal allowance against Income Year 2026 brackets of 11.5% and 27.5%. The NIS schedule and the F5 come out of the same engine, so filings match the payroll register line by line.

Current NIS rates and the BBD 5,360 monthly ceiling applied automatically every pay run
Employer and employee portions itemized per insured person
NIS schedule generated directly from payroll for the 15th-of-the-month deadline
F5 monthly PAYE return produced with the BBD 25,000 allowance and the 2026 brackets
F4 annual summary built at year-end from the same data, no separate reconciliation

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Barbados payroll automation in Workzoom, barbados nis calculator in Workzoom

Last updatedMay 20, 2026

Definitions

NIS: National Insurance Scheme. Barbados's contributory social-insurance system, jointly funded by employer (12.75%) and employee (11.10%) on insurable earnings up to BBD 5,360 per month (BBD 1,238 per week) effective 1 January 2026. Combined rate 23.85% includes National Insurance, Non-Contributory, Unemployment, Employment Injury, Severance, Training Levy, Health Service Contribution, and the Resilience & Regeneration Fund.

NIS Schedule: The monthly NIS contribution schedule employers file with the National Insurance Office, listing each insured employee, insurable earnings, and contributions remitted. Due by the 15th of the following month.

PAYE: Pay As You Earn income tax. Barbados's withholding regime for Income Year 2026 onward: 11.5% on taxable income from BBD 25,001 to BBD 75,000 per year, 27.5% above BBD 75,000, after the BBD 25,000 basic personal allowance. Rates reduced from 12.5% and 28.5% under Budgetary Proposals 2026.

F5: The Barbados Revenue Authority's monthly employer PAYE return, due by the 15th of the following month.

F4: The Barbados Revenue Authority's annual employer PAYE summary, reconciling the prior year's F5 filings per employee. Due by 28 February.

BRA: Barbados Revenue Authority. The statutory body responsible for tax collection in Barbados, including PAYE. Source: bra.gov.bb.

Personal allowance: The BBD 25,000 basic annual allowance applied to taxable income before PAYE is calculated.

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Enter a gross pay figure and get employer and employee NIS math instantly, against the current published statutory rates.

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