--- oa_review_kit: v1 guide_slug: barbados-vat guide_version: barbados-vat@2026-04-13T17:52:52.449Z archetype: vat_gst --- # Review kit: Barbados VAT Thank you for reviewing this Guide. This kit is one file with three parts: how to use it, an interview prompt for your AI, and the Guide itself. ## How to use this kit (3 steps, about 15 minutes) 1. Open the AI you already use (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, anything that reads markdown) and paste in everything from "INTERVIEW PROMPT" below, including the Guide at the end. 2. Your AI interviews you like a colleague, one question at a time. Just talk: war stories, walk-throughs, the mistakes you catch. No writing required. 3. Your AI writes your answers up as a single markdown file. Hand it back at openaccountants.com/skills/barbados-vat/handback (also linked from the Guide page: "Hand back your file"). What you added is published under your name and credential. If your AI cannot produce the exact output format, hand back whatever you have: a revised Guide file, a worksheet, or plain notes. We take those too, and a person reviews them by hand. The format below is the one we can apply straight away. --- # INTERVIEW PROMPT (paste from here down into your AI) You are interviewing a practising accountant about how they actually do the work covered by the attached Guide ("Barbados VAT", slug `barbados-vat`). Interview them like a colleague doing a handover. Do not lecture. Ask ONE question at a time and wait for the answer. Chase war stories and specifics: what kind of client, which portal step, how big the penalty was. The rates, thresholds, and citations are our job; we refresh those from primary sources. Capture ONLY what is NOT derivable from law: - order of operations, and what a wrong order corrupts - what to ask a client before computing anything - what to assume when a fact is unknown, and how it gets flagged - the most-missed traps, with penalty size and who falls in - how the portal or filing channel actually behaves - what has to reconcile before anyone signs - when to refuse the work and hand it to a human specialist If the accountant corrects a rate, threshold, or deadline in the Guide along the way, record it in the FACT CORRECTIONS table, but do not steer the interview toward numbers. ## Questions to work through Ask these in order, one at a time. Skip any the accountant has already covered; follow up where a story has specifics worth pinning down. Each question is tagged with the method slot(s) it feeds. 1. [sequence] Walk me through the last VAT return you prepared, start to finish. What did you open first, and why that order? 2. [intake_questions] [evidence] A new client hands you nothing but a bank statement. What do you do before you'll classify a single line? 3. [pattern_library] Which bank-statement line gets misclassified most often in your experience? What does it look like and where should it actually go? 4. [scope_gate] Tell me about a client you refused or referred out. What about their VAT situation made you stop? 5. [trap] When you review a return someone else drafted, what mistake do you catch most often? 6. [conservative_default] When you can't tell if a sale is domestic or cross-border, what do you assume, and how do you mark it? 7. [cross_check] Before you sign, what has to reconcile with what, and how close is close enough? 8. [filing_mechanics] Walk me through filing on the actual portal. What surprises first-timers: the order of forms, what locks, what you can't undo? 9. [judgment_rule] Ever had a client on a simplified scheme where the "simplification" made things worse? How do you decide who belongs on it? 10. [trap] What's the real penalty story you tell clients, the one that actually happened? 11. [evidence] Which claims will you draft from a bank statement but never file without the underlying paper? 12. [unsettled_law] Anything in VAT right now you deliberately won't finalise because the rules are moving? ## Method slots (for tagging the write-up) - `scope_gate` (Scope gate and refusals): when to stop and send the client to a human - `sequence` (Order of operations): what order to do things in, and what a wrong order corrupts - `intake_questions` (Client intake questions): what to ask a client before computing - `evidence` (Documents and evidence): which documents to insist on, and what is draft-grade vs file-grade - `judgment_rule` (Judgment rules): how a practitioner actually picks when the law allows two routes - `conservative_default` (Conservative defaults): what to assume when a fact is unknowable at draft time - `trap` (Traps and most-missed items): the mistakes everyone makes, what they cost, and who falls in - `filing_mechanics` (Portal and filing mechanics): how submission actually works: channel, order, what locks - `cross_check` (Cross-checks before signing): what has to reconcile with what before delivery, and how close is close enough - `pattern_library` (Pattern library): how messy real-world data (bank lines, payout platforms) maps to tax categories - `edge_case` (Edge-case playbook): the client situations that change the method, not just the numbers - `unsettled_law` (Unsettled-law flags): what not to finalise right now, and why - `handback_protocol` (Hand-back protocol): what the finished working paper contains and who reviews it ## Output format: oa-handback v1 When the interview is done, write the answers up as ONE markdown file in exactly this shape. Fill in the reviewer's real name, credential, and email (ask for them at the end if they have not come up). Every method block gets a `### [method:]` heading where `` is one of the 13 slot ids above. Keep `guide_slug` and `guide_version` exactly as given. Omit any section the interview produced nothing for, but keep the headings that remain exactly as shown. The `fact_key` column may be left blank when unknown. ```markdown --- oa_handback: v1 guide_slug: barbados-vat guide_version: barbados-vat@2026-04-13T17:52:52.449Z reviewer_name: reviewer_credential: # free text: CPA, EA, ACCA, Steuerberater... reviewer_email: verdict: --- ## METHOD ### [method:filing_mechanics] ### [method:intake_questions] - - ... ## FACT CORRECTIONS | fact_key | current | correct | source | |---|---|---|---| | | | | | ## FLAGS - [unsettled] - [refer] ## NOTES ``` If for any reason you cannot produce this exact format, output the accountant's corrections and methods as clear plain notes instead. The hand-back page accepts plain notes and revised Guide files too; this format is an optimization, never a gate. --- # THE GUIDE UNDER REVIEW --- name: barbados-vat description: Use this skill whenever asked to prepare, review, or classify transactions for a Barbados VAT return for any client. Trigger on phrases like "Barbados VAT", "BRA filing", "Barbados Revenue Authority", or any request involving Barbados VAT. MUST be loaded alongside vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later. ALWAYS read this skill before touching any Barbados VAT work. jurisdiction: BB domain: vat-gst tax_year: 2025 --- # barbados-vat ## Section 1 — Quick reference **Quick reference** | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Country | Barbados | | Standard rate | 17.5% | | Reduced rate | 7.5% (hotel accommodation) | | Zero rate | 0% (exports, basic food items, prescription drugs) | | Exempt | Financial services, residential rent, education, medical, insurance | | Return form | VAT return (bimonthly) | | Filing portal | https://bra.gov.bb (BRA Tax Administration Management Information System, TAMIS) | | Authority | Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) | | Currency | BBD (Barbados Dollar, pegged 2:1 to USD) | | Filing frequency | Bimonthly | | Deadline | 21st of the month following the bimonthly period | | Registration threshold | BBD 200,000 annual turnover | | Companion skill | vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded | | Validated by | Pending local practitioner validation | - **Standard rate** — 17.5% - **Reduced rate** — 7.5% (hotel accommodation) - **Zero rate** — 0% (exports, basic food items, prescription drugs) - **Exempt** — Financial services, residential rent, education, medical, insurance - **Return form** — VAT return (bimonthly) - **Filing portal** — https://bra.gov.bb (BRA Tax Administration Management Information System, TAMIS) - **Tax authority** — Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) _([Barbados Revenue Authority Act, 2014-1](https://bra.gov.bb/))_ - **Currency** — BBD (Barbados Dollar, pegged 2:1 to USD) - **Filing frequency** — Bimonthly - **Deadline** — 21st of the month following the bimonthly period - **Registration threshold** — BBD 200,000 annual turnover - **Companion skill** — vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded - **Validated by** — Pending local practitioner validation **Conservative defaults** | Ambiguity | Default | | --- | --- | | Unknown rate on a sale | 17.5% | | Unknown VAT status of a purchase | Not deductible | | Unknown counterparty location | Domestic Barbados | - **Unknown rate on a sale** — 17.5% - **Unknown VAT status of a purchase** — Not deductible - **Unknown counterparty location** — Domestic Barbados ## Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue ### Required inputs **Minimum viable** — bank statement for the period. Acceptable from: CIBC FirstCaribbean Barbados, Republic Bank Barbados, First Citizens Barbados, Scotiabank BB, or any other. ### Barbados-specific refusal catalogue - **R-BB-1 — International business company (IBC)** — Trigger: client is an IBC or international financial entity. Message: "IBCs have bespoke tax treatment. Please escalate." - **R-BB-2 — Tourism levy interaction** — Trigger: client subject to tourism levies alongside VAT. Message: "Tourism levy interaction with VAT requires specialist analysis. Please escalate." ## Section 3 — Supplier pattern library ### 3.1 Barbadian banks (fees exempt — exclude) **Barbadian banks (fees exempt — exclude)** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | CIBC FIRSTCARIBBEAN BB, CIBC BB | EXCLUDE | Exempt financial service | | REPUBLIC BANK BB, REPUBLIC BANK BARBADOS | EXCLUDE | Same | | FIRST CITIZENS BB | EXCLUDE | Same | | SCOTIABANK BB | EXCLUDE | Same | | INTEREST, LOAN | EXCLUDE | Out of scope | ### 3.2 Government (exclude) **Government (exclude)** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | BRA, BARBADOS REVENUE | EXCLUDE | Tax payment | | NIS, NATIONAL INSURANCE | EXCLUDE | Social security | | CUSTOMS | EXCLUDE | Duty | ### 3.3 Utilities **Utilities** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | BL&P, BARBADOS LIGHT AND POWER, EMERA | Domestic 17.5% | Electricity | | BWA, BARBADOS WATER | Domestic 17.5% | Water | | FLOW, DIGICEL BB | Domestic 17.5% | Telecoms | ### 3.4 SaaS and international services **SaaS and international services** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META, AWS | Self-assess 17.5% | Non-resident | | ZOOM, SLACK, CANVA | Self-assess 17.5% | Same | ### 3.5 Payroll and exclusions **Payroll and exclusions** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | SALARY, WAGES | EXCLUDE | Outside VAT scope | | OWN TRANSFER, INTERNAL | EXCLUDE | Internal | | CASH WITHDRAWAL | TIER 2 — ask | Default exclude | ## Section 4 — Worked examples ### Example 1 — Standard domestic sale at 17.5% **Input line:** `05.04.2026 ; BRIDGETOWN TRADING ; CREDIT ; Invoice BB-041 ; BBD 1,175` **Example 1 table** | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 05.04.2026 | BRIDGETOWN TRADING | +1,175 | +1,000 | 175 | 17.5% | Output | N | — | ### Example 2 — Hotel accommodation at 7.5% **Input line:** `10.04.2026 ; HOTEL GUEST ; CREDIT ; Room charge ; BBD 1,075` **Example 2 table** | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 10.04.2026 | HOTEL GUEST | +1,075 | +1,000 | 75 | 7.5% | Output (reduced) | N | — | ### Example 3 — Export, zero-rated **Input line:** `15.04.2026 ; US BUYER ; CREDIT ; Exported rum ; BBD 10,000` **Example 3 table** | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 15.04.2026 | US BUYER | +10,000 | +10,000 | 0 | 0% | Zero-rated | N | — | ### Example 4 — Bank charges **Input line:** `30.04.2026 ; CIBC BB ; DEBIT ; Service fee ; BBD -50` **Example 4 table** | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 30.04.2026 | CIBC BB | -50 | — | — | — | — | N | "Exempt" | ## Section 5 — Tier 1 classification rules (compressed) ### 5.1 Standard rate 17.5% — Default for all taxable supplies. - **Standard rate** — 17.5% — Default for all taxable supplies. ### 5.2 Reduced rate 7.5% — Hotel accommodation. - **Reduced rate** — 7.5% — Hotel accommodation. ### 5.3 Zero rate — Exports, basic food items, prescription drugs. - **Zero rate** — Exports, basic food items, prescription drugs. ### 5.4 Exempt — Financial services, residential rent, education, medical, insurance. - **Exempt** — Financial services, residential rent, education, medical, insurance. ### 5.5 Input tax credit — Available. Valid tax invoice required. Apportionment if mixed. - **Input tax credit** — Available. Valid tax invoice required. Apportionment if mixed. ### 5.6 Blocked input — Entertainment, personal vehicles, personal consumption. - **Blocked input** — Entertainment, personal vehicles, personal consumption. ### 5.7 Imports — VAT at 17.5% on CIF plus duty. - **Imports** — VAT at 17.5% on CIF plus duty. ### 5.8 Reverse charge — Non-resident services: self-assess 17.5%. - **Reverse charge** — Non-resident services: self-assess 17.5%. ## Section 6 — Tier 2 catalogue (compressed) ### 6.1 Hotel vs standard rate — Question: "Is this accommodation (7.5%) or other (17.5%)?" - **Hotel vs standard rate** — Question: "Is this accommodation (7.5%) or other (17.5%)?" ### 6.2 Tourism levies — Default: flag. - **Tourism levies** — Default: flag. ### 6.3 SaaS entities — Default: self-assess 17.5%. - **SaaS entities** — Default: self-assess 17.5%. ### 6.4 Cash withdrawals — Default: exclude. - **Cash withdrawals** — Default: exclude. ## Section 7 — Excel working paper template Per vat-workflow-base Section 3: Output 17.5%, Output 7.5%, Zero-rated, Exempt, Input, Net VAT. ## Section 8 — Bank statement reading guide CIBC BB and Republic Bank BB exports CSV/PDF. BBD primary (2:1 to USD). Internal transfers: exclude. ## Section 9 — Onboarding fallback ### 9.1 TIN — "BRA TIN?" - **TIN** — "BRA TIN?" ### 9.2 Filing period — Bimonthly. - **Filing period** — Bimonthly. ### 9.3 Industry — "What does the business do?" - **Industry** — "What does the business do?" ### 9.4 Exports — "Do you export?" - **Exports** — "Do you export?" ### 9.5 Credit brought forward — Always ask. - **Credit brought forward** — Always ask. ## Section 10 — Reference material ### Sources 1. Barbados VAT Act. 2. BRA guidelines. 3. TAMIS portal. ### Change log - v2.0 (April 2026): Full rewrite to Malta v2.0 ten-section structure. ## Disclaimer This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. All outputs must be reviewed by a qualified professional before filing. The most up-to-date version is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com). ## Disclaimer This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional (such as a CPA, EA, tax attorney, or equivalent licensed practitioner in your jurisdiction) before filing or acting upon. The most up-to-date, verified version of this skill is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com). Log in to access the latest version, request a professional review from a licensed accountant, and track updates as tax law changes.