barbados-vat.md192 lines6.5 KB
v20
| 1 | --- |
| 2 | name: barbados-vat |
| 3 | 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. |
| 4 | version: 2.0 |
| 5 | --- |
| 6 | |
| 7 | # Barbados VAT Return Skill v2.0 |
| 8 | |
| 9 | ## Section 1 — Quick reference |
| 10 | |
| 11 | | Field | Value | |
| 12 | |---|---| |
| 13 | | Country | Barbados | |
| 14 | | Standard rate | 17.5% | |
| 15 | | Reduced rate | 7.5% (hotel accommodation) | |
| 16 | | Zero rate | 0% (exports, basic food items, prescription drugs) | |
| 17 | | Exempt | Financial services, residential rent, education, medical, insurance | |
| 18 | | Return form | VAT return (bimonthly) | |
| 19 | | Filing portal | https://bra.gov.bb (BRA Tax Administration Management Information System, TAMIS) | |
| 20 | | Authority | Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) | |
| 21 | | Currency | BBD (Barbados Dollar, pegged 2:1 to USD) | |
| 22 | | Filing frequency | Bimonthly | |
| 23 | | Deadline | 21st of the month following the bimonthly period | |
| 24 | | Registration threshold | BBD 200,000 annual turnover | |
| 25 | | Companion skill | vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded | |
| 26 | | Validated by | Pending local practitioner validation | |
| 27 | |
| 28 | **Conservative defaults:** |
| 29 | |
| 30 | | Ambiguity | Default | |
| 31 | |---|---| |
| 32 | | Unknown rate on a sale | 17.5% | |
| 33 | | Unknown VAT status of a purchase | Not deductible | |
| 34 | | Unknown counterparty location | Domestic Barbados | |
| 35 | |
| 36 | --- |
| 37 | |
| 38 | ## Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue |
| 39 | |
| 40 | ### Required inputs |
| 41 | |
| 42 | **Minimum viable** — bank statement for the period. Acceptable from: CIBC FirstCaribbean Barbados, Republic Bank Barbados, First Citizens Barbados, Scotiabank BB, or any other. |
| 43 | |
| 44 | ### Barbados-specific refusal catalogue |
| 45 | |
| 46 | **R-BB-1 — International business company (IBC).** Trigger: client is an IBC or international financial entity. Message: "IBCs have bespoke tax treatment. Please escalate." |
| 47 | |
| 48 | **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." |
| 49 | |
| 50 | --- |
| 51 | |
| 52 | ## Section 3 — Supplier pattern library |
| 53 | |
| 54 | ### 3.1 Barbadian banks (fees exempt — exclude) |
| 55 | |
| 56 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 57 | |---|---|---| |
| 58 | | CIBC FIRSTCARIBBEAN BB, CIBC BB | EXCLUDE | Exempt financial service | |
| 59 | | REPUBLIC BANK BB, REPUBLIC BANK BARBADOS | EXCLUDE | Same | |
| 60 | | FIRST CITIZENS BB | EXCLUDE | Same | |
| 61 | | SCOTIABANK BB | EXCLUDE | Same | |
| 62 | | INTEREST, LOAN | EXCLUDE | Out of scope | |
| 63 | |
| 64 | ### 3.2 Government (exclude) |
| 65 | |
| 66 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 67 | |---|---|---| |
| 68 | | BRA, BARBADOS REVENUE | EXCLUDE | Tax payment | |
| 69 | | NIS, NATIONAL INSURANCE | EXCLUDE | Social security | |
| 70 | | CUSTOMS | EXCLUDE | Duty | |
| 71 | |
| 72 | ### 3.3 Utilities |
| 73 | |
| 74 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 75 | |---|---|---| |
| 76 | | BL&P, BARBADOS LIGHT AND POWER, EMERA | Domestic 17.5% | Electricity | |
| 77 | | BWA, BARBADOS WATER | Domestic 17.5% | Water | |
| 78 | | FLOW, DIGICEL BB | Domestic 17.5% | Telecoms | |
| 79 | |
| 80 | ### 3.4 SaaS and international services |
| 81 | |
| 82 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 83 | |---|---|---| |
| 84 | | GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META, AWS | Self-assess 17.5% | Non-resident | |
| 85 | | ZOOM, SLACK, CANVA | Self-assess 17.5% | Same | |
| 86 | |
| 87 | ### 3.5 Payroll and exclusions |
| 88 | |
| 89 | | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | |
| 90 | |---|---|---| |
| 91 | | SALARY, WAGES | EXCLUDE | Outside VAT scope | |
| 92 | | OWN TRANSFER, INTERNAL | EXCLUDE | Internal | |
| 93 | | CASH WITHDRAWAL | TIER 2 — ask | Default exclude | |
| 94 | |
| 95 | --- |
| 96 | |
| 97 | ## Section 4 — Worked examples |
| 98 | |
| 99 | ### Example 1 — Standard domestic sale at 17.5% |
| 100 | |
| 101 | **Input line:** `05.04.2026 ; BRIDGETOWN TRADING ; CREDIT ; Invoice BB-041 ; BBD 1,175` |
| 102 | |
| 103 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 104 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 105 | | 05.04.2026 | BRIDGETOWN TRADING | +1,175 | +1,000 | 175 | 17.5% | Output | N | — | |
| 106 | |
| 107 | ### Example 2 — Hotel accommodation at 7.5% |
| 108 | |
| 109 | **Input line:** `10.04.2026 ; HOTEL GUEST ; CREDIT ; Room charge ; BBD 1,075` |
| 110 | |
| 111 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 112 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 113 | | 10.04.2026 | HOTEL GUEST | +1,075 | +1,000 | 75 | 7.5% | Output (reduced) | N | — | |
| 114 | |
| 115 | ### Example 3 — Export, zero-rated |
| 116 | |
| 117 | **Input line:** `15.04.2026 ; US BUYER ; CREDIT ; Exported rum ; BBD 10,000` |
| 118 | |
| 119 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 120 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 121 | | 15.04.2026 | US BUYER | +10,000 | +10,000 | 0 | 0% | Zero-rated | N | — | |
| 122 | |
| 123 | ### Example 4 — Bank charges |
| 124 | |
| 125 | **Input line:** `30.04.2026 ; CIBC BB ; DEBIT ; Service fee ; BBD -50` |
| 126 | |
| 127 | | Date | Counterparty | Gross | Net | VAT | Rate | Field | Default? | Excluded? | |
| 128 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |
| 129 | | 30.04.2026 | CIBC BB | -50 | — | — | — | — | N | "Exempt" | |
| 130 | |
| 131 | --- |
| 132 | |
| 133 | ## Section 5 — Tier 1 classification rules (compressed) |
| 134 | |
| 135 | ### 5.1 Standard rate 17.5% — Default for all taxable supplies. |
| 136 | ### 5.2 Reduced rate 7.5% — Hotel accommodation. |
| 137 | ### 5.3 Zero rate — Exports, basic food items, prescription drugs. |
| 138 | ### 5.4 Exempt — Financial services, residential rent, education, medical, insurance. |
| 139 | ### 5.5 Input tax credit — Available. Valid tax invoice required. Apportionment if mixed. |
| 140 | ### 5.6 Blocked input — Entertainment, personal vehicles, personal consumption. |
| 141 | ### 5.7 Imports — VAT at 17.5% on CIF plus duty. |
| 142 | ### 5.8 Reverse charge — Non-resident services: self-assess 17.5%. |
| 143 | |
| 144 | --- |
| 145 | |
| 146 | ## Section 6 — Tier 2 catalogue (compressed) |
| 147 | |
| 148 | ### 6.1 Hotel vs standard rate — Question: "Is this accommodation (7.5%) or other (17.5%)?" |
| 149 | ### 6.2 Tourism levies — Default: flag. |
| 150 | ### 6.3 SaaS entities — Default: self-assess 17.5%. |
| 151 | ### 6.4 Cash withdrawals — Default: exclude. |
| 152 | |
| 153 | --- |
| 154 | |
| 155 | ## Section 7 — Excel working paper template |
| 156 | |
| 157 | Per vat-workflow-base Section 3: Output 17.5%, Output 7.5%, Zero-rated, Exempt, Input, Net VAT. |
| 158 | |
| 159 | --- |
| 160 | |
| 161 | ## Section 8 — Bank statement reading guide |
| 162 | |
| 163 | CIBC BB and Republic Bank BB exports CSV/PDF. BBD primary (2:1 to USD). Internal transfers: exclude. |
| 164 | |
| 165 | --- |
| 166 | |
| 167 | ## Section 9 — Onboarding fallback |
| 168 | |
| 169 | ### 9.1 TIN — "BRA TIN?" |
| 170 | ### 9.2 Filing period — Bimonthly. |
| 171 | ### 9.3 Industry — "What does the business do?" |
| 172 | ### 9.4 Exports — "Do you export?" |
| 173 | ### 9.5 Credit brought forward — Always ask. |
| 174 | |
| 175 | --- |
| 176 | |
| 177 | ## Section 10 — Reference material |
| 178 | |
| 179 | ### Sources |
| 180 | 1. Barbados VAT Act. 2. BRA guidelines. 3. TAMIS portal. |
| 181 | |
| 182 | ### Change log |
| 183 | - v2.0 (April 2026): Full rewrite to Malta v2.0 ten-section structure. |
| 184 | |
| 185 | --- |
| 186 | |
| 187 | ## Disclaimer |
| 188 | |
| 189 | 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. |
| 190 | |
| 191 | The most up-to-date version is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com). |
| 192 |
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About
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.
BBty-2025