--- name: tc-hotel-tourism-tax description: "Turks and Caicos hotel and tourism tax reference checked for 2026. Covers the administrative scope of the twelve percent levy, advance registration, the application-based small-provider exemption and monthly filing. Includes tax-exclusive and tax-inclusive examples and the 2026 switch to automated emailed remittance forms. Distinguishes accommodation and prescribed tourism services from a universal sales tax, and hotel-attached restaurants from other designated establishments. Use after the transaction’s taxable status and tax base have been established. The operative ordinance, subsequent amendments, records-retention conflict and special transaction rules require further reconciliation. This source-cited draft is not independently accountant-reviewed." license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)" metadata: source: openaccountants openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/tc-hotel-tourism-tax" jurisdiction: "TC" tax_year: "2026" last_updated: "2026-10-23" authored_by: "Ryan Duguid" trust_label: "Accountant-authored" review_status: "pending_review" --- # Turks and Caicos hotel and tourism tax ## Scope and registration Checked 22 October 2026 against Revenue Department administrative guidance. The [tax overview](https://www.gov.tc/revenue/htt) specifies 12% on accommodation, designated restaurants/bars and prescribed tourism services. Examples of prescribed services include watersports, tours, spas, bicycle rental and destination wedding planning. This is not a statement that every sale of goods or services attracts 12%. The same source requires registration 30 days before operations commence. Hotel-attached bars/restaurants are registered; other restaurants/bars depend on designation. Independent tourism providers can apply in writing for exemption where monthly business is below the stated $4,000 threshold, with evidence. Registration and collection apply initially; low turnover is not automatic exemption. [Revenue overview](https://www.gov.tc/revenue/htt). Before calculating tax, establish the service supplied, applicable registration/designation and any written exemption. Keep the effective date with the transaction records. A business licence alone is not evidence that a transaction is tax-exempt. ## Worked calculations Assume taxable status and the tax-exclusive base are already established, with no special adjustments. The [revenue-stream table](https://gov.tc/revenue/streams) independently lists the 12% hotel/tourism rate. | Established taxable charge | Tax | Customer total | |---|---:|---:| | $1,000 before tax | $120 | $1,120 | | $2,500 before tax | $300 | $2,800 | If the agreed $1,120 amount already includes only this 12% tax, the base is 1,120 ÷ 1.12 = $1,000 and the tax is $120. Applying 12% to the inclusive amount would incorrectly produce $134.40. This illustration does not establish treatment of service charges, commissions, deposits or bundled packages; those require their own statutory analysis. ## Filing and payment The [tax overview](https://www.gov.tc/revenue/htt) gives the twenty-first of the following month for remittance and requires nil returns during seasonal closure. Its small-provider relief requires an application, so do not stop filing solely because monthly receipts fall. The [Revenue FAQ](https://www.gov.tc/revenue/faqs) states payment is due on the preceding working day when the due date falls on a weekend or holiday. This differs from the health-insurance Board's administrative convention; keep separate calendars. The [July 2026 notice](https://www.gov.tc/revenue/news/inland-revenue-department-introduces-automated-monthly-remittance-forms) announces automatic email distribution of monthly remittance forms from 1 August 2026. It asks taxpayers with missing forms to correct their registered contact details with the Department. This supersedes the older request-by-email procedure. The notice's reminder dates are reminders, not replacement filing deadlines. ## Records and open legal checks Reconcile registered activity, invoices, tax collected, returns and payments each month. Preserve the records while the retention rule is resolved: the tourism-tax overview says seven years, while the generic FAQ says five. This batch does not certify either as the controlling statutory period. The link labelled as the hotel-tax ordinance on the Revenue homepage opened a business-licence consultation document. The separately linked February 2024 hotel-tax advisory also describes proposals. Neither has been treated as enacted law. The actual ordinance and amendment chain still need retrieval and reconciliation before merge, including rate, base, exemption, retention and penalty provisions. Independent accountant review is pending. > Contributed by Ryan Duguid. --- ## Talk to a verified accountant This guide is maintained by the OpenAccountants network — accountants who put their name behind the tax answers AI gives people. The live, always-current version (and the professional behind it) is at [openaccountants.com](https://www.openaccountants.com). - Use it in your AI: https://www.openaccountants.com/connect - Meet the accountants: https://www.openaccountants.com/network > **General reference only.** This document does not constitute tax, legal, or > financial advice. Verify figures against the cited primary sources or with a > licensed professional before relying on them. ## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-10-23. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `tc-hotel-tourism-tax` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/tc-hotel-tourism-tax. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.