Barbados: CRS guidance on compliance for retirement funds
Guidance Note OGC No. 11/2025 informs Barbados retirement funds of their obligations under CRS
The Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) in April 2025 issued Guidance Note OGC No. 11/2025 to inform Barbados retirement funds (RFs) of their obligations under the common reporting standard (CRS).
The BRA requires RFs, excluding government entities such as Statutory Corporations, the Central Bank, and International Organizations, to register via the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) web portal, and complete the submission of CRS reports for the 2024 reportable period by August 31, 2025. This deadline has been extended from July 31 specifically for the RFs. For clarity, RFs are considered reporting Barbados financial institutions for CRS purposes.
Notably, RFs are deemed compliant Foreign Financial Institutions for FATCA purposes and therefore have no FATCA reporting obligations.
Reporting requirements
RFs must conduct due diligence to identify account holders or beneficiaries who are tax residents in reportable jurisdictions and report the following information to the BRA:
- Name, address, jurisdiction(s) of residence, tax identification number (TIN), and date and place of birth of each account holder or beneficiary
- Account number (or a unique identifying number if an account number is not available)
- Name and identifying number of the retirement fund
Account value and balance at the end of the calendar year or another relevant period. This account balance represents the equity interest, which is calculated as the residual entitlement to the RF’s assets. They must also report any disbursements made to account holders and beneficiaries during this period. If an account was closed during this reportable period, the reported amount should reflect the balance on the closure date.
Read a May 2025 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Barbados