April 1, 2026 marks the start of Jamaica's 2026/2027 fiscal year. For every registered employer on the island, this is the single most important date on the payroll calendar. Your cumulative PAYE resets to zero. Your NIS contribution tracking starts fresh. Your first S01 return of the new year is due May 14. And if anything from the old tax year is still unfinished, the clock is now running against you.
This checklist covers everything you need to do — before April 1, on April 1, and in the weeks immediately after — to start the new tax year clean.
Part 1: Close Out the 2025/2026 Tax Year
Before you can start the new year properly, you need to finish the old one. These tasks should be completed by March 31, 2026 at the latest.
File Your Annual SO1 Return
The SO1 annual return for the 2025/2026 tax year is due March 31, 2026. This return covers every employee who was on your payroll at any point between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026 — including employees who left during the year.
The SO1 must include:
- Total gross emoluments paid to each employee
- PAYE (income tax) deducted from each employee
- NIS contributions deducted
- Education Tax deducted
- Employee TRN and NIS numbers
File via the TAJ online portal at tax.gov.jm. If you have not registered for online filing, do so immediately — TAJ no longer accepts paper returns from employers with five or more employees.
File Your NHT P24 Annual Return
The P24 annual return is the NHT's equivalent of the SO1. It covers all NHT contributions for the 2025/2026 year and is also due March 31, 2026. File it through the NHT employer portal.
Issue P6 Forms (Income Tax Certificates) to Employees
Every employee must receive a P6 form showing their total earnings and deductions for the tax year. This is the Jamaican equivalent of a W-2. Employees need it for personal tax filings and NHT benefit applications.
Reconcile All Monthly Remittances
Before moving into the new year, verify that:
- Every monthly S01 return filed during 2025/2026 matches your actual payroll records
- All NIS contributions were remitted correctly (check against the NIS ceiling)
- All NHT remittances match employee headcount and gross pay
- HEART/NSTA contributions are up to date
Any discrepancies found now are far easier to correct than discrepancies found during a TAJ audit two years from now.
Part 2: Verify Your 2026/2027 Payroll Configuration
These are the rates and thresholds your payroll system must use from April 1, 2026 onward. If even one number is wrong, every payslip and every S01 return you file will be incorrect.
Statutory Deduction Rates for 2026/2027
| Deduction | Employee Rate | Employer Rate | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | PAYE | Graduated | — | 25% up to J$6M; 30% above | | NIS | 3% | 3% | Ceiling: J$5M/year | | NHT | 2% | 3% | No ceiling | | Education Tax | 2.25% | 3.5% | No ceiling | | HEART/NSTA | — | 3% | Employer only |
PAYE Income Tax Threshold
The annual income tax threshold, effective April 1, 2026, is J$1,902,360 (J$158,530 per month, or approximately J$36,584 per week). Employees earning below this threshold pay no PAYE, but all other statutory deductions still apply.
This threshold determines where taxable income begins. If your payroll system has the wrong number here, every PAYE calculation will be off.
NIS Contribution Ceiling
NIS contributions are capped at an annual insurable earnings ceiling of J$5,000,000. Once an employee's cumulative gross earnings for the tax year exceed this ceiling, NIS should no longer be deducted. Your payroll system must track this cumulatively and stop deductions at the right point.
Part 3: The April 1 Reset Checklist
On or before April 1, complete every item below.
Employee Records
- [ ] Verify every active employee's TRN is on file and correct
- [ ] Verify every active employee's NIS number is on file and correct
- [ ] Verify every active employee's NHT number is current
- [ ] Confirm all employee banking details are current for direct deposit
- [ ] Update records for any employees whose personal details changed
- [ ] Remove terminated employees from active payroll (but retain records for year-end)
Payroll System Configuration
- [ ] Reset cumulative year-to-date PAYE figures to zero
- [ ] Reset cumulative year-to-date NIS contributions to zero
- [ ] Reset cumulative gross earnings tracking for NIS ceiling purposes
- [ ] Confirm PAYE threshold is set to J$1,902,360/year (J$158,530/month)
- [ ] Confirm NIS rate is 3% employee / 3% employer
- [ ] Confirm NHT rate is 2% employee / 3% employer
- [ ] Confirm Education Tax rate is 2.25% employee / 3.5% employer
- [ ] Confirm HEART/NSTA rate is 3% employer
- [ ] Confirm NIS ceiling is set to J$5,000,000/year
- [ ] Apply any salary adjustments effective April 1
- [ ] Set pay frequency correctly (weekly, fortnightly, monthly)
Calendar and Reminders
- [ ] Set reminder: May 14, 2026 — First S01 monthly return due (covering April payroll)
- [ ] Set reminder: May 14, 2026 — First NHT monthly contribution due
- [ ] Set reminder: July 14, 2026 — First S02 quarterly return due (covering April–June)
- [ ] Block time for monthly payroll processing on a consistent schedule
Test Run
- [ ] Run a test payroll calculation for at least one employee
- [ ] Verify PAYE is calculated correctly against the threshold
- [ ] Verify all statutory deductions appear at the correct rates
- [ ] Confirm payslip format shows all required information
- [ ] Compare test results against a manual calculation to validate
Part 4: What Happens If You Get This Wrong
The consequences of starting the new tax year with incorrect configuration are not theoretical. They are specific and expensive.
Wrong PAYE threshold: Every employee's net pay will be incorrect. You will either over-deduct (creating refund obligations and employee complaints) or under-deduct (creating a tax liability you must cover out of pocket when TAJ reconciles).
Wrong NIS rate or ceiling: NIS discrepancies trigger flags at the NIS board. Employees who are under-contributed may lose benefit eligibility. Employees who are over-contributed will need refunds that take months to process.
Missed S01 filing: The penalty for late filing with TAJ starts immediately after the 14th of each month. Interest accrues daily. There is no warning period and no informal grace period.
No cumulative reset: If your system carries forward last year's year-to-date figures, the PAYE calculations for April will be wrong because the system will think the employee has already earned income in the current tax year. This is the single most common error employers make at the start of a new tax year.
The Simplest Way to Get April 1 Right
PayrollJamaica handles all of this automatically. When the tax year rolls over on April 1:
- Cumulative PAYE resets to zero — no manual intervention
- All statutory rates are pre-configured and verified against TAJ published rates
- NIS ceiling tracking starts fresh and stops deductions automatically at J$5M
- S01 returns generate directly from your payroll data, ready to file
- P6 forms are available for every employee at year-end
- Monthly reminders ensure you never miss the 14th
No spreadsheets to update. No formulas to audit. No wondering whether the threshold changed.
Try PayrollJamaica free for the new tax year →
If you are switching from manual payroll or another system, April 1 is the cleanest possible transition date — your year-to-date figures are zero, so there is nothing to migrate mid-year.
See how PayrollJamaica works →
Key Dates for the Start of the 2026/2027 Tax Year
| Date | What Is Due | |---|---| | March 31, 2026 | SO1 annual return (2025/2026) due to TAJ | | March 31, 2026 | NHT P24 annual return due | | March 31, 2026 | P6 forms issued to employees | | April 1, 2026 | New tax year begins — all cumulative figures reset | | April 14, 2026 | March 2026 S01 monthly return due (last return of old year) | | May 14, 2026 | April 2026 S01 monthly return due (first return of new year) |
Bottom Line
The April 1 tax year transition is not something you figure out as you go. It requires preparation before March 31, correct configuration on April 1, and a verified test run before you process your first real payroll of the new year.
Every item on this checklist exists because employers have gotten it wrong — and paid for it in penalties, refund obligations, or audit exposure.
Get it right once. Get it right now. And if you want a system that handles the transition automatically, start your free trial of PayrollJamaica today.