March 31 is 19 days away. For Jamaican employers, it is the single most important deadline of the year — the close of the 2025/26 tax year triggers a cascade of filings, reconciliations, and submissions that every employer must complete.
Miss a deadline and you're looking at TAJ penalties, NHT late fees (20% per annum), and a growing backlog that becomes harder to clear every day you delay.
Use this checklist to make sure nothing slips through.
The March 31 Deadline Stack
Here is every obligation that lands on or around March 31 for Jamaican employers:
| Obligation | Deadline | Who You File With | |---|---|---| | S01 Annual Employer Return | March 31 | Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) | | NHT Annual Return | March 31 | National Housing Trust | | Final PAYE monthly remittance (March run) | April 14 | TAJ | | Final NHT monthly contribution (March run) | April 14 | NHT | | Final NIS contribution (March run) | April 14 | NIS | | Final Education Tax (March run) | April 14 | TAJ | | P24 Annual Return (employer totals by employee) | April 30 | TAJ |
Note: The March payroll run itself happens in March (or on April 1 if you pay first-of-month), but the March remittances aren't due until April 14. The March 31 hard deadlines are the annual returns — the S01 and NHT returns that summarise the entire April 2025–March 2026 year.
Pre-March 31 Checklist
Work through this in order. Each item depends on the ones before it.
Step 1: Gather Full-Year Payroll Records ☐
Before you can file any annual return, you need accurate records for every pay period from April 2025 to March 2026.
- [ ] Pull payroll records for all 12 months (April 2025 – March 2026)
- [ ] Confirm you have monthly totals for: gross wages, PAYE withheld, NHT contributed (employer + employee), NIS contributed (employer + employee), Education Tax
- [ ] Identify any months where filing was missed or payment was late — you'll need to address these before filing the annual return
If you've been using payroll software: This data is all in your dashboard. Export a full-year summary report.
If you've been running payroll manually: This step may take a day or more. Do it now.
Step 2: Reconcile Each Employee's Records ☐
The S01 and NHT annual returns require per-employee breakdowns, not just totals.
For each active employee (and any employees who left during the year):
- [ ] Total gross wages paid: April 2025 – March 2026
- [ ] Total PAYE withheld
- [ ] Total NHT contributions (employee + employer, per NHT number)
- [ ] Total NIS contributions (verify the annual cap of J$5,000,000 was applied correctly)
- [ ] Total Education Tax (employee + employer)
- [ ] Confirm NHT numbers are recorded correctly for all employees
Common reconciliation errors:
- NIS deductions continued past the J$5,000,000 cap for high earners
- NHT contributions remitted without NHT numbers (contributions not credited to employees)
- Education Tax omitted entirely for some or all months
- New employees added mid-year without PAYE being calculated cumulatively from their start date
Step 3: File the S01 Annual Employer Return ☐
Deadline: March 31, 2026
The S01 Annual Return summarises your full payroll year — total remuneration paid, PAYE withheld, Education Tax collected, NHT and NIS contributions — by employee and in aggregate.
How to file:
- Log into TAJ e-Services at jamaicatax.gov.jm
- Navigate to Employer Returns → S01 Annual Return
- Enter the April 2025 – March 2026 totals per employee
- Confirm and submit
If you have outstanding monthly S01 returns: You cannot file the annual return cleanly until monthly returns are current. File any missing monthly returns first.
If you have outstanding PAYE balances: Pay these before or simultaneously with the annual return filing to avoid additional interest accumulation.
Step 4: File the NHT Annual Return ☐
Deadline: March 31, 2026
The NHT Annual Return is a separate filing from the TAJ S01. It reports every employee's NHT contributions for the year, tied to their individual NHT numbers.
How to file:
- Log into the NHT employer portal at nhts.gov.jm
- Enter annual NHT contributions per employee
- Verify each employee's NHT number is correctly recorded
- Submit the annual return
Late filing penalty: 20% per annum on outstanding NHT balances. This compounds quickly — file by March 31.
Step 5: Issue P45 Forms to Departed Employees ☐
If any employees left your employment during the 2025/26 tax year, you must have issued (or must issue now) a P45 — a certificate showing their year-to-date earnings and PAYE deducted at time of departure.
- [ ] List all employees who left between April 2025 and March 2026
- [ ] Confirm P45 was issued within 30 days of their departure
- [ ] If any were missed, issue them now
Step 6: Prepare for March Payroll Run ☐
Your final payroll run of the 2025/26 tax year covers March 2026 earnings. For most businesses, this run happens in late March or on April 1.
- [ ] Run March payroll with updated year-to-date PAYE calculations (this is the final cumulative PAYE check for the year)
- [ ] Generate payslips for all March employees
- [ ] Prepare S01 monthly return for March (due April 14)
- [ ] Prepare NHT and NIS submissions for March (due April 14)
Step 7: Plan for P24 Filing ☐
Deadline: April 30, 2026
The P24 is the annual employer declaration filed with the TAJ — it summarises total remuneration and PAYE withheld per employee for the full year. Unlike the S01 Annual Return, it has an April 30 deadline.
- [ ] Confirm your full-year per-employee records are complete and reconciled
- [ ] Note April 30 in your calendar — do not mistake this for a March 31 deadline
What Happens If You Miss March 31
TAJ (S01 Annual Return): Interest accrues at 16.62% per annum on any outstanding PAYE, plus administrative penalties for late filing. The TAJ has been increasing enforcement of annual return deadlines.
NHT (Annual Return): 20% per annum penalty on any outstanding NHT contributions. The NHT actively pursues employers with outstanding contributions — don't assume it will go unnoticed.
Compounding effect: Every month you delay makes the reconciliation more complex and the penalties larger. A March 31 miss becomes a June problem that's 3× harder to fix.
Quick Tax Year 2025/26 Stats Checker
Use these to verify your year-end calculations are using the right rates:
| Rate | 2025/26 Figure | |---|---| | PAYE-free threshold (annual) | J$1,799,376 | | PAYE rate (up to J$6M) | 25% | | PAYE rate (above J$6M) | 30% | | NHT employee rate | 2% (no cap) | | NHT employer rate | 3% (no cap) | | NIS maximum insurable wage | J$5,000,000/year | | NIS employee rate | 3% | | NIS employer rate | 3% | | Education Tax (employee) | 2.25% | | Education Tax (employer) | 3.5% |
Need Help Before March 31?
If you're looking at this checklist and realising you're behind, act now — not later.
Use our free Jamaica PAYE calculator — run a quick check on any employee's statutory deductions before you file.
Start a 30-day free trial — if you're running payroll manually, you can migrate to PayrollJamaica and run your March payroll clean. The annual return data will be organised and ready to export. See all payroll software features →
Email us directly: [email protected] — we're Jamaica-based and available to help you get compliant before the deadline.
March 31 is not a soft deadline. File on time.