Jamaica's tax year ends March 31. Every employer must file annual returns, reconcile 12 months of payroll deductions, and ensure every dollar remitted to TAJ, NIS, and NHT is accounted for.
If you are reading this on March 18, you have 13 days. That is enough time if you are organized. It is not enough time if you are scrambling.
This checklist breaks the year-end process into weekly blocks. If you are behind, start at whatever week matches your current situation and work forward. Do not skip steps — each one feeds into the next.
Week 1: Foundation (March 2-6) — Data Gathering
If you missed this week, do it now. Nothing else works without clean data.
Employee Records Review
- [ ] Verify every active employee's TRN is on file and correct
- [ ] Confirm NIS numbers for all employees
- [ ] Update records for any employees who changed names, addresses, or bank details during the year
- [ ] Compile a list of all employees who joined or left during the 2025/26 tax year
- [ ] Confirm employment dates for all mid-year hires and terminations
Payroll Register Audit
- [ ] Print or export the full payroll register for April 2025 through March 2026
- [ ] Verify that every pay period has been processed (no missing months)
- [ ] Confirm that all salary changes, promotions, and adjustments were captured at the correct effective date
- [ ] Identify any manual adjustments or corrections made during the year
Document Collection
- [ ] Gather all monthly S02 remittance receipts from TAJ
- [ ] Collect NHT monthly payment confirmations
- [ ] Locate NIS monthly contribution records
- [ ] Compile records of any HEART/NSTA levy payments
Week 2: Check Your Numbers (March 9-13) — Calculation Verification
This is where errors get caught. Do not rush through it.
PAYE Verification
- [ ] Confirm the correct PAYE threshold was used all year: J$1,799,376/year (J$149,948/month) for 2025/26
- [ ] Verify the 25% rate was applied to income between J$149,948 and J$500,000/month
- [ ] Verify the 30% rate was applied to income above J$500,000/month
- [ ] Spot-check PAYE calculations for at least 3 employees: one below threshold, one in the 25% band, one in the 30% band
- [ ] Reconcile total PAYE deducted vs. total PAYE remitted via S02
NIS Verification
- [ ] Confirm the 3% employee + 3% employer rate was applied
- [ ] Verify the J$5,000,000 annual ceiling was applied for high earners
- [ ] Check that cumulative NIS was tracked (not just monthly caps) for employees with variable pay
- [ ] Verify all taxable allowances were included in insurable earnings
NHT Verification
- [ ] Confirm 2% employee + 3% employer rates were applied
- [ ] Verify NHT was calculated on gross emoluments (no ceiling applies)
- [ ] Reconcile total NHT deducted and remitted
Education Tax Verification
- [ ] Confirm 2.25% employee + 3.5% employer rates were applied
- [ ] Verify Education Tax was calculated on statutory income (gross minus NIS) (no ceiling)
- [ ] Reconcile totals
HEART/NSTA Verification
- [ ] Confirm 3% employer-only rate was applied
- [ ] Verify calculation base (gross emoluments, no ceiling)
Use our payroll calculator to cross-check any figures you are unsure about.
Week 3: Reconcile and Prepare Returns (March 16-20) — Filing Prep
You should be here now. If your numbers from Week 2 are clean, this week is about packaging them into the correct forms.
Monthly-to-Annual Reconciliation
- [ ] Create a 12-month summary for each employee showing: gross earnings, each statutory deduction, PAYE, and net pay by month
- [ ] Sum all 12 months and verify the annual totals
- [ ] Compare annual PAYE total per employee to the sum of their monthly PAYE deductions
- [ ] Investigate and resolve any discrepancies
SO1 Preparation
- [ ] Complete the SO1 annual return for each employee
- [ ] For each employee, verify: full name, TRN, total emoluments, total PAYE deducted, total NIS, total NHT, total Education Tax
- [ ] Cross-check SO1 figures against your reconciliation from above
- [ ] Prepare the employer summary section of the SO1
NHT Annual Return
- [ ] Complete the NHT annual return form
- [ ] Verify total NHT contributions (employee + employer) match your records
- [ ] Ensure all employees are listed with correct NIS/TRN numbers
NIS Annual Reconciliation
- [ ] Prepare NIS annual reconciliation
- [ ] Verify each employee's annual NIS contribution is within the ceiling
- [ ] Cross-check against NIS records if available
Employee Tax Certificates
- [ ] Prepare year-end tax certificates for each employee
- [ ] Verify the information matches the SO1 you are filing
Week 4: File and Confirm (March 23-27) — Submission
Do not wait until March 31. File this week.
Filing
- [ ] File SO1 with TAJ (online via TAJ portal or in person)
- [ ] File NHT annual return with NHT
- [ ] Submit NIS annual reconciliation
- [ ] Pay any outstanding balances identified during reconciliation
Confirmation
- [ ] Obtain and save confirmation receipts for every filing
- [ ] Verify TAJ portal shows your SO1 as received
- [ ] Confirm NHT shows your annual return as filed
- [ ] Save all confirmation numbers and receipts in a dedicated folder
Employee Communication
- [ ] Distribute tax certificates to all employees
- [ ] Notify employees of their total earnings and deductions for the year
- [ ] Remind employees to file their own personal income tax returns by March 31
Week 5: Buffer (March 28-31) — Contingency
If you are on schedule, this week is for final checks. If you are behind, this is your last chance.
Final Checks
- [ ] Review all filed returns one more time for accuracy
- [ ] Confirm all payments have cleared (check bank statements)
- [ ] Ensure no employees were accidentally omitted from any return
- [ ] File any amendments if errors were discovered after initial filing
For the Deadline Day (March 31)
- [ ] TAJ offices and the online portal can be overwhelmed on March 31 — do not rely on last-minute filing
- [ ] If filing in person, arrive early
- [ ] If filing online, do it before 5:00 PM to allow time for technical issues
- [ ] Keep copies of everything you file
Special Situations Checklist
Terminated Employees
- [ ] Final pay was calculated correctly (vacation pay, notice pay, severance)
- [ ] PAYE on final pay was calculated using the cumulative method
- [ ] Employee received their tax certificate
- [ ] Employee is included on the SO1
New Hires (Mid-Year)
- [ ] PAYE threshold was applied proportionally from start date
- [ ] NIS registration was completed
- [ ] All statutory deductions started from the first pay period
- [ ] Employee is included on the SO1 with correct start date
Employees Who Reached the NIS Ceiling
- [ ] NIS deductions stopped once cumulative insurable earnings hit J$5,000,000
- [ ] The month NIS stopped is documented
- [ ] SO1 reflects the capped NIS amount, not 3% of full earnings
The Penalty for Getting It Wrong
Missing the March 31 deadline or filing incorrect returns triggers:
- Late filing penalties from TAJ
- Interest on underpayment that starts accruing immediately
- Potential audit — late or amended returns flag your business for review
- Employee complaints — incorrect tax certificates cause problems when employees file their own returns
None of these are worth the risk.
Do It Right, Do It Once
This checklist has 60+ individual tasks. If you are doing payroll manually or on spreadsheets, each one requires pulling data from different sources, cross-checking by hand, and formatting for different government agencies.
PayrollJamaica consolidates all of this. The system calculates PAYE, NIS (with the J$5,000,000 ceiling), NHT, Education Tax, and HEART/NSTA automatically using the correct 2025/26 rates. It generates SO1-ready reports and tracks everything in one place.
If this checklist feels overwhelming, that is a signal your payroll process needs to change before the new tax year starts April 1. See our pricing plans — there is still time to get set up before the next fiscal year.
13 days to March 31. Work the checklist. File early. Do not wait.