7 days. That's what separates Jamaican business owners from the close of the 2025/26 fiscal year.
March 31, 2026 is not just another month-end. It's the last day of Jamaica's fiscal year — the deadline for annual payroll returns, NHT submissions, and year-end reconciliation. Miss it, and you're looking at late filing penalties from TAJ, surcharges from NHT, and potentially months of headache to sort out.
This is your final sprint checklist. Use every one of the 7 days you have left.
What's Due by March 31, 2026
Before we get to the checklist, let's be clear on what you're actually filing:
1. S01 Annual Return (TAJ)
The S01 Annual Return is a summary of your entire 2025/26 payroll year — all PAYE, NIS, NHT, and Education Tax contributions from April 2025 through March 2026. This is separate from the monthly S01 you've been filing throughout the year.
Where to submit: TAJ e-Services portal or in-person at any TAJ office Deadline: March 31, 2026 Penalty for late filing: Up to J$10,000 per employee
2. NHT Annual Return
The NHT Annual Return is a separate submission — directly to the National Housing Trust, not TAJ. It confirms all NHT contributions made on behalf of your employees throughout the fiscal year.
Where to submit: NHT portal or NHT offices Deadline: March 31, 2026 Penalty for late payment: 20% surcharge on outstanding contributions
3. Year-End Payroll Reconciliation
Before you can file either annual return, your records need to reconcile. Your monthly S01 filings should match your annual summary. Your NHT remittances should match your NHT Annual Return.
This is where most businesses hit problems — gaps in monthly filings, wrong rates, missing employees.
Your March 24–31 Action Plan
Day 1 (March 24) — Reconcile Everything
Pull all 11 months of payroll records (April 2025 → February 2026). Check:
- Did you file an S01 for every month?
- Were contributions remitted on time?
- Were the correct rates used throughout the year?
PAYE threshold for 2025/26: J$1,799,376 annually / J$149,948 monthly NIS: 3% employee + 3% employer (ceiling: J$5M per employee) NHT: 2% employee + 3% employer Education Tax: 2.25% employee + 3.5% employer
If any month used the wrong threshold or rates, you need to identify the discrepancy before filing the annual return.
Use our free calculator to verify your numbers →
Days 2–3 (March 25–26) — Prepare Annual Returns
With reconciled data, begin preparing:
- S01 Annual Return — you'll need a summary of all deductions and contributions for each employee, month by month
- NHT Annual Return — NHT contributions per employee, totalled for the year
- P6 Forms — technically due to employees by April 30, but start now while your records are organized
Day 4 (March 27) — Final Review with Your Accountant
Book your accountant NOW for March 27 if you haven't. By March 28, accountants will be at capacity. By March 29–30, they won't be able to take new clients until after the deadline.
Give your accountant:
- Your reconciliation summary
- Any discrepancies you found
- Draft annual returns for review
Days 5–6 (March 28–29) — Submit
Submit your returns early in the week:
- S01 Annual Return → TAJ: Submit March 28–29 to avoid portal congestion on March 31
- NHT Annual Return → NHT: Submit concurrently
- Keep your confirmation receipts — both digital and physical copies
Day 7 (March 30–31) — Confirm + Archive
- Confirm TAJ and NHT received your submissions (check portal status)
- Archive everything: submissions, receipts, reconciliation reports
- Brief your team on any changes for the new fiscal year (April 2026 start)
The Most Common Mistakes in the Final Week
Mistake 1: Waiting Until March 30
The TAJ e-Services portal gets congested on March 30–31. Accountants are fully booked. You're filing what you have whether or not it's correct. Don't do this to yourself.
Mistake 2: Using the Wrong PAYE Threshold
Many businesses are still running payroll with the 2023/24 threshold (J$1,500,000 or older numbers). The 2025/26 threshold is J$1,799,376 annually. If you've been using a different number, your S01 Annual won't reconcile with your monthly filings.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the NHT Annual Return is Separate
This catches a surprising number of employers every year. Filing the S01 with TAJ does NOT cover your NHT Annual obligation. NHT is a separate agency with a separate portal and separate submission process.
Mistake 4: Missing Employees from the Return
Every employee who received a payslip during the 2025/26 fiscal year must appear on your S01 Annual Return — including employees who left during the year, part-time employees, and contract workers paid through payroll.
Mistake 5: Skipping the P6 Forms
P6 forms (the Jamaica equivalent of a tax certificate) are due to employees by April 30 — but they're generated from your year-end payroll data. If you file your annual return and then lose access to the underlying data, generating P6 forms becomes very difficult. Generate them now.
What Happens If You Miss March 31
To be clear: the penalties are real.
TAJ S01 late filing:
- J$5,000–J$10,000 per employee
- Interest on unpaid PAYE: 50% per annum
- Potential audit trigger
NHT late contributions:
- 20% surcharge on outstanding contributions
- Compounded monthly until paid
- NHT can pursue collection through the courts for persistent non-compliance
Beyond the financial penalties:
- TAJ assessments can cover up to 3 previous years
- Late filers appear on TAJ's non-compliant list (visible to some government agencies)
- Employees may have NHT benefit eligibility affected
The 7-Day Countdown Summary
| Day | Date | Action | |-----|------|--------| | Day 1 | March 24 | Reconcile all 11 months of payroll records | | Day 2 | March 25 | Start preparing S01 Annual Return | | Day 3 | March 26 | Prepare NHT Annual Return, begin P6 forms | | Day 4 | March 27 | Final review with accountant | | Day 5 | March 28 | Submit S01 Annual Return to TAJ | | Day 6 | March 29 | Submit NHT Annual Return | | Day 7 | March 30–31 | Confirm receipts, archive, done |
Make This the Last Time You Do This Manually
If you're reading this stressed about a spreadsheet or trying to remember what you remitted in July 2025 — that's a systems problem, not a compliance problem.
PayrollJamaica keeps every month's payroll data, calculates everything at correct Jamaica rates, and generates the annual returns and P6 forms automatically. No spreadsheets. No calculator. No trying to remember.
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7 days. You have enough time. Start today.
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