Jamaica’s Tax Administration has announced the Special Arrears Settlement Programme on 29 January 2025, designed to waive/remit Interest, Penalty and Surcharge (IPS) accrued once outstanding principal taxes are paid by 31 March 2025.

This provides an opportunity for all persons and businesses, whether self-employed, company or organisations, to clear their debts without the additional costs typically associated with late filing and payments related to several tax types and become compliant. It is expected that the arrears settlement programme will collect JMD 10 billion in outstanding taxes, thereby significantly reducing the debt stock by 31 March 2025.

Taxpayers with outstanding principal amounts for selected tax types, including education tax, corporate income tax, individual income tax, pay as you earn, special consumption tax, general consumption tax, asset tax, and partnership income tax, have until 31 March 2025 to settle their arrears. By doing so, they can waive the IPS by the same percentage of the principal amount that has been settled.

It should be noted that the programme is restricted to outstanding principal tax up to the Year of Assessment 2024 and the Period of Assessment 2025. This means taxpayers will be required to be current with their filing obligations, including Income Tax Returns and payments due 17 March 2025.

Additionally, cases currently under objection and appeals will also qualify for the waiver, provided that the principal taxes have been paid. It should be noted that this could be before or after a decision or agreement on the amount determined on the objection or appeal.

Taxpayers wishing to take advantage of the programme are encouraged to contact Tax Administration Jamaica to arrange to pay off the principal arrears by the March 31 deadline.

Additionally, some taxpayers have been identified by TAJ, and will be invited to review the offer in order to benefit.

The “Special Arrears Settlement Programme” is expected to streamline the process of settling outstanding debts associated with the selected tax types. This will result in a more efficient recovery of funds, decrease in the overall debt stock, improved filing compliance, and ultimately lowering tax administrative costs. This activity will redound to the benefit of the taxpayer, making the process of arrears settlement easier, particularly at this time for Income Tax filers who would stand to benefit significantly.