Advertorial | March 15 Income Tax forms revised for 2021 and 2022

It should be noted that several forms have been revised for this filing period to enhance their functionality and in keeping with international best practices.

The revised Income Tax Forms seeks to capture greater level of details and allow for more convenience and efficient use by the taxpayer.

The following forms that have been amended for Year of Assessment 2021 and 2022 are as follows:

2021

* IT05 Annual Return of Income and Tax Payable Individual (PAYE, PENSIONERS etc.)
* S02 Employers Annual Return
* S04 Self Employed Persons Annual Return of Income, Taxes and Contribution Payable.

2022

* S04a Declaration of Estimated Income, Taxes and Contributions Payable (Self Employed Resident Individuals

Details in relation to each of the forms stated above are given below:

IT05 Annual Return of Income and Tax Payable Individual (PAYE, PENSIONERS etc.)

IT05 has been updated to incorporate the residency status (resident or non-resident) of the taxpayer to determine the net tax payable or refundable. Additionally, questions relating to gainful employment now forms part of Section A. This information is geared towards ascertaining the treatment of the income for Education Tax purposes.

Section A was also updated to include an option to indicate if the IT05 is being submitted for the purpose of a refund. Additionally, Sections “B” and “F” were updated to exclude “Alimony” as a source of investment income and the concessionary “Non-Executive Director’s Fees” line items.

The form was enhanced to allow for efficiency and ease of completing same as the taxpayers will be able to complete “Schedule 4” and the required fields on the return will be automatically populated with the details.

In addition to the aforementioned, the rules were updated to facilitate prorating of the Employees’ NIS Contribution and the Tax Threshold for the respective year based on the month of submission of the IT05. This was done to facilitate taxpayers who are requesting unemployment fund during the year and taxpayers who chose to submit their return before December 31.

S04 Self Employed Persons Annual Return of Income, Taxes and Contribution Payable.

Section A was updated to include the taxpayer’s “Trade Name” and” Start Date of Trade”. The inclusion of the “Start Date of Trade” is to facilitate accurate calculation of the “Allowable Loss” where applicable.

Additionally, the “Residency Status” was redefined to facilitate the determination of the residency of the taxpayer so that the correct rate of tax can be applied to the taxable income. This will also ensure the correct treatment in relation to the payment of Education Tax in Section G – Computation of Education Tax for persons not gainfully employed in Jamaica and who have no other self-employment income in Jamaica.

The NIS Number field in Section A was updated to accommodate the deemed retirement age of 70 years for the contribution of NIS. This is applicable to persons who remain gainfully employed after age 65.

Section C was also adjusted to accommodate Exemptions and Franked Income.

Schedule 3 now forms part of the S04 Return. It was updated to allow users of this schedule to simply input their information, automatically do the calculation and transfer the requisite value to the S04.

Taxpayers are no longer allowed to enter the amount for ETC as this field is automatically populated when the Schedule 7 is completed by the taxpayer.

S04a Declaration of Estimated Income, Taxes and Contributions Payable (Self Employed Resident Individuals (2022)

The form “Declaration of Estimated Income, Taxes and Contributions Payable (Self Employed Resident Individuals)” was modified to facilitate the removal of a stipulated year of assessment and the filing instructions updated accordingly.

Section A – Taxpayer Information was modified to capture details on the residency status of the taxpayer. Also, direct questions which relate to a specified set of employees were added in the aforementioned section. These questions are deemed necessary in determining the treatment of the income in the calculation of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and National Housing Trust (NHT)

Section F - Statutory Income Subject to Estimated Taxes and Contributions was amended to facilitate the treatment of Income from Self Employment earned overseas which would not be subject to statutory contributions.

For additional information this tax season, persons may contact the Tax Administration Customer Care Centre at 888-TAX-HELP (888-829-4357) or visit the website www.jamaicatax.gov.jm.