The Accountant General’s Department is pleased to invite all our new and future pensioners from Statutory Bodies to attend our Virtual Sensitization Session.

On Friday, May 28, 2021 from 9:00 am-1:00 pm join the AGD’s Virtual Outside Broadcast on RJR 94FM, Live Streaming of the event will be available on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Zoom.

Catch interviews and presentations from Officers who have integral roles in the administration of your pension.

Don’t miss what will be a very informative event.

Zoom link will be posted soon. Please stay tuned!

The purpose of the following information is to help you, a pensioner or soon-to-be retiree, learn about the benefits that you are entitled to and to help you better understand the payment of tax during retirement.

Income sources

Examples of possible income sources:-

•  Pension
• Bank Interest
• Dividends
• Rent
• Farming
• Fees/Commissions
• Business Profits
• Employment

Pensioners who are residents in Jamaica for a period totaling 6 months or more, must include/declare all income earned from other countries (World Income). World Income includes all income earned by persons resident in Jamaica from all sources outside Jamaica (subject to applicable credits).

Exemption For Pensioners & Golden Agers

The following exemptions apply in the circumstances outlined below:

• Persons under 55 years old, who receive a Pension from a Statutory Pension Scheme
  e. g. NIS, or an Approved Superannuation
• Scheme are entitled to the tax exemption
  amount of $80,000* against that
• Persons 55 years and over, who receive a Pension from a Statutory Pension Scheme or an Approved Superannuation Scheme are entitled to a tax exemption amount of$80,000 from that Pension income and any other source of income.
• Pensioners who are 65 years and over, are entitled to an exemption of $80,000 for Age Relief & $80,000 Pensioners Relief

Note:

•  Pension exemption – $80,000
• Age exemption – $80,000
• Income Tax Threshold – $796,536

If you are not a Pensioner, but you are 65 years and over, you are entitled to the age relief of $80,000 as well as the threshold of $796,536 (2016)
Non-resident Pensioners are entitled to the exemptions, but not the threshold.

Exemption for Withholding Tax

(Tax on Income imposed at source)

Documents required for application :-

• Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN)
• Proof of age (Birth Certificate, Golden Ager ID Card, Passport, Driver’s Licence)
• Proof of Pensioner’s current pension slip, stub or receipt
• Documentary proof of any other source of income including interest income.
  (Certificates are usually supplied by the banks or financial institutions).
•  Name and address of bank (s) or financial institutions and all account numbers.
• Complete P01 – Exemption Form – ‘PAYE Application For The Determination Of Exemption & Expenses’.

Applications for the Exemption from Withholding Tax are to be submitted to:

Refunds Unit
Tax Administration Jamaica Donald Sangster Building 116 East Street
Kingston

Refund For Withholding Tax

If at the end of any calendar year you have overpaid your taxes, you may apply in writing for a refund to the:

Refunds Unit
c/o Tax Administration Jamaica Donald Sangster Building
116 East Street
Kingston

Where your income includes business profits Form IT01 is to be completed, instead of the IT05.
Documents to be submitted are:

• Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN)
• Proof of age
• Certificates showing Pension (P24) for each Year of Assessment.
•  Withholding tax certificates showing total interest earned and tax deducted (if any) for each of the claim from Pre-scribed Persons e.g. Banks, Building Societies, and any institutions operating under the Financial Institutions Act.
• Documentary proof of any other source of income for each year of claim.

For further details :

Call toll-free:1-888-TAX-HELP (829-4357

1-888-GO-JA-TAX (465-2829) Email: taxhelp@taj.gov.jm

Website: www.jamaicatax.gov.jm Facebook: wwww.facebook.com/jamaicatax

Twitter:@jamaicatax

Visit any tax office nearest you

Source of Information:
Tax Administration Jamaica, 2016

Welcome to the Accountant General’s Department!

The Accountant General’s Department (AGD) is pleased that it now has the responsibility for the pension administration of nine hundred and sixty (960) pensioners from nine (9) Government of Jamaica (GOJ) Statutory Bodies as at April 1, 2021. This change is due to the GOJ’s strategic objective of strengthening Public Financial Management within the Public Sector, to achieve this objective, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service made the decision to streamline the payment of Pension, making the AGD the sole paying authority of  government pensions across all sections of the GOJ in keeping with the Pensions (Public Service) Act of 2017. This change currently does no extend to Local Authorities (Municipal Corporations) which still make their own pension payments on behalf of the GOJ to its retirees.

There are four (4) main changes that will differentiate the AGD’s pension administration from that of Statutory Bodies. Firstly, the date of pension payment for pensioners from Statutory Bodies would generally be paid out fortnightly, however the AGD pays pension salary on the 25th of each month; unless the 25^th falls on a Monday or Friday or weekend, pensioners would receive pension payment on the preceding Thursday. Secondly, the AGD does not currently facilitate deductions such as Bank Loans, NIS or NHT be directly deducted from the pension. The only deduction the will be taken from the pension payment  is Sagicor health, pensioner’s association membership, and income tax if earnings are over the prescribed tax threshold.

A third change to note is the submission of quarterly life certificates. Although most  pensioners are accustomed to submitting a Life Certificate to their statutory body, the AGD’s process differs, to a small extent, from what you may be familiar with. The AGD Life Certificate is an official barcoded document used to verify a pensioner’s living status, it is the primary document used to make monthly pension payments. Your life certificate has a life span of three months and it must be completed and returned on a quarterly basis. In a total of (4) four times for the year, the certificate must be returned for the periods January 31st, April 30^th, July 31^st, and October 31^st.

Lastly, the AGD facilitates overseas payments to pensioners who have migrated and are citizens or permanent residents. Once you are of a legal or permanent resident in your country of preference, you are required to provide the AGD with a notarized letter / completed application form requesting to be paid overseas as well as a proof of residency. Proof of residency can either be  the Biographical Page of Passport, Permanent Resident Card or Nationalization Card. Once documents are going to be delivered through the postal services they must be copied and notarized.

For further information, feel free to contact the AGD on any of the following platforms:

Main Telephone Line:  1–876-922-8320

Other Lines:                   1–(876) 829-2694,   829-2618   and 829- 2795

Live Chat              www.treasury.gov.jm

E-mail:                 info@treasury.gov.jm

WhatsApp (text only):   1-876-818-6583

Facebook:            www.facebook.com/thetreasuryja

Instagram:          www.instagram.com/thetreasuryja

The Accountant General’s Department, service with excellence…touching the life of every Jamaican.

Public Advisory

Dear Valued Customer,

The Accountant General’s Department wishes to advise you that we were experiencing technical difficulties which affected our WhatsApp line. Consequently, there were delays in accessing and responding to queries that were sent. If you sent a message via our WhatsApp platform prior to April 9, 2021 and have not yet received a response, please resend your message so that a customer service agent can assist you.

We may be contacted via the following platforms:

Main telephone line : 1-876-922-8320

Other telephone lines: 1-876-829-2694, 1-876-829-2618 & 1-876- 829-2795

Whatsapp (Text only): 1-876-818-6583

Live Chat: www.treasury.gov.jm

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thetreasuryja

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thetreasuryja

Twitter: www.twitter.com/thetreasuryja

E-mail: info@treasury.gov.jm

We thank you for your patience and apologize for any inconvenience caused.

PUBLIC ADVISORY

Dear Valued Customers,

In observance of the current Covid-19 measures, our customer service office will close at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, April 9, 2021. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Normal Operations will resume on Monday, April 12, 2021.

The Accountant General’s Department is grateful for your understanding and wishes all to stay safe during this time.

Public Advisory

Dear Valued Customers,

Please see our office opening hours for the Easter Holiday period below:

Dates                                                    Opening Hours

Thursday, April 1, 2021                   8:30 a.m-11:30 a.m

Friday, April 2, 2021                        Closed

Monday, April 5, 2021                     Closed

We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Normal operations will resume on Tuesday, April 6, 2021

We wish you a blessed and holy Easter Holiday, please stay safe.