Jamaica lawmakers set to approve income tax threshold increase

Jamaican lawmakers in the House of Representatives are expected to approve amendments to the Income Tax Act on Tuesday, clearing the way for the second phase of the Government’s planned increase to the personal income tax threshold.

Finance and Public Service Minister Fayval Williams first announced the phased adjustment during the 2025/26 Budget Debate last March, outlining plans to gradually raise the threshold from $1.7 million to approximately $2 million over three years.

The increase began on April 1, 2025, when the tax-free threshold moved to $1.8 million. It is scheduled to rise again to $1.9 million in April this year before reaching the Government’s $2-million target in April 2027.

Tuesday’s amendment is expected to provide the legal framework needed to implement the next adjustment due in April, keeping the timeline announced by the finance minister on course.

The latest move builds on a major increase introduced in April 2024 by former Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, when the threshold was raised from $1.5 million to $1.7 million as part of the 2024/25 Budget. That change marked the largest single expansion of the tax-free band since Jamaica’s tax reform programme began in 2016.

If approved, the new amendment will represent another step toward the Government’s goal of easing the tax burden on income earners by establishing a $2-million tax-free threshold by 2027.