Remittances are one of the most important sources of income for the Caribbean. Families use these funds to supplement their income and pay for groceries, rent, school expenses, medicine, or even to support small businesses, among other things.
However, a new law in the United States of America (USA), called One Big Beautiful Bill Act and commonly referred to as the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, signed on July 4, 2025, will introduce a one per cent (1%) federal tax on cash-based remittance transfers from the US as of January 1, 2026.
It applies only if the transfer is funded with cash, money orders, cashier’s checks or any similar physical instrument. So, if a sender uses a regulated USA financial institution or app connected to their bank, they’ll be in the clear. That’s because there’s no tax if the remittance is funded from a US bank account, paid with a USA-issued debit or credit card or sent via digital apps like Zelle, PayPal, or Venmo, provided the source of funds is linked to a qualifying account.
Unlike earlier versions of the bill, which targeted only undocumented migrants, the final law applies to everyone and the remittance provider must remit the collected tax quarterly to the IRS.
The new tax will likely reduce the amount received and make it more expensive to send money, especially for lower-income migrants who rely on transfers through services like JN Money. These transfers will now include that extra 1% tax on top of regular service fees.
The impact could result in:
- Reduced household income for thousands of Jamaican families
- Increased financial pressure on the elderly, children and unemployed
- Lower spending in local businesses, especially in rural areas
- Greater use of informal or risky ways of sending money to avoid the tax
But there are smart, legal ways to work around this new tax.
Here’s how both senders abroad and receivers outside the US can minimise the impact with JN Money:
- Conduct digital transfers through our JN Money online platform instead of cash
- Send larger, less frequent transfers if using cash
- Switch to bank-to-bank or app-based services. In this regard, JN Money has developed an app, which we are working to finalise and introduce to the market.
- Encourage receivers to get banked or go digital with a JN Money card