Every employee who pays into the National Housing Trust is entitled to get that money back. The NHT refund returns a contributor’s own deductions, with interest, after the Trust has held them for seven years, so each year’s contributions become refundable in the eighth year after they were paid.
How the regular refund works
Refunds move forward one year at a time. Since January 2026 the Trust has been refunding contributions made in 2018 and earlier, and the next year is normally added each January. Employees, self-employed contributors and voluntary contributors can all claim, provided their records are compliant; people who have not paid what they owed lose their entitlement.
What is refunded is the contributor’s share. For employees that is the 2% deducted from gross pay; the employer’s 3% stays with the Trust. Self-employed and voluntary contributors pay at their own rates and receive their own payments back.
Applying
Applications are made online, through NHT Online, the online form or the NHT mobile app, and can be submitted at any time of year; old contribution years do not expire. Applicants need their TRN, NIS number and valid photo ID, along with the names of their employers and the years worked for each. Payment goes straight to a bank or credit union account, which must be in the contributor’s own name, spelled exactly as on the application, and not dormant. A reference number is issued for tracking.
Special refunds
Some people can take everything at once rather than waiting year by year. These special refunds cover contributors who reach retirement age, those receiving an NIS invalidity pension, foreign nationals leaving Jamaica permanently, and the agents of deceased contributors. Jamaicans who emigrate do not qualify for the migration refund and continue to collect year by year.
Refunds and mortgages
Taking a refund does not cancel loan eligibility as long as current contributions are up to date. Since mid-2025, private-sector mortgagors in good standing can receive their refunds in cash, as public-sector borrowers already could. Buyers also have the option of using contributions that are not yet due for refund towards a deposit.
Overseas, the nearest comparisons are provident funds that return savings at retirement; very few housing schemes return contributions on a rolling basis like this.
Related terms: NHT, NHT Contribution Refund Certificate, NHT Self-Employed Contributor, NHT Overseas Contributor, NHT benefit, National Insurance Scheme.
Accurate as at October 2026. Refund years and rules are set by the NHT and can change.
