Paying your Taxes in Kenya

If you live, work, and buy things in Kenya you are paying tax.

Depending on how much you earn, you are probably paying Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax. Whenever you shop, you pay Value Added Tax (VAT) on certain items. You also pay VAT for services, including your telephone, electricity and water. If you are a registered taxpayer, you must submit a tax return to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) every year.

If you earn above Ksh. 10,100 per month, you have to pay income tax. Your employer deducts the amount of tax you owe and pays it to KRA every month. At the end of the tax year KRA will send you an Income Tax Return form (I.T.1) You must fill in the form and send it back to KRA before their deadline of 30th June. KRA will then determine whether the money you have paid monthly covers what you owe them in tax. If you have paid too little, they will send you a bill for the outstanding amount. If you have paid too much, they will give you money back. You may have paid too little if you have income other than from your employment that you must pay tax on and did not.

You must pay a certain amount on investment income, property income (such as rentals or Capital Gains) and on other forms of income you might have. You get rebates (or refunds) for things like medical expenses, or costs of running a business from home.