Filing tax returns has always been a headache for many Kenyans but the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is now making it easier for salaried employees. Thanks to the integration of its internal systems, workers who only earn from employment will no longer have to go through the hassle of manually entering their income details every year.
How it Works
Instead of keying in all their salary and tax details, workers will now only need to enter their national ID number on the KRA portal. From there, the system will automatically pre-fill their annual income data, including gross pay and taxes paid.
This new filing model will cover:
- Employees whose only income is employment.
- Workers earning below Sh24,000 per month, who usually file nil returns.
It’s a big shift from the current process where taxpayers had to manually enter every income detail, with failure to comply attracting a Sh2,000 fine or even jail time.
Why the Change
KRA says this is part of its system integration strategy, which links tax data with external government datasets. The aim is to simplify compliance, reduce errors and save time.
“We want to get to a point where if you are purely an employed person or a nil filer, you don’t have to file your returns manually. We’ll prepopulate your details and you’ll just validate,” said KRA Commissioner-General Humphrey Wattanga.
Initially the rollout was delayed due to adjustments in payroll systems to account for new deductions such as the housing levy and the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Penalties and Waivers
Currently, workers who miss the June 30 filing deadline are fined Sh2,000. However, the law allows KRA to waive penalties if delays are beyond a taxpayer’s control—such as system downtime.
For example, earlier this year KRA extended the deadline for 2024 returns by five days after its iTax system crashed due to heavy traffic. In a public notice, Wattanga assured Kenyans that penalties for late filing during this period would be waived, provided returns were submitted by July 5, 2025.
Upgrading iTax and Other Core Systems
To avoid such disruptions in future, KRA is upgrading its infrastructure. This includes:
- Upgrading old systems (some over 10 years old).
- Improving security and stability of the tax filing platforms.
- Migrating iTax to the cloud.
Wattanga says KRA is also working on the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) to modernise customs operations.
What this means for you
If you are an employed person, tax season will soon be less painful. No more worrying about missing details or penalties, just confirm the pre-populated information. For nil filers, compliance will be as simple as logging in and validating.