Kenya Tax Amnesty 2026: Can You Still Get It, and What Does It Cover?

Yes, you can still get it until 31 December 2026: the amnesty wipes out penalties, interest and fines on tax debts built up to 31 December 2025, as long as you pay all the unpaid principal tax, meaning the original tax before any charges, by that date. It does not cancel the principal tax itself, and it does not cover anything arising from 1 January 2026 or customs duties.

What to do

1. Pull your iTax ledger. List what you owe for periods up to 31 December 2025 separately from 2026 debts, and mark any amount you dispute.
2. File any missing returns for those years. If you owe no principal tax, KRA waives your late filing penalties automatically once all outstanding returns are filed.
3. Pay the principal in one go if you can. Generate a payment registration number (PRN) for each period and change the amount to the principal only. KRA warns that iTax does not limit the PRN to principal, so you could otherwise pay penalties you are trying to clear. KRA’s guidelines say interest and penalties paid by mistake will not be refunded or transferred.
4. If you cannot pay at once, apply for a payment plan. On iTax, go to Payments, select Apply Payment Plan (new), and choose the amnesty periods. The plan must end by 31 December 2026. KRA allowed up to six instalments for plans started in July, so a plan started in November leaves room for about two. Your Tax Service Office or a KRA desk at a Huduma Centre can help.
5. Check it worked. KRA credits your ledger with the waived amount and sends an amnesty certificate to your iTax email. KRA’s amnesty page listed some iTax problems, including with certain withholding tax items and fines, for fixing by the end of August 2026. It still listed them when we read it on 31 October 2026, and we found no KRA notice saying they are all fixed. Check your ledger closely and take anything that looks wrong to your Tax Service Office.

Disputed debts need a separate track. KRA says to leave them out of your payment or plan, and to get your Tax Service Office to resolve them before the deadline. If your case is at the Tax Appeals Tribunal or in court, KRA points you to its alternative dispute resolution process, a negotiated settlement. If you also need a tax compliance certificate while you pay, KRA expects your debts to be cleared or on an approved payment plan first.

Deadlines and penalties

• Last date, 31 December 2026: you must apply and pay all outstanding principal tax not later than this date. Tax Procedures Act (Cap. 469B), section 37E(3)(b), as amended by the Finance Act 2026, section 45 (assented 23 June 2026, in force 1 July 2026). The law says “applies”, but KRA’s guidelines say iTax grants the waiver automatically once the principal is paid, with no separate application.
• What is covered: interest, penalties and fines that built up to 31 December 2025: section 37E(3)(a). If you had already paid all your principal tax before that date, the waiver is automatic: section 37E(1) and KRA’s amnesty FAQs, 21 July 2026.
• Conditions in the law: the amnesty is granted once, you must not incur a further tax debt, and you must give a written undertaking to settle what you owe: section 37E(3)(b). KRA says accepting the terms in the online plan form commits you to pay by the deadline. Neither the law nor KRA’s FAQs and guidelines say whether someone who used an earlier amnesty round can use this one, so if you did, confirm that point with KRA.
• What happens if you miss it: any principal tax still unpaid after 31 December 2026 attracts interest and penalties with no amnesty: section 37E(4). KRA also says interest and penalties keep building during the amnesty and become fully recoverable once it closes: FAQs, 21 July 2026.
• Not covered: customs duties under the East African Community customs law, and all tax, penalties and interest arising from 1 January 2026: FAQs, 21 July 2026. KRA’s guidelines also exclude agency revenues, which is money KRA collects for other bodies, and fines for offences that do not arise from a tax debt. Interest, penalties and fines you had already paid before the amnesty was reintroduced are not covered either.
• Shortfall and avoidance penalties: neither section 37E nor KRA’s FAQs and guidelines deal with these specifically. If you face either penalty, confirm the position with KRA.
• After the amnesty: KRA says other waivers ended on 1 July 2025, except for system errors or a wrong obligation: FAQs, 21 July 2026. The law now lets KRA waive penalty or interest of up to KES 2 million caused by an electronic tax system error: section 89(5B), added by the Finance Act 2026, section 49.
• Standard charges on 2026 debts: a 5 percent late payment penalty (section 83A) and interest of 1 percent per month (section 38).

Common mistakes

• Waiting for December. Payment plans, reconciliations and disputes all take time. The law’s last date is 31 December 2026, so do not leave payment to the last day.
• Planning past the deadline. A plan that runs into January does not earn the waiver on what remains unpaid.
• Assuming it is automatic. It is automatic only if you have no principal tax left. If you owe principal, nothing happens until you pay it.
• Forgetting 2026. Debts from 1 January 2026 stay fully payable, and the law bars new tax debts as a condition. Keep this year’s returns and payments current.