KRA Filing Deadlines: Your Monthly and Yearly Tax Calendar

Each month, PAYE is due by the 9th and VAT, turnover tax and rental income tax by the 20th, while withholding tax is due within five working days of each deduction. Each year, instalment tax falls on the 20th of your 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months, any balance of tax by the end of the 4th month after your year end, and your return by the end of the 6th month for companies or, from 2027, the 4th month for individuals.

What to do

1. Check which taxes apply to you. Your iTax profile shows your registered obligations. Copy only those rows from the tables below.
2. Put every date in one calendar with one named owner. If your year does not end in December, shift the yearly dates to match your own year.
3. Plan to finish a few days early. If a date falls on a weekend or public holiday and you file or pay electronically, the date stays the same. If you do it any other way, it moves back to the previous working day. It never moves forward.
4. Ask early if you need more time to file. Apply at least 15 days before a monthly return is due, or 30 days before an annual one. An extension does not move the payment date.

Deadlines and penalties

The Income Tax Act (ITA) and VAT Act references are to the versions as at 1 July 2026. KRA’s web pages carry no date.

Every month

Deadline	What is due	Who	Source
5 working days after deducting	Withholding income tax, with a return	Anyone who deducts it, including appointed rental agents	ITA s. 35(5) and (3AB)
9th of next month	PAYE return and payment	Employers	KRA PAYE page
9th working day after month end	Affordable Housing Levy	Employers	KRA PAYE page
20th of next month	VAT return and payment	VAT-registered businesses	VAT Act s. 19(2) and 44(1)
20th of next month	Turnover tax return and payment	Turnover tax payers	ITA s. 12C(4) and (8)
20th of next month	Residential rental income tax	Resident landlords in the regime	KRA rental income page

Every year, for a December year end

Deadline	What is due	Who	Source
20 April, 20 June, 20 September, 20 December	Instalment tax, 25 percent each time	Income tax payers, unless an individual’s total tax is KES 40,000 or less. Farmers pay 75 percent in the 9th month and 25 percent in the 12th	ITA s. 12 and Twelfth Schedule; KRA instalment tax page
30 April	Balance of tax	Anyone filing an annual return	ITA s. 92A(1)
30 April, starting 2027	Annual return	All individuals	Finance Act 2026 s. 18, from 1 January 2027
30 June	Annual return	Companies and other non-individuals	Finance Act 2026 s. 18

New: prepopulated returns. KRA may now send you a return already filled in from its own data. It must issue it by the end of January, and you have two months from issue to confirm or change it. Tax Procedures Act (TPA) s. 75, as added by Finance Act 2026 s. 47, in force 1 July 2026.

Nil returns. You may have read that nil returns are due by 31 January 2027. That date is not in the Finance Act 2026. The law says every individual files by 30 April. We found no KRA notice setting a separate nil return date, but we could not check how iTax itself is set up. If you file nil returns, confirm this with KRA, or file in January, which is within either date.

NSSF and SHIF: plan for these too. The NSSF’s employer page says contributions are due by the 9th of the following month. The Social Health Authority says SHIF deductions are due by the 9th of each month, citing the 2024 SHIF regulations. Online guides differ on how these are paid, so confirm the payment channel with each body.

Penalties (TPA as at 1 September 2026):

• Late return, s. 83: PAYE, the higher of 25 percent of the tax or KES 10,000. VAT and excise, the higher of 5 percent or KES 10,000. Turnover tax, KES 1,000. Anything else, including rental and annual income tax returns, the higher of 5 percent or KES 20,000 for companies, or KES 2,000 for individuals.
• Late payment, s. 83A and s. 38: a penalty of 5 percent of the tax, plus interest of 1 percent per month, capped at the amount of the tax.

This calendar leaves out excise duty, non-resident landlords and appointed withholding VAT agents. If any of those apply to you, add their dates.

Common mistakes

• Paying withholding tax on the 20th. Some online guides still say this. The law says five working days after the deduction.
• Thinking April only affects salaried people. Section 18 covers every individual, and KRA’s Finance Act 2026 page lists the self-employed among those affected. You may hear that April applies only to nil and employment-only returns, which does not match the wording of the law. KRA’s page also lists partnerships. If you are self-employed or a partner and hear otherwise, get KRA’s answer in writing.
• Skipping a return because nothing is due. The minimum penalties apply even when there is no tax to pay. Landlords with no rent in a month still file a nil return.
• Mixing up the levy date. The Housing Levy runs on working days. Paying it with PAYE by the 9th keeps you inside the limit.
• Filing without paying. A filed return does not stop the penalty and interest on unpaid tax.