How to Get a Tax Compliance Certificate When You Have Arrears

You can get a tax compliance certificate (TCC), KRA’s proof that your taxes are in order, while you still have arrears, by putting all the debts you accept on a KRA payment plan and paying the first instalment. Your returns, eTIMS registration and VAT position must also be in order, because a payment plan only deals with the money you owe.

What to do

1. File every missing return. KRA expects all applicable returns to be filed, including those for periods where you had nothing to pay.
2. Check your iTax ledger. List what you owe under each tax. Separate debts you accept from debts you believe are wrong. For a wrong debt, take your proof, such as a payment receipt or an objection decision, to the debt office at your Tax Service Office. KRA’s guidelines do not say outright whether it will issue a TCC while a debt under objection stays off your plan, so confirm that point with the debt office before you rely on it.
3. Sort out eTIMS and VAT. If you earn anything other than a salary, KRA requires you to be registered on eTIMS, its electronic invoicing system, before it issues a TCC. You must also be VAT compliant, including on the VAT Special Table where this applies to you.
4. Apply for the payment plan on iTax. Go to the Payments menu and select Apply Payment Plan. Put all your taxes into one plan. A plan of up to six equal monthly instalments is approved automatically. For more than six, apply through your Tax Service Office with your reasons and supporting documents.
5. Pay the first instalment, then ask for the TCC. Give KRA proof of payment together with the plan. KRA’s guidelines say an officer checks that all your debts are included and then helps you complete the TCC application on iTax.

If part of your arrears dates from 2025 or earlier, read our tax amnesty guide first. You may be able to get penalties and interest on those years wiped, but only if that tax is fully paid by 31 December 2026. Any of it still unpaid after that date gets no waiver, so a plan that runs longer loses the waiver on what remains.

Deadlines and penalties

• No automatic right to a TCC: the law says KRA “may” issue a certificate once you meet the conditions it sets, valid for the period stated on it. KRA may also revoke it if you ignore a tax demand or break a tax law. Tax Procedures Act (Cap. 469B), section 72, as at 1 September 2026.
• Validity: twelve months. KRA Tax Compliance Certificate page (undated).
• Conditions: filed returns, paid taxes, cleared debts or an approved payment plan, eTIMS and VAT compliance. KRA Enhanced TCC FAQs (undated).
• Plan limit: the instalment period under KRA’s automated plan cannot exceed six months. KRA public notice, 10 November 2025.
• Processing times: plans of up to six instalments are approved on submission. Longer plans are decided within two working days of KRA receiving all your documents, and on those plans the TCC is processed within two working days of your first instalment. KRA Taxpayer Guidelines on the Automatic Payment Plan (file created 11 September 2026; no date on the document).
• Default: you default if an instalment is not paid by the end of the month it fell due. The plan is cancelled automatically, and KRA can bring back agency notices, which tell your bank or customers to pay KRA directly, and withdraw your TCC. Same guidelines.
• Instalments allowed under section 33: if KRA let you pay by instalments under this section and you miss one, the whole balance becomes payable at once. Tax Procedures Act, section 33(4).
• Interest keeps running: a payment plan does not stop late payment interest from the original due date: section 33(5). The rate is 1 percent per month: section 38. The late payment penalty is 5 percent: section 83A.
• Amnesty date: principal tax for periods up to 31 December 2025 must be paid by 31 December 2026 to qualify. Section 37E, as amended by the Finance Act 2026, section 45, in force 1 July 2026.

Common mistakes

• Leaving a debt off the plan. KRA’s guidelines say you are not eligible for a TCC unless all valid debts are included. Debts under different taxes belong in one plan.
• Applying with returns outstanding. A payment plan does not cover missing returns. File them first.
• Forgetting eTIMS. Being up to date on tax alone is not enough if you are in business. KRA treats eTIMS registration as a separate condition.
• Paying the plan but missing new taxes. Your current VAT, PAYE and other taxes keep falling due while the plan runs. Falling behind on them can put your certificate at risk.
• Treating the TCC as the finish line. The tender or contract you won does not protect your certificate. A missed instalment can lead to it being withdrawn, so track your plan every month, as KRA asks.
• Assuming the plan wipes penalties. A payment plan only spreads what you owe. Penalties and interest fall away only if you qualify for the amnesty or another waiver.