The Kenya Income Authority (KRA) has launched the third cycle of its tax amnesty programme, providing tens of millions of taxpayers a recent alternative to clear historic tax liabilities with out paying penalties, curiosity or fines whereas serving to the federal government get well much-needed income.
The six-month programme, which runs from July 1 to December 31, 2026, was reintroduced by the Finance Act, 2026. It grants a one hundred pc waiver of penalties, curiosity and fines on tax money owed accrued as much as December 31, 2025, supplied taxpayers meet the stipulated situations.
The initiative builds on two earlier tax amnesty programmes that enabled KRA to get well Sh80.9 billion in principal tax whereas regularising 1000’s of taxpayers who had fallen out of the tax system.
“The amnesty window opens on July 1, 2026 and closes strictly on December 31, 2026,” KRA stated on Friday.
“This builds on the success of the earlier two amnesty cycles, which efficiently recovered Sh80.9 billion in principal tax funds whereas regularising 1000’s of taxpayers.”
Who qualifies?
The programme comes days after the June 30 annual tax return submitting deadline, providing aid to taxpayers who didn’t file returns on time, partly due to intermittent disruptions to KRA’s iTax platform.
Taxpayers with no excellent principal tax however who incurred late submitting penalties will mechanically obtain waivers as soon as they submit all excellent returns.
Equally, taxpayers who had totally settled their principal tax liabilities by December 31, 2025 will mechanically qualify for a waiver of all associated penalties and curiosity with out submitting a proper software.
These with unpaid principal taxes can nonetheless profit by settling the excellent quantity throughout the amnesty interval, after which the associated penalties and curiosity can be written off.
Taxpayers unable to make a lump-sum cost might as an alternative apply for a structured cost plan by the iTax system. Nonetheless, all principal tax have to be paid by December 31, 2026 to qualify for the waiver.
Tax liabilities arising on or after January 1, 2026 are excluded from the programme and stay totally payable.
Income enhance
The newest amnesty is the third since Kenya launched tax forgiveness programmes to enhance voluntary compliance, widen the tax base and get well income which may in any other case stay tied up in disputed or dormant tax accounts.
Whereas the fast goal is to ease the monetary burden on companies and people with collected penalties, the federal government additionally views the programme as a key compliance instrument.
Fairly than relying solely on enforcement, the amnesty is meant to encourage taxpayers to regularise their affairs, replace their tax information and return to the formal tax system, finally increasing future income assortment.
The programme additionally comes as strain on income assortment intensifies.
Regardless of progress in collections, KRA has constantly fallen wanting its bold income targets. By the tip of March 2026, the authority had collected Sh2.038 trillion towards a goal of Sh2.122 trillion, leaving a shortfall of about Sh84 billion. Exchequer income stood at Sh1.834 trillion towards a goal of Sh1.921 trillion.
The newest tax amnesty is predicted to enrich KRA’s broader compliance technique at a time when the federal government has averted introducing main new taxes forward of subsequent yr’s Normal Election.
KRA has urged taxpayers to make the most of the six-month window slightly than wait till the deadline, warning that penalties and curiosity will as soon as once more turn into payable in full after December 31, 2026.
The authority has additionally inspired taxpayers concerned in energetic disputes to make use of its Various Dispute Decision framework to settle principal tax liabilities and qualify for the amnesty.
