Kenyan individual returns: 30 June, then 30 April
When Kenyan individual tax returns are due, why the deadline moves from 30 June to 30 April for the 2026 year of income, and how to plan the season.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in Kenya
For years, Kenyan firms have planned the individual tax season around one date: 30 June. Employees, sole traders, landlords and directors all filed by then, and the last fortnight of June was when the backlog cleared.
That changes for the next season. From 1 January 2027 the deadline moves to 30 April, first for the 2026 year of income. Two months come off the season, and they come off the end, which is exactly where most firms have been finishing. This article explains the change, what stays the same, and how to plan a season that ends in April.
Individuals use the calendar year
In Kenya the individual tax year is the calendar year. The government's financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June, and companies use their own 12-month year, but an individual's year of income always runs from January to December.
So the return for the 2026 year of income covers income earned from 1 January to 31 December 2026, and it is the first return affected by the earlier deadline.
30 June for now
Kenyan individual tax returns are due by 30 June. For the 2025 year of income, that date applied as usual, with returns due by 30 June 2026.
That season also carried a one-time concession. From 1 January 2026, KRA checks declared income and expenses against eTIMS, withholding tax and customs data. For 2025 returns, a concession allowed details of expenses not backed by eTIMS invoices to be uploaded to iTax. KRA's notice on filing 2025 income tax returns sets out the 30 June 2026 deadline and that one-time allowance, which ends from the 2026 year of income.
30 April from 2027
The deadline moves to 30 April from 1 January 2027, first for the 2026 year of income. The 2026 returns are therefore due by 30 April 2027.
Two changes land together for individuals with business or rental expenses:
- The season is shorter.
- From the 2026 year of income, every expense needs an eTIMS invoice. Since 1 January 2024, business expenses not supported by an eTIMS invoice are disallowed for income tax, and the 2025 concession is not repeated.
A sole trader who arrives in April with a shoebox of receipts, some without eTIMS invoices, will have both less time and less room. Expenses at risk without eTIMS explains what to look for.
There is one easing for some individuals. From 1 July 2026, individuals whose only income is employment income are exempt from instalment tax.
Planning the season
Bringing the season forward is mostly a matter of starting the client conversation earlier.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Now, in the last quarter of 2026 | Tell individual clients the new date, and that eTIMS invoices are needed for every expense |
| January 2027 | Request P9 forms, rental schedules and expense records as soon as the year closes |
| February | Prepare returns for clients with simple employment income |
| March | Prepare returns with business, rental or investment income |
| By mid-April | Review, client approval and filing, leaving a margin before 30 April |
Group clients by complexity and file the simple ones early. Every employee-only return filed in February is one fewer in the April queue.
Filing on iTax and recording it
Kenyan returns are filed on iTax. Achekam does not file Nigerian or Kenyan returns: a person files on iTax and uploads the portal's receipt for someone else to verify.
Know the limits before the season starts. Once its rules are approved, Achekam computes Kenyan corporation tax, instalment tax, VAT, withholding tax, turnover tax, capital gains tax and stamp duty. That list does not include an individual's annual income tax return, so prepare those in the tools you use today. Staff can open Kenyan tax profiles and start returns that move through prepare, review and approve by different people, which suits the company and VAT work in the same season.
On recording filings: no role receives the Kenyan filing permission by default, and a firm grants it to named people only. The research behind these articles found no screen that grants it, so recording a filing may be unreachable. Test it with one named person before the season, and if it cannot be granted, keep each iTax acknowledgement on the client's file with a note of who filed and when.
Whatever the system, keep a simple filing log for the season: the client, the year of income, the date filed, who filed, and where the iTax acknowledgement is kept. When a client later asks for proof of filing, or a tax compliance certificate application stalls because a return appears outstanding, that log answers the question in minutes rather than hours.
Clients who also run a company
Many individual clients are directors or shareholders of companies the firm also serves. Their personal returns often depend on figures from the company: directors' fees, dividends, loan accounts. With the individual deadline moving to 30 April and company returns still due six months after each company's year end, the company figures for a 31 December company may not be final when the director's return is due. Agree with those clients early which figures will be used, and diary the company work so that it feeds the personal returns in time. For the company side, see Kenyan instalment tax and the company return.
A letter to clients this month
Write a short note to every individual client now: the 2026 return is due by 30 April 2027, every expense needs an eTIMS invoice, and documents should reach the firm in January. Then set your internal deadline for the last return a fortnight before the legal one.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
