A Kenyan business's tax calendar month by month
The Kenyan tax and payroll dates that fall every month and every year, why Achekam's calendar may leave some out, and how to build your own reminder list.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya
Kenyan tax deadlines cluster. Most of the month is quiet, and then the first and third weeks fill up with returns and payments to three or four different bodies. Miss the pattern and you find out from a penalty notice. Learn it once and it becomes routine.
This article lays the calendar out in the order it arrives, at the time of writing: the payroll dates early in the month, the VAT and withholding tax dates around the 20th, the instalment months, and the yearly returns. It then explains why Achekam's own filing calendar may not show every one of them, and how to build a reminder list you can trust.
Early in the month: payroll by the 9th
Three payroll remittances share the same date, the 9th of the following month:
- PAYE, filed on the P10 return on iTax and paid to KRA;
- NSSF contributions, 6% from the employee and 6% from the employer on pensionable pay up to KES 108,000, remitted to the NSSF;
- SHIF, 2.75% of gross pay with a KES 300 monthly minimum, remitted to the Social Health Authority.
The Affordable Housing Levy runs on a slightly different clock. KRA collects it within 9 working days after the month end, so its last day moves each month with weekends and public holidays.
The NITA levy, KES 50 per employee per month paid by the employer, follows NITA's own guidance on how and when it is paid. Do not copy "the 9th" onto it from the other payroll lines.
Around the 20th: VAT and withholding tax
- VAT: a Kenyan VAT return is due by the 20th day after the end of the month.
- Withholding tax: tax withheld from suppliers is remitted by the 20th of the following month.
For a VAT-registered business that also withholds tax on consultants or contractors, the 20th is the second pressure point of the month. Prepare both from the same closed month of books so the figures tell the same story.
The instalment months
Companies pay instalment tax on the 20th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th and 12th months of their own financial year. For a company with a January year start, those dates land in April, June, September and December, on top of the monthly VAT and withholding tax due the same day. For a July year start, they land in October, December, March and June.
Each instalment is based on the lower of 110% of the previous year's tax or the tax on this year's estimate. From 1 July 2026, individuals with employment income only are exempt from instalment tax; companies are not.
Once a year: company and individual returns
- Corporation tax return: due within 6 months after the company's year end. A December year end gives a June deadline; a June year end gives a December one.
- Individual returns: due by 30 June. From 1 January 2027 this moves to 30 April, first for the 2026 year of income. Employees file their own, but they need their P9A from you first, and directors and owners with business income file too.
KRA summarises the Finance Act 2026 changes, with their effective dates and what taxpayers need to do, on its page explaining what the Finance Act 2026 means for you. It is worth a read each time a Finance Act passes, because dates like the individual return deadline do move.
How the different years line up (the calendar year for staff, the company's own year, the government's July year) is explained in Kenyan tax years for companies, staff and government.
Deadlines Achekam leaves out, and why
Achekam's filing calendar works from approved rules, with each deadline set to the end of the day in Africa/Nairobi. It leaves out any deadline whose rule is still awaiting approval or is contested, and says why it has done so. A missing date is therefore a signal, not an all-clear: it means Achekam is not yet willing to compute that date, not that nothing is due.
There is a second trap. The obligations list on the Tax Dashboard is sample data, and obligations added there are not saved. Do not use it as your calendar. It will look plausible and may be wrong for your business.
Building your own reminder list
Until every rule you rely on is approved in Achekam, keep a reminder list of your own. A simple version:
| When | What | Paid or filed to |
|---|---|---|
| By the 9th | PAYE (P10) | KRA |
| By the 9th | NSSF | NSSF |
| By the 9th | SHIF | Social Health Authority |
| Within 9 working days after month end | Affordable Housing Levy | KRA |
| As NITA's guidance states | NITA levy | NITA |
| By the 20th | VAT return | KRA |
| By the 20th | Withholding tax | KRA |
| 20th of months 4, 6, 9 and 12 | Instalment tax | KRA |
| Within 6 months after year end | Corporation tax return | KRA |
| 30 June (30 April from 2027) | Individual returns | KRA |
Then:
- Put each line in a shared calendar with a reminder a week before.
- Name one person responsible for each line, and one person who checks.
- Add the dates of your own instalments, counted from your year start.
- Review the list whenever a Finance Act passes or KRA announces a change.
- Compare it with Achekam's calendar each quarter and note any line Achekam leaves out, with its reason.
Each payroll line carries its own cost when it is late; the details are in late SHIF, Housing Levy and payroll remittances. If you also trade in Nigeria, its calendar works differently; see a Nigerian business's tax calendar.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
