Salaried Kenyans will have two months less to file their annual income tax returns after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) introduced a new filing deadline under the Finance Act 2026.
The tax authority has moved the deadline from June 30 to April 30, giving individual taxpayers a shorter window to submit their returns.
The changes will take effect on January 1, 2027, and will first apply to income earned between January and December 2026.
This means employees whose salaries are taxed through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system will be required to file their 2026 income tax returns by April 30, 2027, instead of the usual June 30 deadline.
The change is part of reforms introduced under the Finance Act 2026, which amended provisions of the Income Tax Act to introduce new timelines for filing annual returns.
KRA Explains Who Will Be Affected
The revised filing calendar covers individual taxpayers, including salaried employees, self-employed persons and partnerships.
KRA has advised taxpayers to start preparing their records early, confirm their employment and income details and review their returns before submission.
The authority has also introduced provisions allowing it to issue pre-populated tax returns using information already available in its systems.
These may include details from employers, withholding tax records and other available tax information.
However, taxpayers will still be required to check the information and make corrections where necessary before submitting their returns.
Companies Retain June 30 Deadline
Despite the changes, companies and other non-individual taxpayers will retain their existing filing timelines.
Under the new provisions, they will continue submitting their returns by the last day of the sixth month after the end of their accounting period.
For companies whose financial year ends in December, the deadline will therefore remain June 30 of the following year.
The new filing calendar is intended to spread out tax return submissions and reduce the pressure that usually builds up on KRA’s iTax platform towards the end of June.
Treasury officials have previously explained that the staggered deadlines will help avoid the last-minute rush experienced during the annual filing period.
What Happens If Kenyans Miss the New Deadline?
Taxpayers who fail to submit their returns within the prescribed period risk penalties under existing tax laws.
For individual taxpayers, the late filing penalty is 5 per cent of the tax due or Ksh2,000, whichever is higher.
KRA has encouraged taxpayers to familiarise themselves with the new dates and avoid waiting until the last minute to submit their returns.
The changes mark a departure from the longstanding June 30 deadline that has applied to individual taxpayers for years.
