The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has clarified the new tax filing deadline that will take effect from 2027 following changes introduced through the Finance Act 2026.
KRA said the April 30 deadline will only apply to individuals filing nil returns and those earning employment income.
The clarification means the new deadline will not apply to every individual taxpayer, including those earning income from business or self-employment.
“The 30th April deadline applies to individuals with Nil returns or employment income only,” KRA said in a notice.
The clarification comes after confusion emerged following an earlier announcement that the deadline for filing individual income tax returns would be moved from June 30 to April 30.
Under the new arrangement, employees and individuals with no taxable income will be required to submit their annual returns by April 30 starting in 2027.
Confusion Over Partnerships
The earlier announcement had raised questions among taxpayers, particularly those involved in partnerships.
Concerns were raised over how partners would file their individual returns by April 30 when they may need financial information from their partnerships to calculate their taxable income.
For example, where a partnership makes KSh8 million in profit after expenses, the amount is distributed among the partners and forms part of their individual taxable income.
This raised questions about whether partners would have sufficient information to accurately file their individual returns if the partnership itself continued operating under a June 30 filing deadline.
“Does the new law effectively mean partnerships must also file by April 30 because their partners need the figures for their individual returns?” one tax expert questioned.
KRA has now clarified that the April 30 deadline is specifically for individuals with employment income and those filing nil returns.
Taxpayers earning income through business or other forms of self-employment will therefore not automatically fall under the new April deadline based on the clarification.
New Deadline Takes Effect in 2027
Previously, individual income tax returns were generally due by June 30 each year.
The Finance Act 2026 changed the deadline for the categories covered by the new requirement, bringing it forward to April 30 from 2027.
KRA has urged taxpayers to take note of the changes and adjust their tax filing calendars to avoid missing the applicable deadlines.
The authority’s latest clarification is expected to ease concerns among taxpayers who had interpreted the earlier announcement to mean that all individuals would have to file their returns by April 30.