🇰🇪 Kenya tax

• On: Taxable employment income (cash pay plus non-cash benefits above KES 5,000 (≈ $39) a month)
• Who: Employers register for PAYE and deduct tax from emoluments
• Limit: KES 288k/yr ≈ $2,220

Employment income is taxed in five bands from 10 percent to 35 percent; PAYE applies to residents and non-residents, and the personal relief of KES 28,800 (≈ $220) a year is granted to resident individuals only. ^{1 2}

Taxed on

Taxable employment income (cash pay plus non-cash benefits above KES 5,000 (≈ $39) a month)

Who it applies to

• Employers register for PAYE and deduct tax from emoluments.

Limits

• KES 288,000 a year (≈ $2,220) · First band taxed at 10 percent; next KES 100,000 (≈ $770) at 25 percent; next KES 5,612,000 (≈ $43,300) at 30 percent; next KES 3,600,000 (≈ $27,800) at 32.5 percent; above KES 9,600,000 (≈ $74,000) at 35 percent.
• KES 28,800 a year (≈ $220) · Personal tax relief.

Visas

Tax is separate from the permit class.

Other taxes

Capital gains tax is 15 percent of the net gain on transfer of property in Kenya, a final tax (gains on Kenyan immovable property, and foreign-entity shares deriving more than 20 percent of value from Kenyan immovable property from 1 July 2023).

Checked against official sources on 12 Oct 2026, some details partly verifiedChange log

• On: Income accrued in or derived from Kenya (Income Tax Act s.3)
• Limit: KES 288k/yr ≈ $2,220

Kenya charges income tax on all income, of residents and non-residents, that accrued in or was derived from Kenya, at progressive rates from 10% to 35%; income arising wholly outside Kenya is outside that charge, except employment or service pay to a resident, which is deemed Kenyan-source wherever the work is done. ^{3 4 1}

Taxed on

Income accrued in or derived from Kenya (Income Tax Act s.3), including amounts paid to a resident person for employment or services rendered in Kenya or outside Kenya (deeming provision). Bands from 1 July 2023: 10% on the first KES 288,000 (≈ $2,220) a year (KES 24,000 (≈ $190) a month), 25% on the next KES 100,000, (≈ $770) 30% on the next KES 5,612,000, (≈ $43,300) 32.5% on the next KES 3,600,000, (≈ $27,800) 35% on income above KES 9,600,000 (≈ $74,000).

Who it applies to

• Resident individuals receive a personal relief of KES 28,800 (≈ $220) a year (KES 2,400 (≈ $19) a month) and an insurance relief of 15% of premiums up to KES 60,000 (≈ $460) a year; non-residents get no personal relief.

Exclusions

• Non-residents are taxed on employment income paid by a Kenyan-resident employer or a Kenyan permanent establishment.

Limits

• KES 288,000 a year (≈ $2,220) · Upper limit of the 10% band (KES 24,000 (≈ $190) monthly).
• KES 9,600,000 a year (≈ $74,000) · Income above this amount is taxed at 35%.

Days in the country

• At least 183 days in year of income · Individual with no permanent home in Kenya is resident if present 183 days or more in the year of income.
• More than 122 days in year of income and each of the two preceding years (average) · Alternative test for an individual with no permanent home in Kenya: present in the year and averaging more than 122 days per year over the three years.

Tax residence

An individual with a permanent home in Kenya who was present for any period in the year of income is resident; otherwise the 183-day or 122-day-average tests apply.

Visas

Residence or work permits do not set tax residence; the permanent-home and presence tests in the Income Tax Act do.

Checked against official sources on 10 Oct 2026Change log