Kenya Revenue Authority Targets 8 Million Taxpayers To File Returns Ahead of June 30 Deadline

• The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) expects all taxpayers in Kenya to file their returns ahead of the annual June 30 deadline; failure to do so attracts various penalties as prescribed by law
• In the year ended June 2024, KRA was hoping that nine million taxpayers would file their returns, but only eight million complied
• In the year ending June 2025, KRA is hoping that eight million taxpayers will file returns before the deadline

Bonface Kanyamwaya, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has over 10 years of experience in finance, economics, business, markets, and aviation, offering insights into Kenyan and global trends.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is targeting eight million taxpayers to file tax returns ahead of the June 30 deadline.

The target is slightly less than the 2024 target by one million. By the June 30, 2024, deadline, KRA was hoping that nine million taxpayers would file their returns.

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During the period under review, only eight million taxpayers complied.

Those who filed their returns were slightly higher compared to 6.3 million taxpayers who filed their returns in 2023.

"Kenyans must know that the deadline is prescribed by the law, and this cannot be changed unless the law is amended," said KRA in response to queries from TUKO.co.ke on Thursday, May 29.

Non-filing of tax return attracts fine

In Kenya, failure to meet the tax filing deadline is a crime and attracts a fine of KSh 2,000 or 5% of the individual tax liability, whichever is higher.

Companies, on the other hand, are expected to pay KSh 10,000 or 5% of the tax payable in the year the return is filed, whichever is higher.

Only 2.5 million taxpayers had filed their returns by Monday, June 26.

The number means that 5.5 million taxpayers have not filed their tax returns, with one month remaining until the June 30 deadline.

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Kenyans are known to wait until the last minute to file their returns with the taxman.

How KRA is facilitating more Kenyans to file tax returns

To facilitate more taxpayers to file their returns, KRA has been extending working hours at its service centres and select Huduma Centres.

For instance, it recently extended working hours at its tax services centres from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday to Friday. The taxman also said it will operate on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm and remain closed on Sundays.

KRA also extended working hours at select Huduma Centres to work from 7 am to 7 pm, Monday to Friday, remaining closed on weekends. Other Huduma Centres operate from 8 am to 5 pm and remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

KRA misses revenue collection target

KRA missed its tax collection target in the 10 months to April 2024 by KSh 77 billion.

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The taxman said that its tax collection target was KSh 2.189 trillion during the period under review, but it only collected KSh 2.112 trillion.

The taxman said that tax revenue collected on behalf of the national government was equivalent to 95% of the target of KSh 2.006 trillion for the 10-month period.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.

Source: TUKO.co.ke