- The Kenyan government has introduced a tax amnesty through the Finance Act 2023, covering interest and penalties on tax debts.
- Using any browser, log in to ‘iTax’, then go to the ‘Debt and enforcement’ menu and select ‘iTax Amnesty Application’.
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A tax amnesty is a limited-time offer by the government to a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount, in exchange for forgiveness of a tax liability (including interest and penalties), relating to a previous tax period (s), as well as freedom from legal prosecution.
The Kenyan government has introduced a tax amnesty through the Finance Act 2023, covering interest and penalties on tax debts.
According to KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga, the taxman has lined up a myriad of activities aimed at "giving back to the society and honouring compliant taxpayers."
“In the spirit of giving back to taxpayers, we are calling on those who have accrued interests up to December 2022 to take advantage of our tax amnesty programme and pay up the principal taxes due, so that we can write off the penalties and interests accrued,” Wattanga said last year.
KRA is anticipated to collect approximately Sh50 billion from the tax amnesty programme.
Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u said besides being a means of giving back to society, the amnesty programme is one of the government’s fiscal policy measures aimed at cushioning Kenyans and strengthening economic resilience.
This is on the back of adverse domestic and external headwinds being experienced globally.
The CS said that the government is cognisant of the current changing environment and will continue to support private businesses' capacity to adapt through reforms.
How to apply for Tax Amnesty
Step 1:
Using any browser, log in to ‘iTax’, then go to the ‘Debt and enforcement’ menu and select ‘iTax Amnesty Application’.
Step 2:
Under the section ‘A’, select the respective Tax obligation e.g. Value Added Tax. This will populate the amnesty details for the specific obligation.
Step 3:
Under section ‘B’, propose the number of instalments and instalment frequency. The system shall compute the amount per instalment. Click to agree to the terms and conditions and ‘Submit’ to complete the process.
Step 4:
‘Click’ to agree to the terms and conditions and submit. The iTax system will generate an amnesty application acknowledgement with amnesty and payment plan details.
Step 5:
Generate payment slips for respective tax obligation and tax period through iTax and proceed to pay bank transfer or M-pesa Pay bill 222222.
Step 6:
Once payment has been received in the iTax system shall vacate respective penalties and interest for the period and issue an amnesty certificate.
This amnesty applies to individuals with penalties and interest but no principal taxes owed for periods up to December 31, 2022, and those who pay their outstanding principal tax debt by June 30, 2024.
The guidelines specify eligibility, exclusions, effective dates, and tax liabilities involved, emphasizing that only interest and penalties related to principal taxes up to December 31, 2022, are eligible for remission upon full payment of the principal tax by June 30, 2024.
The tax amnesty began on September 1, 2023, and will run until June 30, 2024.