About 73 percent of Kenyans targeted by the taxman have filed tax returns ahead of the June 30 deadline, data from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) shows.
Failing to file KRA returns on time is detrimental to employees. KRA imposes penalty for those who fail to file returns by 30th June of each year.
Under the Tax Procedures Act of 2015, the KRA has powers to order employers to deduct the penalties and tax dues from workers’ salaries.
Individual taxpayers such as employees are currently fined Sh2,000 or five percent of the annual tax payable for the preceding year, whichever is higher.
Companies, on the other hand, face a penalty of Sh20,000 or five percent of the tax payable in the year the return is meant to capture, or whichever is higher.
TSC CIRCULAR NO:7/2023 ON KRA ITAX
TO: ALL TEACHERS
ALL SECRETARIAT STAFF
FILING OF INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX RETURNS FOR THE YEAR 2022
In compliance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act, all TSC employees are required to file their individual income tax returns for the year 2022 through the KRA online iTax platform (https://itax.kra.go.ke) by 30th June 2023.
To facilitate filing of the returns, employees can download their Tax Deduction Cards (P9 Forms) on the TSC T-pay portal.
In case of any challenges in filing the returns, you may seek assistance from TSC Accounts Division (PAYE Section) through the following contacts (020) 289-2000 Ext:2401/2382 or 0722 208 552/0777 208 552, or email us at info@tsc.go.ke.
You may also visit KRA Service Centers across the country, for any assistance or call any of the following contacts,+254(020)4999999/+254(0711)099999 or email callcentre@kra.go.ke.
DR. NANCY NJERI MACHARI, CBS
SECRETARY/CHIEF EXECUTIVE
The KRA data released Thursday shows that more than 4.4 million taxpayers had filed returns by June 20 against a target of six million taxpayers.
The taxman says it has been processing more than 120,000 filings daily and estimates that daily filing will increase to 500,000 as the deadline nears.
“4.41 million taxpayers have filed their returns representing a 15 percent growth compared to the same period in 2022. This includes individual and non-individual taxpayers as well as resident and non-resident taxpayers,” said the taxman Thursday.
The taxman has failed to meet revenue targets in recent years on tax defaulters and a small tax bracket that does not include majority of the self-employed and those working in the informal sector.
KRA missed its revenue collection targets by Sh27 billion in three months to December amid President William Ruto’s aggressive push to weed out tax evaders and boost receipts.
Tax collections from five major streams—payroll, corporation, VAT, excise and import duty — in the three months to December amounted to Sh466.46 billion against a target of Sh493.11 billion.
Other revenues including investment, fines, levies and forfeitures trailed its target by Sh6.16 billion with a collection of Sh33.10 billion in the quarter.
The Treasury plans to increase tax collection by Sh274.1 billion, or 14.29 percent, to Sh2.19 trillion in the current fiscal year ending June and cut borrowing.