Kenyans can breathe a sigh of relief after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) announced plans to set up more camps across the country to assist those experiencing challenges in filing their tax returns.
KRA officials, who spoke during a routine sensitisation forum on Saturday, May 24, said the mobile clinics would be set up in major towns across the country.
The revenue collectors, while addressing members of the public in Uasin Gishu County, also noted that the mobile clinics would provide Kenyans with the opportunity to file their annual tax returns at zero cost.
According to KRA officials, the mobile clinics will be available until the end of June, with Kenyans urged to take advantage of the free services.
To further ease and hasten the process, KRA announced that it had set up additional tax service desks in populous regions, adding that Huduma centres were also available for Kenyans to file their returns.
"We have availed various places where you can file your returns and get support. You can visit any of our tax service offices across the country. We also have our service desks in the Huduma centres," said a KRA official.
"We have this month and next month to have the mobile clinics in various towns, so you could take advantage of all this set-up and be able to get support to file your returns," he reiterated.
An income tax return is a declaration of one’s income within a year. Every Kenyan with a KRA PIN is required to file income tax, whether or not they received earnings in a specific fiscal year.
Kenyans with no taxable income or salary are required to file nil returns. Nil returns can also be filed by Kenyans whose businesses remained unoperational during the said fiscal year.
During the public engagement in Eldoret town in Uasin Gishu County, KRA disclosed that only 2.4 million Kenyans out of 8.5 million eligible taxpayers had filed their returns, representing only 30 per cent.
The latest announcement comes four days after KRA revealed that it had extended its working hours to allow all taxpayers to file their returns by June 30 this year.
In a notice dated May 20, KRA noted that working hours on all its desks in Huduma centres and tax services centres had been extended for the next 40 days to facilitate faster and easier tax returns filing.
KRA disclosed that all its tax service centres and Huduma Centres in major towns would be open for 12 continuous hours, from 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays. On Saturdays, the offices would open from 9 am to 1 pm and remain closed on Sundays.
However, the rest of the Huduma Centres would operate during normal working hours, from 8 am to 5 pm, and remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Nonetheless, on the final day, KRA announced that its offices would remain open for 17 continuous hours, from 7 am to midnight, to ensure all Kenyans file their income tax returns.
Those seeking to file their returns were urged to do so through the Authority's iTax portal: iTax.kra.go.ke. Those who fail to file their tax returns by June 30 risk a fine of Ksh2000
