The government has reintroduced tax amnesty to save taxpayers from penalties in connection with unpaid taxes and other associated offences.
The Tax Amnesty Programme has been introduced through the Tax Procedures (Amendment) Act, 2024. It was last introduced in 2023.
This programme waives penalties, interest, and fines on unpaid taxes, helping taxpayers to sort out their tax records without extra charges.
It began on December 27, 2024, and will be closing on June 30, 2025. The taxpayers are urged to take advantage of the open window and sort their taxes out.
Per the guidelines from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the amnesty applies to taxpayers who have penalties but do not owe any principal taxes up to December 31, 2023.
The programme is also applicable to a person who has principal tax accrued up to December 31, 2023, but pays the outstanding principal tax debts by June 30, 2025.
“All taxpayers with self-assessment or amended assessments relating to any period up to December 31, 2023, but raised after December 31, 2023, shall qualify, as long as the outstanding principal taxes raised in the assessment are paid before June 30, 2025,” the taxpayer guidelines read.
The tax amnesty states that the payment plan agreement shall not extend beyond June 30, 2025, and any penalties and interest relating to the principal tax under the tax amnesty period that remain unpaid after 30th June 2025, shall not qualify for amnesty.
Applying for the Tax amnesty is done through the iTax System in six steps. The first step of applying is logging onto the iTax, proceeding to the Debt and Enforcement tab, then selecting the iTax Amnesty Application.
In section A, select the respective tax obligations, and the amnesty details for the specific obligation will be populated. If undisputed, click 'add all' for all obligations and move on to section B.
Under Section B, it proposes the number of instalments and instalment frequency. The system will then compute the amount per instalment. Click to agree with the terms and conditions and then click again to submit in order to complete the process.
The iTax system will generate an amnesty application acknowledgement with amnesty and payment plan details.
You will, however, be required to generate the payment slip for the respective tax obligation and tax period through iTax and proceed to pay through a bank transfer or the consolidated Paybill number 222222.
Once the payment has been received in the iTax system, shall vacate respective penalties and interest for the period, and an amnesty certificate will be issued.
