How to file PAYE with the KRA on iTax: Step-by-Step Employer Walkthrough

Every employer in Kenya must file and pay PAYE to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) by the 9th of each month. All filing is done electronically through KRA's iTax portal. For international operators employing Kenyan staff, iTax registration is the prerequisite everything else depends on, and it requires setup time that is consistently underestimated.

Who Must File

All employers who pay salaries, wages, allowances, or any other form of employment income to employees in Kenya must withhold PAYE and file monthly returns. This applies to resident companies, foreign companies with employees working in Kenya, partnerships, sole proprietors with employees, and most NGOs and international organisations.

The obligation begins with the first payroll payment. A nil return must be filed in months where no employees were paid.

Step 1: Register on iTax

The iTax portal is at itax.kra.go.ke. Before filing, the employer must have an active KRA PIN linked to a registered iTax account.

Requirements

KRA PIN certificate for the company
Company registration documents
Director or authorised signatory details with their individual KRA PINs
Valid email address for portal communications

Registration steps

Go to itax.kra.go.ke and select "New PIN Registration" if the company does not have a PIN.
Complete the registration form with company details, directors, and business activity.
KRA assigns a PIN and sends login credentials to the registered email.
Log in to iTax, complete the taxpayer profile, and activate the PAYE obligation under "Manage Obligations."

Allow 5 to 10 business days for PIN registration and account activation before the first payroll run.

Step 2: Compute PAYE for Each Employee

PAYE is calculated on each employee's taxable pay. Taxable pay is gross employment income less the employee's NSSF contribution (which is deductible before applying the tax bands).

2026 PAYE tax bands (monthly)

Monthly taxable income	Rate
Up to KES 24,000	10%
KES 24,001 to 32,333	25%
KES 32,334 to 500,000	30%
KES 500,001 to 800,000	32.5%
Over KES 800,000	35%

Apply the personal relief of KES 2,400/month as a tax credit after computing gross tax. Every employee is entitled to the personal relief.

Step 3: Prepare the P10 Return Data

The P10 is the Monthly PAYE Return. Prepare the following for each employee:

Employee KRA PIN
Employee name and ID/passport number
Gross salary for the month
Taxable pay (after NSSF deduction)
PAYE withheld
Personal relief applied

For larger payrolls, use KRA's prescribed P10 CSV template (available on the iTax portal under "Downloads") for bulk upload.

Step 4: File the P10 Return on iTax

Manual entry

Log in to iTax at itax.kra.go.ke.
Select "Returns" and then "File Return."
Choose obligation type "PAYE" and select the return period.
Enter per-employee data or upload the completed CSV template.
Review the computed totals — iTax auto-calculates total PAYE due.
Submit. iTax generates an acknowledgement number confirming receipt.

CSV upload (recommended for larger payrolls)

Download the P10 CSV template from the iTax portal.
Populate with all employee records for the month.
Upload via the CSV upload option within the P10 return.
iTax validates the file — correct any errors (missing PINs, date format issues) and re-upload.
Submit once validation passes.

Step 5: Generate and Pay the E-Slip

After submitting the P10 return, iTax generates a payment e-slip with a unique payment reference number.

KRA M-Service (M-Pesa): Lipa na M-Pesa, Paybill number 572572, use the payment reference number as the account number.

KRA Online Payment: Select "Pay" on the e-slip and choose from the available bank payment gateway options.

Commercial bank: Use the e-slip reference number via internet banking or over the counter at an authorised KRA bank.

Payment must clear by the 9th of the following month.

Step 6: Verify Payment Status on iTax

After payment, log in to iTax and check the payment ledger for the PAYE obligation. Payment should appear within 24 to 48 hours. If it does not appear after 48 hours, use the "Payment Registration" function to manually register the payment using the bank transaction reference. Unregistered payments generate penalty notices even when funds have been received.

Annual PAYE Obligations

Obligation	Deadline
P9A tax deduction card (issued to each employee)	30 June
Annual employer return (filed on iTax)	30 June

Common Mistakes

1. Not registering on iTax before the first payroll run. iTax registration takes 5 to 10 business days. Begin setup before or immediately after the employment contract is signed.

2. Using incorrect or missing employee KRA PINs. iTax validates each employee record against the KRA PIN database. Missing or incorrect PINs generate validation errors. Collect and verify employee KRA PINs at onboarding.

3. Not applying the NSSF deduction before computing PAYE. Applying PAYE to full gross salary consistently overwitholds and creates annual reconciliation issues.

4. Not applying personal relief. The KES 2,400/month personal relief is mandatory for every employee. Missing it means every employee is overtaxed by KES 2,400 per month.

5. Paying without referencing the e-slip payment number. Payments without the correct reference are received as unallocated credits. iTax does not auto-match them — a manual payment registration request is required.

Penalties

Failure	Penalty
Late filing	25% of tax due or KES 10,000 (whichever is higher)
Late payment	1% per month on outstanding balance
Failure to deduct PAYE	Employer personally liable for undeducted tax

How Cadana Supports Kenyan Payroll Compliance

Computing monthly PAYE using the correct tax bands and personal relief, generating P10 return data in the iTax-compatible format, and managing the PAYE payment cycle — Cadana's global payroll tax engine handles the full KRA PAYE compliance cycle at the API layer.

Book a demo at cadanapay.com/book-demo to see how it works in practice.

Sources and References

Kenya Revenue Authority — iTax employer portal
KRA — P10 return guide and CSV template
Income Tax Act Cap 470 (Kenya) — PAYE obligations and rates
Finance Act 2023 (Kenya) — Current PAYE band structure

Rates and deadlines current as of April 2026. Verify current PAYE bands against the Finance Act 2025 before filing.