The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has launched the third cycle of its tax amnesty programme, offering millions of taxpayers a fresh opportunity to clear historical tax liabilities without paying penalties, interest or fines while helping the government recover much-needed revenue.
The six-month programme, which runs from July 1 to December 31, 2026, was reintroduced through the Finance Act, 2026. It grants a 100 percent waiver of penalties, interest and fines on tax debts accrued up to December 31, 2025, provided taxpayers meet the stipulated conditions.
The initiative builds on two previous tax amnesty programmes that enabled KRA to recover Sh80.9 billion in principal tax while regularising thousands of taxpayers who had fallen out of the tax system.
“The amnesty window opens on July 1, 2026 and closes strictly on December 31, 2026,” KRA said on Friday.
“This builds on the success of the previous two amnesty cycles, which successfully recovered Sh80.9 billion in principal tax payments while regularising thousands of taxpayers.”
Who qualifies?
The programme comes days after the June 30 annual tax return filing deadline, offering relief to taxpayers who failed to file returns on time, partly because of intermittent disruptions to KRA’s iTax platform.
Taxpayers with no outstanding principal tax but who incurred late filing penalties will automatically receive waivers once they submit all outstanding returns.
Similarly, taxpayers who had fully settled their principal tax liabilities by December 31, 2025 will automatically qualify for a waiver of all related penalties and interest without submitting a formal application.
Those with unpaid principal taxes can still benefit by settling the outstanding amount during the amnesty period, after which the related penalties and interest will be written off.
Taxpayers unable to make a lump-sum payment may instead apply for a structured payment plan through the iTax system. However, all principal tax must be paid by December 31, 2026 to qualify for the waiver.
Tax liabilities arising on or after January 1, 2026 are excluded from the programme and remain fully payable.
Revenue boost
The latest amnesty is the third since Kenya introduced tax forgiveness programmes to improve voluntary compliance, widen the tax base and recover revenue that might otherwise remain tied up in disputed or dormant tax accounts.
While the immediate objective is to ease the financial burden on businesses and individuals with accumulated penalties, the government also views the programme as a key compliance tool.
Rather than relying solely on enforcement, the amnesty is intended to encourage taxpayers to regularise their affairs, update their tax records and return to the formal tax system, ultimately expanding future revenue collection.
The programme also comes as pressure on revenue collection intensifies.
Despite growth in collections, KRA has consistently fallen short of its ambitious revenue targets. By the end of March 2026, the authority had collected Sh2.038 trillion against a target of Sh2.122 trillion, leaving a shortfall of about Sh84 billion. Exchequer revenue stood at Sh1.834 trillion against a target of Sh1.921 trillion.
The latest tax amnesty is expected to complement KRA’s broader compliance strategy at a time when the government has avoided introducing major new taxes ahead of next year’s General Election.
KRA has urged taxpayers to take advantage of the six-month window rather than wait until the deadline, warning that penalties and interest will once again become payable in full after December 31, 2026.
The authority has also encouraged taxpayers involved in active disputes to use its Alternative Dispute Resolution framework to settle principal tax liabilities and qualify for the amnesty.
