The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has clarified which taxpayers will be required to file their returns by April 30 from 2027 following changes introduced under the Finance Act 2026.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a notice, KRA said the new April 30 deadline will apply only to individuals filing nil returns and those earning employment income. It will not apply to all taxpayers, including those engaged in business or self-employment.

“The 30th April deadline applies to individual[s] with Nil returns or employment income only,” KRA said.

The clarification followed an earlier announcement by the authority that the tax filing deadline would be moved to April 30 under changes introduced by the Finance Act 2026.

📌 What You Need to Know

Meaning that both individual taxpayers and self-employed taxpayers will have until April 30 to file their annual income tax returns, replacing the June 30 deadline.

"The Finance Act 2026 has moved the deadline for filing Individual Income Tax Returns from the usual June 30 to April 30 from 2027 onwards," KRA announced

However, some taxpayers raised concerns over the interpretation of the new filing timeline, which was initially understood to affect individual taxpayers more broadly.

They questioned how the new deadline would affect Kenyans earning income through partnerships, arguing that partners may require financial information from their partnership to complete their individual income tax returns accurately.

For instance, where a partnership earns Ksh20 million and makes a profit of Ksh8 million after expenses, the profit is allocated among the partners and forms part of their individual taxable income.

The expert questioned how partners would be expected to file their individual returns by April 30 if the partnership has until June 30 to submit its return, raising concerns about whether the filing will be done accurately as required.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke