KRA releases penalty guidelines for 2.3m Kenyans who failed to file returns

Over 2.3 million taxpayers face a penalty of Sh50,000 for failing to file their 2015 tax returns. This is after the deadline lapsed on Thursday with only 1.7 million taxpayers beating the deadline.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has at the same time ruled out an extension of the filing period.

According to KRA, taxpayers will pay Sh1,000 each day they fail to file their 2015 tax returns, but the penalty is capped at a maximum of Sh50,000.

By the June 30th deadline, only 1.7 million taxpayers registered on the iTax system had filed their returns out of the over four million registered taxpayers.

According to KRA, companies that fail to file employment returns will pay a penalty of 25 percent of the tax due or Sh10,000 depending on which is higher.

For turnover tax return the penalty has been set at Sh5,000 while all other cases will pay a penalty of 35 percent of the tax payable.

“Taxpayers should seek to know the specific penalty that applies to them,” KRA said in a statement.

The taxman has, however, encouraged taxpayers to continue filing their returns.

“ iTax  Support  Centers  will  continue  to  operate  under  normal  working  hours  to  assist those filing their returns late,” the authority said.