KRA Announces July 5 Extension on Filing Taxes; How to Get Penalty Waiver

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced a 5-day waiver for Kenyans who missed filing their KRA returns by June 30, 2025.

In a statement dated July 1, 2025, the taxman stated that it will waive the penalties and interest for individuals who would file their returns by July 5, 2025.

According to the authority, the waiver was necessitated by the technical challenges that were experienced by Kenyans who were filing their tax returns on June 30, the deadline.

The waiver will only apply to returns covering January to December 2024.

"Due to the high volume of taxpayers attempting to file their returns on 30th June, 2025, the system experienced technical difficulties, which disrupted the normal functioning of the return filing and payment services, preventing a number of taxpayers from submitting their returns on time," read the statement in part.

"Cognisant of the challenges faced by taxpayers during the period and taking into account the provisions of Section 89 (5a)(b) of the Tax Procedures Act, KRA assures the public that we will undertake to waive any interest or penalties that may accrue due to late filing of the end year returns for the year of income ending 31st December, 2024, provided that such returns are filed by 5th July, 2025."

Initially, KRA had extended the deadline to July 1. However, despite the deadline extension, Kenyans were still experiencing difficulties in submitting their returns.

Kenyans who file their KRA returns after the deadline are usually penalized by being required to pay 5% of the tax due or Ksh2,000 whichever is higher.

"The late payment penalty is 5% of the tax due, and also late payment attracts an interest of 1% per month," KRA explained.

For companies, late filing attracts a penalty of 5% of the tax due or Ksh20,000 whichever is higher.

All Kenyans with KRA pins are required to file their returns. Notably, NIL returns can be filed through the eCitizen of iTax platform.

Details of the process for filing KRA tax returns are broken down here.